Hard drive recovery service in CM?

[stargazer9999]

I have one external drive that isn't working correctly (PC doesn't recognize it).  Sometimes it's just the exterior box and not the drive itself that causes this problem.  Does anyone know any place local that can investigate a hard drive problem?  

 

I know there are services in BKK but I'd rather go local if possible.

[sirmud63]

pantip plaza. 

not sure anymore if its second or forth floor .

[jeffandgop]

Try Magic Computer Repair at Pantip Plaza; Khun Ae at ‭089-261-9839‬.

He did a great fix on my iMac crash. I don’t know if he only works on Apple products or does repairs on PCs as well. 

[Amusements]

Don't forget to try another USB lead as well. I have 3 external usb3 boxes, and one of the leads is very temperamental, so they are not that tough.

[stargazer9999]

Amusements....I did try a new USB lead.  The recently fixed another hard drive.  Good idea.  That's not the problem with this one.   I believe the problem might be that I kept it on too long.

 

Thanks.

[sammieuk1]

Open disk manager has it got a drive letter assigned if not you wont see it assign one and you will .

[lvr181]

Can u hear the hard drive spinning?

 

[AlfonsV]

Best experiences since years with Mr Suchart (Computer service) : 053-48 2020 or 089-556 3931

[Pdavies99]

Usually it's just the case hardware, most places can swop out the case with the old drive for 3-500 Baht.

[stargazer9999]

You can hear the drive but it's not recognized but any Windows machines.  It was fine two days ago then it gave an error message when accessed and now it's not a visible drive letter.

 

This is a 3 tera WD drive and the box is unlike any I have seen before.  It's very much attached to the drive/power connections.  It's not like the old funky boxes with the drive rattling around inside.

 

It's not the connecting cable.  I've tried 3 of those.  

 

I'll try Pantip today for the hell of it.

 

(AlfonsV - where is Mr. Suchart computer service?)

[elektrified]

If the drive is not spinning and is truly "dead", then it needs true data recovery in a clean room by an expert. There was a discussion on FB recently of this issue. A girl on one C.M. group researched very thoroughly and found a place in Bangkok that recovered 100% of her data for about 23K Baht. This is reasonable for this service. Others chimed in and paid much  more in Bangkok for this same service.

 

You have to decide just how valuable your data is. There is no easy fix for a dead HDD and it needs an expert in data recovery to accomplish this. If it only a load of downloaded movies, then toss it in the bin.

Edited December 29, 2017 by elektrified

[lvr181]

42 minutes ago, stargazer9999 said:

You can hear the drive but it's not recognized but any Windows machines.  It was fine two days ago then it gave an error message when accessed and now it's not a visible drive letter.

 

This is a 3 tera WD drive and the box is unlike any I have seen before.  It's very much attached to the drive/power connections.  It's not like the old funky boxes with the drive rattling around inside.

 

It's not the connecting cable.  I've tried 3 of those.  

 

I'll try Pantip today for the hell of it.

 

(AlfonsV - where is Mr. Suchart computer service?)

"Google" is your friend - 'You can hear the drive but it's not recognized but any Windows machines' - put that in Google Search, many answers!

 

HTH before you spend big baht!

[stargazer9999]

This drive has some important data but I've got that backup up in several other places.  There's a few things I wouldn't mind getting back but nothing I can't recreate without too much pain.

 

It's certainly not worth more than a few hundred baht for repair.  I've always got data I care about copied on several drives and on the cloud.  

 

This is a very small problem for me...I just wouldn't mind fixing it if it was easy and local.

[ujayujay]

Banana IT. They have 2 Branches in CM.

[orang37]

Sawasdee Khrup, In response to a PM asking for details on Windows software I use for back-up, recovery, etc.

 

1. recovery: http://www.piriform.com/recuva : PiriForm Recuva: using the free version I was able to salvage a folder and its contents that had been deleted by accident.

 

2. back-up: https://www.backup-utility.com : AoMei BackUpper Pro (licensed version) : does everything but walk the dog.

 

3. defrag, registry clean, etc. :

 

     a. defrag : Puran Defrag : Puran Utilities : no need for this for an SSD !

 

     b. registry clean, temp file manage/delete: PiiriForm CCleaner Pro (licensed version)

 

4. cloud storage: free: Microsoft, DropBox, Google Drive;. paid: Zoolz

 

5. specialty tools for advanced Win users:  Privazer (free, upgrade with any amount donation) : WinAero Tweaker (free, Win 10 specific). I strongly suggest you not use these unless you are familiar with Win OS internals, and you have recent drive-image back-up, restore point(s), etc. in place, ready to restore from.

 

This list is not valid in all states: local entropy and Planck Constant regulations may apply. Objects in mirror may appear closer than they are. Your mileage may vary. Further support or explanation is permanently disabled. Along with everyone else, you're on your own.

 

cheers,  ~o:37;

[scottiejohn]

Since you are not too bothered if you loose the data have you tried the following;

1.  Download the WD external HDD tool (I cannot remember the name but it has worked for me in the past.  Goggle/WD website support) and see if it detects restores the drive.

