Dead Hard drive

[Raion]

My secondary hard drive finally decided to die out yesterday after 6 years (I heard it scratching just before it died). I had all my music in there and I was wondering if it's possible to recover that data (or part of it) maybe with some magic or something lol or is it trash-worthy and hopeless?

[Und3ertak3r]

I had all my music in there and I was wondering if it's possible to recover that data (or part of it) maybe with some magic or something lol or is it trash-worthy and hopeless?

So I take it you dont make backup copies?

So how dead is the drive.. ?

dead dead, like not spinning, not recognised by the pc at POST.. Mate.. the fix is to get a controller board out of another HDD.. SAME MODEL, SAME VERSION#.. the scratching noise dont sound good though. prob best to bin it

Now if it is just not accessable..but is recognised by the PC at POST
You may have a Deathstar HDD..(IBM DESKSTAR) give it to a professional for data retrieval.. or bin it
you could try running a tool like HDD Regenerator, then format the drive, then use a tool like Getdata back for NTFS (the data was in NTFS..but then you havent told us what file format the data was stored in)... if that fails...give it to a professional for data retrieval.. or bin it
As a pre-Bin exercise place the HDD in a sealed bag with Silica gel xtals and place in the freezer for an hour or so.. then reconnect to your computer and try to retrieve what ever you can.. otherwise ....give it to a professional for data retrieval.. or bin it..

Remember with HDD's Heat Kills, so to will local vibration, especially low frequency, medium amplitude sound.. or externaly generated vibration ie construction equipment

[nihil]

Yes, if the drive won't start (spin) you have problems.

I have had success with "borrowing" a controller card but please note what Undies~ has said: it needs to be the exact same make and model.

The scratching noise does sound like a problem with the heads. If you can get it to spin then this software is good: http://www.roadkil.net/unstopcp.html as it will handle damaged drives/files.

HDD Regenerator is pretty good also, but is more useful for the "electrical incident" type of problem.
http://www.tucows.com/preview/300158 I would strongly recommend it for people who fix machines on a regular basis. As a one off it costs about the same as a new drive

The freezer trick does work (sometimes) but it is only likely to run for a little while until the thing heats up. A cold room with plenty of ventilation will help here

For the future look at DVD writers to make backups. A USB external drive is a bit more expensive, but several students I have advised have managed to make them pay for themselves by making backups for their mates.

I would forget professional data recovery................. it would be cheaper to go and buy the music again.

[Raion]

Well I don't particularly think it's heat issue because I usually leave my AC on while I'm on the computer. But I think I can safely say...it's dead now. My computer stopped recognizing it, and I had to disconnect the IDE cable from the HD and plug it into the DVD-RW drive. (I guess since I had the primary part of the IDE cable connected to the HD and the secondary to the drive, once it stopped recognizing the HD it messed up the connection, that's my logic to it)

[nihil]

Hmmm,

You might try slaving it to another machine?

The problem with heat and HDDs is that they tend to be in a fairly crowded part of the box and a build-up of hot stale air can take place. I tend to use an exhaust fan to improve the throughflow.

Vibration is the other factor as mentioned..........subwoofers are great HDD killers

Incidentally, the controller card should have a little green light on it........... does this light up. If it doesn't then replacing the controller card (if you can find one) will probably work. This light is usually inside the drive's case so you have to look through thje gaps in it

Otherwise try sticking it in the freezer.