Ex-Hdd (500Gb) Not Working - Advice/suggestions Please

[aarn]

Hello all,

I was copying .avi files from my trusty 640Gb HDD, via win7 on my netbook, to a friend's 500Gb generic HDD. Checked everything with up-to-date MSE antivirus, no issues. Copied ~ 6Gb in first run, no problems. Second run, attempted to copy ~ 3Gb, system hung up. Opened win task manager, unable to close down win explorer, unable to close down computer Considering the risks, pulled out the lead of 640Gb HDD, then powered down/turned off by holding doen the power button.

Now 640Gb HDD is fine, but 500Gb HDD stoofed. It won't open with win7, which just wants to format it, and properties says 0Gb Linux (gparted) recognises it, but unable to mount, unable to identify used/free space.

I think the 500Gb thingy has had a hard life, but was working as above. I understand things can come to a crashing halt - happened to me with a 320Gb HDD.

Would much appreciate any suggestions re attempted repair, or just data retrieval, via win7 or linux tools.

Many thx, AA

[happynthailand]

use "wise data recovery" its a free file,work's real well

[JSixpack]

Did you try a different USB port?

See if a different computer can recognize and open it.

Could just be the external box. Take the drive out and put it in another box or mount it inside a desktop and see if it's recognized. You don't actually need a box, just an IDE/SATA interface cable & power supply.

You might try HDtune or CrystalDiskInfo, if the drive can be recognized, to test the health of the drive. If the drive's healthy, then it's a matter of attemtping to rebuild the partition or data recovery if you really wanna go that route. It isn't worth it unless that data is critically important and you have lots of time on your hands (or money to pay a service).

Good luck and let us know the result

[urandom]

GNU ddrescue might be an option

http://www.gnu.org/software/ddrescue/ddrescue.html

[rakman]

Troubleshoot and fix the problem..

Take the drive out of the enclosure and hook up to your PC while off.. Power up the PC and see if the BIOS sees the drive. Listen to the drive for the disk spinning. If the disk isn't spinning, it's probably toast, but could be SSD or very quiet. But, if the BIOS does see the drive, continue to boot, and see what Windows can do with it.

If the drive isn't seen in Windows, run Disk Manager (Computer --> Manage, go down to Disk Manager and check if the drive is in the table and assign a drive letter, if it doesn't have one.

If the drive isn't present, it's toast.

If the drive is good, put back in the external case and try the USB port again. If it's not seen, check the Disk Manager again. If it is seen, you're good. If not, the enclosure is most likely toast.

[aarn]

Hey thx for the hot tips - will get out the screwdrivers next, as usb lead,ports and computers all good. AA

[thaicruze]

forget it. if you double click it and it says it wants to format it, then the file system has been corrupted on this partition. If you right click it and go to properties, is the file system still NTFS or FAT? or does it say "RAW"?

If you can't back it up, it's a done deal. Format as NTFS and redo the file system.

You'll get a bunch of replies saying to try this fix and that fix. Go ahead and try but don't keep your hopes up.

If it's like that, go to Google and try the 1,001 fixes available for how to recover/repair a RAW partition. When they don't work, nuke the drive and start over.

I hate external drives. I have USB sticks and my computer. My SSD is less likely to fail than one of those externals. or just build a good cheap computer with 2 1TB Seagates and use that as backup.

Edited September 29, 2012 by thaicruze

[aarn]

Windows won't talk to the HDD (at least 'properties' does not indicate RAW file is present, and the disc is spinning), but linux (Gparted in Bodhi) tells me NTFS partition present,behind a 2.5Mb something-else partition, which is (presumably) the problem.

Will attempt data retrieval tomorrow (after installing Gpart in Gparted), then reformat as NTFS.

Thx for your'all suggestions, AA

[dharmabm]

testdisk (http://www.cgsecurity.org/wiki/TestDisk) has never failed me yet, either for repairing partition tables or data recovery if necessary. never tried it with NTFS, although it is supported. they even have a windoze version now as well. if the drive is making noises that sound like a mechanical problem, put it in the freezer overnight (in a double ziplock bag with some dry rice) - just be careful with the condensation when you remove it. in 25 years of tech support i have NEVER been unable to recover data from a drive, so ignore those comments.