2.  Download either Easeus or Paragon HDD manager programmes and see what they see and tell you if anything.

 

There is no point paying a company to do an "attempt" at HDD recovery in Pantip as the above is all they will try.

Full HDD recovery requires specialist clean room facilities which are not justified in your case.

 

 

 

Edited December 29, 2017 by scottiejohn

[NotEinstein]

Quite often drives that Windows refuses to see can be accessed under Linux.

 

It is easy to download a Linux LiveCD system bootable from a USB stick to test and recover data. I've done it a few times, or if you want to drive 12kms south of the city, I'll have a look at it for you.

[Sapporillo]

13 hours ago, elektrified said:

If the drive is not spinning and is truly "dead", then it needs true data recovery in a clean room by an expert. There was a discussion on FB recently of this issue. A girl on one C.M. group researched very thoroughly and found a place in Bangkok that recovered 100% of her data for about 23K Baht. This is reasonable for this service. Others chimed in and paid much  more in Bangkok for this same service.

 

You have to decide just how valuable your data is. There is no easy fix for a dead HDD and it needs an expert in data recovery to accomplish this. If it only a load of downloaded movies, then toss it in the bin.

 

I know, common knowledge says that a HDD casing can only be opened in a clean room, otherwise all the data will be lost, I've always thought so too. Until I saw this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F5Y7BniaRXg

 

 

It seems that the clean room thing is a bit of a myth: in this video, he opens a HDD and shows how to get the head unstuck and how it's recognised (e.g. working) under Windows after that. I was really surprised, but hey, I'm happy to learn new things...

 

[stargazer9999]

Quick Update:

 

I watched  the video Sapporillo recommended and it's quite interesting.  Since I already have a new drive that's working and expected to toss out the old drive I opened the drive on New Years Day.  Alas, the head assembly arm shown in the video was parked correctly on my drive.  

 

Nobody in CM really wants to help with this kind of problem.  They all say send it to BKK.  There's one guy on the 3rd floor of Pantip who seems knowledgeable on the subject but I found him difficult to deal with.  When I told him I had already open the drive up (for fun!) he wanted nothing to do with it.  I wanted to open it up in front of him to get his thoughts but he wouldn't hear of it.

 

I bought a power supply from him for 100 baht (for more fun!) and plugged it in at home and it spins and stops and spins and stops.  Then I bought a 990 baht docking station (yet more fun!!!) and that works better.  It now spins consistently and clicks from time to time.  There are several reasons that can be cause that.  Windows sees it for a split second in the Computer Management app and then it disappears.  The device manager clearly sees the USB drive when it's connected and says the driver is up to date.  That's encouraging.

 

I've spent lots of time on Google and Youtube and learned a lot.  At this point I can give up but I'd go to someone local and show them what I know if I thought they might have any thoughts on the solution.  I think it's probably the circuit board.   

 

Now that I have the docking station I can fool around with a few other dead external drives for fun.

 

If anyone knows anybody in CM who would let me demo the drive please let me know.   Or else I'll try the 'freezer trick' once then give up.  There's lots of 'freezer trick' recommendations to be found via Google.  Sounds like the final prayer for many,.

 

Thanks for your thoughts on this.

 

 

[Sapporillo]

On 1/7/2018 at 1:24 PM, stargazer9999 said:

Quick Update:

 

I watched  the video Sapporillo recommended and it's quite interesting.  Since I already have a new drive that's working and expected to toss out the old drive I opened the drive on New Years Day.  Alas, the head assembly arm shown in the video was parked correctly on my drive.  

 

Nobody in CM really wants to help with this kind of problem.  They all say send it to BKK.  There's one guy on the 3rd floor of Pantip who seems knowledgeable on the subject but I found him difficult to deal with.  When I told him I had already open the drive up (for fun!) he wanted nothing to do with it.  I wanted to open it up in front of him to get his thoughts but he wouldn't hear of it.

 

I bought a power supply from him for 100 baht (for more fun!) and plugged it in at home and it spins and stops and spins and stops.  Then I bought a 990 baht docking station (yet more fun!!!) and that works better.  It now spins consistently and clicks from time to time.  There are several reasons that can be cause that.  Windows sees it for a split second in the Computer Management app and then it disappears.  The device manager clearly sees the USB drive when it's connected and says the driver is up to date.  That's encouraging.

 

I've spent lots of time on Google and Youtube and learned a lot.  At this point I can give up but I'd go to someone local and show them what I know if I thought they might have any thoughts on the solution.  I think it's probably the circuit board.   

 

Now that I have the docking station I can fool around with a few other dead external drives for fun.

 

If anyone knows anybody in CM who would let me demo the drive please let me know.   Or else I'll try the 'freezer trick' once then give up.  There's lots of 'freezer trick' recommendations to be found via Google.  Sounds like the final prayer for many,.

 

Thanks for your thoughts on this.

 

 

Just an idea: could it be that the reader arm is stuck in the resting position (instead of being stuck somewhere in the middle)? If it was mine, I would probably try to see if I can move it out of the resting position (and back) VERY CAREFULLY. Of course, there's a good chance that the little motor which moves the arm is broken, so in this case nothing will help...