Hey, I know that we have a lot of computer people here, so I'm praying that someone can help me out. My parents' HD crashed on them. They don't have backups of anything. The drive didn't just crash, it actually died. I've pulled it out and tried plugging it into another computer. As far as I can tell, it doesn't even spin up. No sound. No nothing. It's just dead.

So my question is, do we have any options at all? I've been googling around for a company that will take a drive apart and fix it, but so far I haven't had any luck.

Any advice will be greatly appreciated.

thanks

Try googling "hard drive data recovery" and mayeb the area you are in. I found something like this for my area. http://www.hollywooddatarecovery.com...recovery.shtml

Edit: Just so you know, mechanical failure data recovery is expensive.

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There are a number of data recovery services, and you can ship your drive there. Google will turn up a number of them. The question is, what do they need to recover that they don't have elsewhere? Keep in mind that you can't just fix the drive, you'll have to copy the (possibly somewhat corrupted) data to another drive. Also, the data recovery will cost more than just a replacement drive (probably much more).

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cool. I called a data recovery place and they quoted me $2000. Well, at least I have an option now.

Since the drive isn't spinning up, I think I might try replacing the circuit board first. I suspec that is where the problem is.

Data recovery is very expensive. The specialists actually take the drive apart and remount the platters on a new system, essentially rebuilding it.

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tofu,

Last year I accidentally short-circuited a 1.28 Gb hard drive,
after which it would spin but nothing else. I was told that it
would probably cost $269 to fix, but if they didn't have to take
it apart it could be less. I paid $29 up front to have it looked at.
They didn't have to open it, and the charge was $169, plus $18
for two sets of CDs. My $29 went toward the $169, so the total
was only $187. That was last November at a place in Minneapolis
(Richfield, actually) called Chip Heads.

They kept my files on their hard drive for a few days afterward
in case I needed another CD or something. A security risk.
I should have asked them for the 13 files they said they deleted
because they contained worms. They must have been attached
to e-mails, so apparently those e-mails are now gone, and I
don't know who they were from. I still have the drive, though,
so someday, if I really want to find out...

-- Jeff, in Minneapolis

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The motherboard is actually bad in this computer too, so maybe the motherboard shorted out the drive - or maybe the drive shorted the motherboard, who knows. I've got my fingers crossed that replacing the circuit board will fix it.

This recently came up on a private mailing list. One of the answers was

Fred

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Since you already tried plugging it into another computer without succes, changing the system board isn't going to solve you're problem, I'm afraid. However, there are a few things you could check: at boot-up, every computer should have a BIOS option to access the BIOS Setup utility and/or display a boot sequence menu: if you select that, is the hard drive listed (apart from floppy/CD)? If so, that means that at least, the BIOS on the system board is able to detect it. As you start up the computer, what about the LED that indicates HD activity: does it light up at all? When you plugged the HD into the other computer, did you use the same IDE cable? When starting the other computer, did the BIOS indicate a change in hardware config (you should have gotten a warning that the HW config was updated, and asked to confirm by hitting F1 or something)? Did you check the jumper settings are correct after the move to the other pc (Master/Slave)? Was the HD in the other computer the only one? Do you have a bootable cd (like UBCD) or floppy with a cloning program on it?

And finally - but use this only as the ABSOLUTE last option: a couple of months ago, my sister had a similar problem: pc wouldn't start, HD LED would just flicker once at startup and seemed dead after that, no sound, no nothing. I took the HD with me to my previous work (were I worked on the IT helpdesk), plugged it in another computer as secondary HD and was able to see it as the D drive and open the folders. However, as I was copying them to the network, suddenly a dry 'crack' sound and the D drive disappeared. Tried several times more, but to no avail. Finally, I decided to wait a couple of days, give a 'gentle' tap on the back of the HD with a screwdriver, and was able to have it detected again and take an image using a cloning program. But again, this is a method of absolutely-last-resort! Try any other means first!!

Why were you using such a tiny HDD? Heck, its contents should have been backed up on a DVD with 3.42GB to spare.

Hmm, 1.28GB. Sounds like the old days when HDDs were manufactured to conform with DOS/Windows HDD limitations.

Meanwhile, since the HDD in the OP question won't even spin up, all of the usual data recovery methods won't work. A disassembly lab appears to be the only answer.

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note: I'm talking about the hard drive's circuit board, not the computer's motherboard.

hmm, that seems to be a bad URL and google doesn't turn up anything for dillware

Try http://www.gillware.com/

I'm guessing Dillware would have more to do with cucumbers and brine than data recovery...

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Heh, didn't notice that. I just copied and pasted ("and became immediately productive!") from the e-mail. Didn't even proof it.

Fred

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THE SOLUTION

1. If the drive isn't even spinning up, put it in a different computer. If it spins up, then it may very well be the power supply (not the motherboard).

2. Check your power supply by plugging in a hard drive you know is working. If it doesn't spin up, try using a different power connection (you should have three or four, if it's a workstation, two or three for a desktop). If it still doesn't spin up, replace your power supply.

3. If it's the drive itself, you can also buy an identical hard drive (if one is available) disassemble the drive and swap the platters. Be sure to wear gloves while doing this, and in as clean an environment as possible, as this is a "clean room" operation. Reassemble, ensuring the platters are replaced in the exact order and direction you removed them from the original drive, and replace any taped portions with clear Scotch tape.

Total cost: less than $100

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Thanks for trying to help, but...

I said in the first post that I did that.

or just swap the circuit board on the drive with the circuit board from a working drive. Same thing really. I mentioned doing that in the second post.