[thaicruze]

^

Of course you can recover. There are people who can recover data from computers that have been set on fire.

I'm a tech as well. I'm sure YOU can recover data, but who cares if YOU can? You're talking to regular people, not techs.

I already told him to go on google. There are tons of data recovery tools.

If you actually READ what I said, mr. 25 years in Tech, I was talking about him successfully repairing a RAW partition, not about recovering his files. That's something else. He can't ignore things I didn't say.

Aarn,

I'm talking to you like a real guy. These techs think they know it all. I've been repairing and supporting computers for 15 years. I worked for gateway. I have an A+, Novell and MCSE certifications, and I like to speak to people like real people. Whenever you see these techs that come on here and think they know it all, trust me, they don't.

For example, this "tech" here is saying you can do everything with testdisk.

I'm saying, try, but if and when they don't work, forget it and nuke it. But of course, try. There are many utilities.

Now. It took me no more than 5 seconds to find this article

http://forum.cgsecurity.org/phpBB3/ok-in-testdisk-but-raw-in-windows-t602.html

And he says

"Using a Linux-based Partition Recovery boot CD, I can see the partition and all the files and directories without issue but under Windows it is listed as RAW although healthy. Under TestDisk, I can also see all files and directories.I've taken a few screenshots attached below:"

So even though his partition is unusable in Windows, TestDisk says its fine.

See? The real answer is, please try to repair this partition. Obviously it has been corrupted, and chances are you have a RAW patition. That's why it's saying to format it.

BUT, there's a chance nothing will work, including this guy's precious TestDisk.

Try to get in there and get the files out and as I said, don't waste your time. If it looks like it's just not working. NUKE the thing and save yourself hours of useless nonsense.

PS- hopefully testdisk or something else works for you.

Edited September 29, 2012 by thaicruze

[dharmabm]

aarn is an experienced linux user, and asked for advice on recovery tools. 'give up and reformat' is not providing the advice he requested, no need to be a condescending douche.

[Dork]

testdisk (http://www.cgsecurit...g/wiki/TestDisk) has never failed me yet, either for repairing partition tables or data recovery if necessary. never tried it with NTFS, although it is supported. they even have a windoze version now as well. if the drive is making noises that sound like a mechanical problem, put it in the freezer overnight (in a double ziplock bag with some dry rice) - just be careful with the condensation when you remove it. in 25 years of tech support i have NEVER been unable to recover data from a drive, so ignore those comments.

I definitely second this. From the op's description of what happened my guess would be corrupt partition tables. Testdisk is very likely to fix that in 5 minutes. I used the Windows version on an NTFS Disk recently and it worked great.

[aarn]

Signing out now, thanks all for suggestions.

Was a learning exercise for me, especially as limited internet where I am (briefly, in Penang).

Data wasn't valuable. ExHDD case was metallic, felt very hot.

Couldn't mount HDD in linux (after installing 'usbmount').

Testdisk just said it was corrupted, wouldn't allow attempted partition rebuild etc.

In the end, the owner formatted it... and now it won't show up anywhere...

'Cooked' sounds appropriate.

Operation a success, but patient died (or was already dead). AA

[JSixpack]

Signing out now, thanks all for suggestions.

Was a learning exercise for me, especially as limited internet where I am (briefly, in Penang).

Data wasn't valuable. ExHDD case was metallic, felt very hot.

Couldn't mount HDD in linux (after installing 'usbmount').

Testdisk just said it was corrupted, wouldn't allow attempted partition rebuild etc.

In the end, the owner formatted it... and now it won't show up anywhere...

'Cooked' sounds appropriate.

Operation a success, but patient died (or was already dead). AA

You done good, put up a great fight.

[thaicruze]

Signing out now, thanks all for suggestions.

Was a learning exercise for me, especially as limited internet where I am (briefly, in Penang).

Data wasn't valuable. ExHDD case was metallic, felt very hot.

Couldn't mount HDD in linux (after installing 'usbmount').

Testdisk just said it was corrupted, wouldn't allow attempted partition rebuild etc.

In the end, the owner formatted it... and now it won't show up anywhere...

