Trying to recover data

Helo,

Not sure if this is the correct forum to post this to - Admin please move if incorrect and my apologies

I am trying to recover data from a notebook hard drive. When the drive is in the notebook and windowsXP Pro runs, desktop loads up but you cannot right-click or bring up task manager. Checkd the reg and there is nothing running there. Checked services, cannot see anything.

Client mentioned that someone else took a look at the notebook and "messed" it up...mmmmm....

Anyways, I want to try and recover the data he lost with this other dude but each time I run a recover on it - using easy recovery pro 6.0 - get the message " error encountered while scanning partition "...but the scan continues.. This is first me and google doesn't tell me much.

Could the filesystem in fact be corrupt? Is there a method of repairing the file system without losing any other data i.e. can i run windows repair? How do I check if this is software or drive busy crashing....?

Thanks for help

Is this drive slaved in another machine???


MLF

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Could the filesystem in fact be corrupt? Is there a method of repairing the file system without losing any other data i.e. can i run windows repair? How do I check if this is software or drive busy crashing....?

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It's possible to delete the partition table. For example, say someone is preparing for a windows install and they delete the partition prior to format, but do not proceed with the format. This or a similar operation will cause the symptoms you're experiencing. Software won't know what it's looking at, so it won't display anything. I've fixed this in the past but I can't remember what I used...I think it was called "Partition table doctor" or something to that effect. You can be fairly sure it's NTFS if XP Pro was installed on the drive, but I've seen some cases where someone installed XP onto a Fat32 file system. You can also try running an mbr fix.

Your best bet is to remove the Hard Drive and Slave it in a Desktop (that's what I do and it works) or get a 2.5 external enclosure. From there a chkdsk or 3rd party scan should work depending on the state of the filesystem and level of infection (if compromised). You can then run a Recovery and dump the data to another partition which is usually required anyway (usually cannot dump recovery data to the same partition). Good Luck!

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Client mentioned that someone else took a look at the notebook and "messed" it up...mmmmm....

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Never trust what a customer says unless it is a very simple description of their problems or requirements. It was obviously already messed up or he wouldn't have had to take it to someone else would he?;)

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Your best bet is to remove the Hard Drive and Slave it in a Desktop

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I agree with what Wazz says and MLF implied. To attach a 2.5" Laptop drive to a desktop you need an adaptor. I would expect them to be cheaper than an external mounting, but either will do. You can attempt repairs from a bootable CD, but not recovery as you need another drive/partition to store the recovered data.

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and level of infection (if compromised).

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That is a thought.............try running an av scan from a master drive or bootable CD. Some malware does disable right click and task manager.

Can you run chkdsk?

Thanks nihil, forgot to mention you may need an adapter (if the Hard Drive is IDE), if the notebook drive is SATA, you do not need an adapter.

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Originally Posted by Wazz

Thanks nihil, forgot to mention you may need an adapter (if the Hard Drive is IDE), if the notebook drive is SATA, you do not need an adapter.

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I think you mean the SATA connector is the same on 2.5" and 3.5" drives but IDE is different. This is true, however, if he's talking about hooking it up externally he'll most likely still need an adapter to convert from SATA to USB.

Exactly right.....I just pull the side panel and jack the SATA drive in directly if I'm without an adapter\external enclosure.

Why don't you leave the drive in the laptop and boot to a live CD like UBCD4Win? That's got multiple data recovery apps to try and all are non-destructive.

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Why don't you leave the drive in the laptop and boot to a live CD like UBCD4Win? That's got multiple data recovery apps to try and all are non-destructive.

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It is generally not considered good practice to attempt to recover data back onto a drive that you are having problems with.

Anyway, all you would do is copy the files you cannot access from the OS on that HDD, so what would it achieve?

What you are suggesting is how you would try to fix the problem, not how you would recover the data ;)

This thread just reminded me that I have a hard drive in the freezer...

Cope,

Try serving it with three scoops of Rocky Road :lildevil:

Sorry, I just couldn't resist that one :D