data recovery

dreameruk

dreameruk

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Lea Roberts
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hi all, i've had my external drive go corrupt on me and was just wondering if any of you could recommend a good data recovery site/company as i've gotta get my stuff back. was on a right downer last night but i think i've learnt my lesson BACKUP MY STUFF thanks for any recommendations.
 
The very best are Kroll Ontrack but you'll pay for the privilege.

The prices do drop if you're not in a rush but I'm not sure if they'll drop to a level that you find sufficient.
 
Make sure you're sitting down when you do. And don't have a hot beverage in your hand either.

I might have some Kroll software left over from my past as an IT Tech, so I'll see if I can find it. It's a cut-down version of the basic scanning software they use and has worked for me in the past.
 
Not sure if you've done this already, but it would be well worth you disassembling the caddy, removing the drive from the casing and plugging that into your PC directly as it might very well be the controller interface that's failed, not the drive itself.

You'll void your warranty, but a hairdryer on the label usually loosens the glue sufficiently for you to peel it off.
 
Do you have another drive of the same make/model? On a few occasions I have swapped the electronics over and the drive has worked but unfortunately it is getting far more difficult to do that nowadays!
 
glitch said:
Not sure if you've done this already, but it would be well worth you disassembling the caddy, removing the drive from the casing and plugging that into your PC directly as it might very well be the controller interface that's failed, not the drive itself.

You'll void your warranty, but a hairdryer on the label usually loosens the glue sufficiently for you to peel it off.
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done this last night no luck the pc just hangs for ages
 
No worries. I just need to know the make and model so I can see if I have any drive utilities knocking about.
 
neil_g said:
at what point does it hang? as long as its not trying to boot from it the drive shouldnt stop windows responding..

lesson learned - keep backups on a 2nd drive.
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if windows is running and i hook up the drive windows starts running really slow while it tries to access the drive which dosent happen,if i connect it up in side pc and try to start system it goes as far as the black screen after the windows xp bit where you get the little green dot things that go across the screen.
 
dreameruk said:
if windows is running and i hook up the drive windows starts running really slow while it tries to access the drive which dosent happen
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Don't do that.

dreameruk said:
if i connect it up in side pc and try to start system it goes as far as the black screen after the windows xp bit where you get the little green dot things that go across the screen.
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Do this. But leave your PC running for as long as you possibly can as Windows should eventually recognise the drive.

I've left one overnight before and it did the trick.
 
It's very difficult to give you any meaningful advice when I'm not able to see the evidence for myself, but it sounds like the drive is mechanically sound (which is the worst failure) and has just had either a bad sector written to it or there's an error on the surface of the platter.

With it being recognised by the BIOS and hanging Windows when you connect it up whilst already at the desktop I'd usually think that was a positive sign. There a few tricks we can try before we have to resort to the data-recovery people.
 
We'll see what happens with the current plan and then take it from there. I'm sure I've got a DOS application that will be able to tell you more about the status of the drive, but for the life of me I can't remember what CD I put it on,
 
The best recovery software I've used is Magic Recovery Pro: http://www.software-recovery.com

It's now over £100 so you'll want to try the demo first.

Slowly, slowly, catchy monkey: if you haven't got enough free drivespace, order a new hard drive first. You should never write files to the affected drive before you've got everything you want off it.

I'll bow out now, but please heed what I've written.
 
glitch said:
We'll see what happens with the current plan and then take it from there. I'm sure I've got a DOS application that will be able to tell you more about the status of the drive, but for the life of me I can't remember what CD I put it on,
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lol try to remember if you get this sorted for me £50 is on its way to you i need whats on this drive
 
photon said:
The best recovery software I've used is Magic Recovery Pro: http://www.software-recovery.com

It's now over £100 so you'll want to try the demo first.

Slowly, slowly, catchy monkey: if you haven't got enough free drivespace, order a new hard drive first. You should never write files to the affected drive before you've got everything you want off it.

I'll bow out now, but please heed what I've written.
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thanks may check this out if glitch cant get it going
 
I've just remembered another little trick I had. Just got to find the disc the software was on and we can get cracking. It's what I used to use as a last resort before I had to send the drive off to Ontrack.

Back with you soon!
 
b****r. I know I've got a copy on a CD somewhere but I can't find the damn thing. And it looks like the software isn;t freely available anymore so I can't download it.

I'll hunt around some old drives to see if I did an ISO of it and if not see if an ex-colleague of mine still has the originals somewhere. I figured the process out in the first place and it saved us over a grand each time so they'd better still be using it!

I'll come back to you when I know more. Will be sometime tomorrow now though.
 
Pm sent.
 
dreameruk said:
thats ok np talk tomorrow and thanks for the help you a star :thumbs:
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Ah, you're most welcome. I used to love doing data recoveries as it's such a challenge to get it sorted but a massive high when you do crack it.

We'll get there one way or another!
 
Good news is the software is still being used, bad news is I haven't got my hands on a copy... yet.

I'll let you know how that progresses.
 
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