Hard Drive Fix Shop in Wellington ?

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hataitaite

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#136638 4-Dec-2013 08:28

Long time reader first time user....

I have a Seagate hard drive that all my Apple Mac back ups via Time Machine and also photos etc - there must be some sort of corrupt directory - there is 900GB data on drive however all the folders say 0 bytes and I cannot open or read them - I need some place in Wellington to have a look and retieve the photos - rest I do not really care about. Any advice ?

I am not that proficient in IT fixes so do not want to risk too much by trying myself.

sbiddle

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#945108 4-Dec-2013 08:49

I would recommend Computer Forensics, I believe they actually have an office in Wellington now.

Just be aware that recovery won't come cheap - depending on the exact issue expect to pay a minimum of probably $500 for recovery but most places won't charge if they can't recover anything.

zaptor

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#945184 4-Dec-2013 10:22

Can you not just use a data recovery program first up?

andrewNZ

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#945228 4-Dec-2013 10:56

Running a data recovery program first is a good idea, provided you follow one simple rule: do not write anything to that disk.

I've seen http://www.r-studio.com/ recommended by people I trust, and they've had good results. I don't know what it costs, but it appears to at least have a trial so you can check if it works.

And remember do not write anything to that disk save recovered files somewhere else otherwise you might overwrite what you're trying to recover, then it's really gone.

bigal_nz

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#945231 4-Dec-2013 11:02

The really cautious would say don't even risk powering it up - just give it to the experts - but Im not that cautious. It sounds like a logical fault, but could be caused by underlying bad sectors, perhaps on the mac equivelant of the allocation table?

I would firstly make a RAW image of the whole disk - then at least you have a copy that forensic people can work on.

After that give some of the tools others have tried a go.

Also check the disk for bad sectors and SMART status.

sbiddle

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#945248 4-Dec-2013 11:18

zaptor: Can you not just use a data recovery program first up?

You should never run any data recovery program unless it's on a cloned copy of the drive. Running it on the damaged drive runs a very real risk of damaging the data even further.

timmmay

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#945255 4-Dec-2013 11:26

I might first take it to the store that sells Apple computers, it could be a simple and cheap fix. Or even just go to someone who understand how to use a tool to recover data.

Beyond that go with what the guys said above.

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andrewNZ

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#945261 4-Dec-2013 11:31

sbiddle:
zaptor: Can you not just use a data recovery program first up?

You should never run any data recovery program unless it's on a cloned copy of the drive. Running it on the damaged drive runs a very real risk of damaging the data even further.

Surely the cloning process exposes you to the exact same risks.

sbiddle

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#945270 4-Dec-2013 11:44

andrewNZ:
sbiddle:
zaptor: Can you not just use a data recovery program first up?

You should never run any data recovery program unless it's on a cloned copy of the drive. Running it on the damaged drive runs a very real risk of damaging the data even further.

Surely the cloning process exposes you to the exact same risks.

No it doesn't.

Cloning a drive involves a byte by byte copy. This is very different to a read process which is performed by the OS and can cause further damage to the media.

zaptor

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#945275 4-Dec-2013 11:58

sbiddle:
zaptor: Can you not just use a data recovery program first up?

You should never run any data recovery program unless it's on a cloned copy of the drive. Running it on the damaged drive runs a very real risk of damaging the data even further.

That sounds like a good idea. I don't think I explicitly said otherwise.

In the instances where I have recovered data I did use the original drive.

I guess the question really becomes how stable/secure the recovery platform is.

If the argument is that these off-the-shelf recovery programs don't work, then I would strongly disagree. However, if the argument is that they have a higher potential degree of failure then fair enough. One could argue that anything has the potential to fail - including cloning the drive.

hataitaite

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Wannabe Geek

#945302 4-Dec-2013 12:42

This is all good advice - thanks - I may have the photos on a CD somewhere as well so will look fiest before using a data recovery programme - thanks for recommendations

1101

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#945309 4-Dec-2013 12:49

I am not that proficient in IT fixes so do not want to risk too much by trying myself.

1) decide how much in $$ you are willing to pay for the data recovery
2) a data recovery specialist is the best option(NOT A PC REPAIR COMPANY), expect a MINIMUM of $500, could easily be triple that
3) next best option is a PC repair company, all they will do is run data recovery software across it. It will be a considerably cheaper option.
If its a hardware issue they wont be able to do much with it at all.