Stuffed HDD.... Any way to get data off?

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Asmodeus

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#116843 11-May-2013 19:37

My dad had a 160GB Seagate Barracuda go on him. Typically it had loads of important stuff on it that was not backed up...

He has done some investigating online and told me he thinsk its the controller board in the drive that is poked. He seems to think that the board is particular to that specific model of drive and is not replaceable. I haven't investigated this yet myself

Does that sound right to you? In any case, is there any way to get the data off without paying heaps for some kind of forensic recovery specialist?

This is the drive if it helps. He's tried plugging it onto other pcs and using a SATA to USB adaptor but nothing...

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#815927 11-May-2013 20:02

Discussed many times on GZ. General consensus is if its that important take it to a pro.

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Lias

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#815928 11-May-2013 20:06

Short answer: He's pretty much right

Long answer: Generally you can replace the controller boards with another identical one from the same model and firmware revision. However you then need to do a bunch of voodoo, because one of the chips on the PCB contains information about the drive that is specific to each individual drive. This can often involve desoldering the relevant chip from the old controller and transplanting it across. If your smart, can solder, and are willing to spend a large amount of time learning you might be able to repair a failed controller yourself. Most people either write off the data, or pay the ~$1000 to get a recovery.

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jtbthatsme

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#815950 11-May-2013 21:00

Although you've mentioned trying other pc's etc have you also tried popping it into a external case of sorts??? I've not had a single internal hard drive go on me that I've not been able to get very limited use from when putting it into a external casing.

Not obviously saying it's guaranteed to work or say that the above answers aren't valid but as the other options are generally extremely expensive and it just may work. Either way good luck I am notoriously bad at not backing up my drives and generally write the data off but I have also been very lucky in my attempts to recover by the above too.
:-)

Lias

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#816075 12-May-2013 08:56

jtbthatsme: Although you've mentioned trying other pc's etc have you also tried popping it into a external case of sorts??? I've not had a single internal hard drive go on me that I've not been able to get very limited use from when putting it into a external casing.

Not obviously saying it's guaranteed to work or say that the above answers aren't valid but as the other options are generally extremely expensive and it just may work. Either way good luck I am notoriously bad at not backing up my drives and generally write the data off but I have also been very lucky in my attempts to recover by the above too.
:-)

Your going blind mate :-)

OP said he'd tried a USB <-> Sata converter, which is what the guts of an external casing is.

Azzura

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#816077 12-May-2013 09:07

1.) For fun I would try throwing it in the freezer over night and hook it up the next day (to see what happens).
2.) Try baking it. I would set to temp that people use when baking video cards.
3.) Doing 1 and or 2 is all dependent on how adventurous a person is vs how important the data is.

kiwijunglist

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#816090 12-May-2013 09:52

First try and source a working identical make + model hard drive yourself (I'm thinking this will reduce the cost of recovery) Then send both the original and the additional hard drive (parts) to a data recovery company.

Also you haven't mentioned at what point the HDD is failing, eg. is it detectable via bios etc..

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Asmodeus

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#817060 13-May-2013 22:10

Thanks guys. He says that when he plugs it onto the mobo via SATA it doesn't show up in the BIOS. However when he plugs it in via SATA -> USB converter the drive is visible in windows but attempting to access it is futile.

SOunds odd to me but I haven't had a chance to play around myself. It kinda sounds like it's not completely stuffed (it;s being detected at least) so perhaps a candidate for the freezer treatment?

kiwijunglist

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#817100 13-May-2013 22:56

I think it would be a candidate for HDD recovery programs via USB-SATA first. Also it is very odd that it would be visible via usb adapter but not via direct sata connection. I think someone who knows a bit more about PCs should be looking at it.

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Asmodeus

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#817126 14-May-2013 00:26

I agree it sounds odd. I will take a look at it myself this weekend. What is/are the data recovery program(s) of choice these days?

scracha

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#817139 14-May-2013 04:31

I tried a few on a dead drive a while back and Easus data recovery wizard actually worked. Chucking it in a ziplog bag in the freezer overnight may have helped too

insane

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#817159 14-May-2013 08:10

scracha: I tried a few on a dead drive a while back and Easus data recovery wizard actually worked. Chucking it in a ziplog bag in the freezer overnight may have helped too

That Easus can indeed sometimes work, however most data recovery guys use a special adapter which only allows reads from the drives and prevents any writes, they also recommend you don't try DIY it before taking it to a pro as you sometimes only make it worse.

Some places only charge if they can get data off it, so might be worth taking it in to someone.

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#817168 14-May-2013 08:26

Asmodeus: I agree it sounds odd. I will take a look at it myself this weekend. What is/are the data recovery program(s) of choice these days?

It hasn't changed for many years. SpinRite is still the best data recovery program that exists.

Klipspringer

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#817203 14-May-2013 09:44

I have an old 80GB western Digital drive lying around at home which a friend asked me to try and recover the data from.

So far I have done nothing except trying to see if it spins up (which it doesn't), its just dead so I was hoping its the PCB board.

Never done this kind of thing before. I have a saved search on ebay for the exact model/firmware type and am just waiting for one to come up for sale. Reading this thread now makes me wonder if I am going to be wasting my time.

Edit: This site also has many PCB boards for sale.

DravidDavid

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#817216 14-May-2013 09:56

When they say put it in the freezer, they are not kidding.

I revived my 80GB laptop hard disk this way. I had it in the freezer for about 3 months though. I'm sure a week will do. Not sure if it will do anything with the controller though. My drive was clicking away and failing to read/write. Might get lucky though. :)

Lias

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#817250 14-May-2013 10:33

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ad1uVAB5bNA

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