'Cooked' sounds appropriate.

Operation a success, but patient died (or was already dead). AA

There you go...

Now, I will say again, I really hate these external drives and I don't trust them. Build a cheap PC. Nice motherboard, OK processor. Corei3 or whatever. Then, get a big Seagate and put it in there and that's your backup drive. Couple of terabytes maybe. I'm not saying that will never break, but I would trust that more than an external drive.

I built my desktop with an 80GB Seagate 7 years ago and it's still running smooth and fast.

My wife bought a Samsung 500GB external. Lasted about 3 weeks. The port where the USB cable went broke.

I had a guy in here the other day. He had gigabytes of work on his external. Just decided not to power up one day. Dead as a door nail.

Edited October 2, 2012 by thaicruze

[thaicruze]

Signing out now, thanks all for suggestions.

Was a learning exercise for me, especially as limited internet where I am (briefly, in Penang).

Data wasn't valuable. ExHDD case was metallic, felt very hot.

Couldn't mount HDD in linux (after installing 'usbmount').

Testdisk just said it was corrupted, wouldn't allow attempted partition rebuild etc.

In the end, the owner formatted it... and now it won't show up anywhere...

'Cooked' sounds appropriate.

Operation a success, but patient died (or was already dead). AA

You done good, put up a great fight.

You said in 25 years you have NEVER been unable to recover data. What happened? Is this the first drive then? We should mark this one in your calendar.

In 15 years I have seen many drives that after hours and hours of messing around with recovery tools, it's just useless and the user ends up erasing everything. Either that, or the hard drive is done for.

[Gregory Morozov]

in 25 years of tech support i have NEVER been unable to recover data from a drive, so ignore those comments.

Data recovery companies are crying with envy...

[NHJ]

no need for external tools, ntfs is very well build simply use in a command prompt chkdsk x: /f and chkdsk will fix it for you.

[JSixpack]

Signing out now, thanks all for suggestions.

Was a learning exercise for me, especially as limited internet where I am (briefly, in Penang).

Data wasn't valuable. ExHDD case was metallic, felt very hot.

Couldn't mount HDD in linux (after installing 'usbmount').

Testdisk just said it was corrupted, wouldn't allow attempted partition rebuild etc.

In the end, the owner formatted it... and now it won't show up anywhere...

'Cooked' sounds appropriate.

Operation a success, but patient died (or was already dead). AA

You done good, put up a great fight.

You said in 25 years you have NEVER been unable to recover data. What happened? Is this the first drive then? We should mark this one in your calendar.

Not me, pal. Must have been one of our local know-it-alls.

Drive's dead, it's dead, I say. The "freezer" method never worked for me. You wanna try replacing the controller, you're welcome to try. Then if you've got critical data you didn't back up, you can take it to a pro service and pay $$$.

Edited October 2, 2012 by JSixpack

[ITGabs]

sometimes it's only the usb controller tht fail, not the HDD.

chkdsk /f (ntfs fat) help all the time with unexpected shutdown.

another times it's only control panel -> administrative tools -> computer management -> disk management and check for problems (If my memory work good is letter assignment and some dynamic or logical setup)

Some good tips for tech/travelers.

I know that the HDD die but this could be good help in the future.

HDD usually make noise "tiks" before die (check SMART), and usually come alive again 4 or 6 hours after... let it the HDD "completely sealed/moisture" in the freezer.

The freezer work for batteries, CD, DVD, and probably with more electric things. Only one time this not work for me, when the HDD falling down from 2 meters.

Two free tools that I tested.

Roadkil's Unstoppable Copier (win): It get files from DVD, HDD with bad sectors, files with damages, I recovered with some work close to 99% of compressed files or videos with damage, easier for plain text.

Zero Assumption Recovery (win): It get the files after a quick format (free for get images from HDD, Flash drives, etc ) I tested with my SDHC card successfully recover many pictures (with a problem with the EOF sometimes)

This could be strange but if your HDD, camera or phone go into a river or ocean don't worry, power off/remove bateries ASAP and after external dry, put the HDD, or camera or laptop in a container and cover it with a lot of rice, wait one or two days before turn the power on. I recovered a HTC Phone and a MiniDVD camera in this way.