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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Dec 2000
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    Recovering data from a dead hard drive..

    Hey guys,

    I have a 500GB WD external hard drive which I had a lot of old files on (nothing important, just music and old documents which would be really nice to have back..).

    I brought it to a data recovery service and they want $1,300 to give me all the files on a DVD. Does this sound overpriced? Please only respond if you have experience in this area..

    And if it is overpriced, would it be possible at this point to tell them I want the drive back and bring it to a cheaper place?

    Thanks,
    Dan

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Nov 2009
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    Colombia
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    2,150
    How is it dead, did it break?
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  3. #3
    Join Date
    Jun 2001
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    While I am no expert in data recovery, over the years I have heard the same thing over and over. Its very expensive to have data recovery done right. Its not an easy task especially depending on the damage done.

    Quite honestly, if its nothing too important just things you would like and the HD is damnaged, just forget about it. And in the future, things especially like papers, etc small files. Keep a backup every few months somewhere else, another computer, etc. Especially if its organized its not too hard to back up what you want and it wont be too big.

    That being said, I have the same question as deroba. I have a 1tb wd external and it appeared broken(would not load) but it was just the casing, the hard drive itself was fine. I bought a new external case from microcenter and still have it today.
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  4. #4
    Join Date
    Oct 2009
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    865
    If I didn't know better, I'd think those old WD mybook drives were set to self-destruct after a while. I had two 500GBs of them, and they both died within weeks of each other after having worked fine for a couple of years. In both cases, the disk was fine, only the casing was defect. (Although one of the disks did in fact later die, and the other occasionally needs a hard reset.)

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Nov 2009
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    Hi dgessler,
    Can you give more specific information about the damage?
    Can you hear the hard drive spinning?
    Is the hard drive light flashing?
    Is it making any strange noises?
    The WD external type?

  6. #6
    When you said the drive is dead, have you attempted to open up the enclosure? Honestly, if you haven't, you should try. it could be that the controller board or the connection from the enclosure to the harddrive is damaged. All they are, are IDE/SATA harddrives. As long as its not an issue with the platter, you should be able to get this down your self. If it is the platter and the data isn't sensitive, it's probably better if you take your loses vs paying for the recovery that may or may not be 100%. I know some companies charge every if the recovery is a failure.
    Keith Mitchell,Dedicated & Virtual Server Engineer,Hosting.com
    Check out my Technical Blog - Keithdmitchell.com

  7. #7
    Join Date
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    Quote Originally Posted by aeris View Post
    If I didn't know better, I'd think those old WD mybook drives were set to self-destruct after a while. I had two 500GBs of them, and they both died within weeks of each other after having worked fine for a couple of years. In both cases, the disk was fine, only the casing was defect. (Although one of the disks did in fact later die, and the other occasionally needs a hard reset.)
    Was the drive making clicking noises when it was powered on?

    Quote Originally Posted by kdmitchell View Post
    When you said the drive is dead, have you attempted to open up the enclosure? Honestly, if you haven't, you should try. it could be that the controller board or the connection from the enclosure to the harddrive is damaged. All they are, are IDE/SATA harddrives. As long as its not an issue with the platter, you should be able to get this down your self. If it is the platter and the data isn't sensitive, it's probably better if you take your loses vs paying for the recovery that may or may not be 100%. I know some companies charge every if the recovery is a failure.
    I should have done this.. if the drive was making a clicking noise when powering it on (and I wasn't able to access any of the data), do you think it could have just been a problem with the enclosure and not something more serious?

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Jul 2001
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    As a last recourse you could try placing the drive in a freezer for at least one hour. This has worked for me 2 of the 3 time I tried it over a 20 year period. Use a freezer or anti-static bag.
    Sitekeeper
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  9. #9
    Join Date
    Oct 2009
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    865
    Quote Originally Posted by dgessler View Post
    Was the drive making clicking noises when it was powered on?

    I should have done this.. if the drive was making a clicking noise when powering it on (and I wasn't able to access any of the data), do you think it could have just been a problem with the enclosure and not something more serious?
    Both my drives booted fine when I stuck them in another enclosure. One eventually stopped spinning up entirely, but the other is still serving nicely as a scratch disk in one of my computers.

    Clicking noises are generally bad, I can't recall exactly how mine failed except that they were no longer discovered when the USB cable was plugged in. But you can still try removing the disk from the enclosures and either mount it in a different one or put it in as a secondary disk directly into a computer.

  10. #10
    If the hard drive powers up and dosent make clicking noises it should be ok to get data from the drive. But take it out of the enclosure and plug it direct into your PC and see if it shows up. If you cant get it to show up in BIOS/device manager then the logic board is gone on the hdd and not much you can do yourself

  11. #11
    Quote Originally Posted by dgessler View Post
    Was the drive making clicking noises when it was powered on?



    I should have done this.. if the drive was making a clicking noise when powering it on (and I wasn't able to access any of the data), do you think it could have just been a problem with the enclosure and not something more serious?
    Yes. Rule of thumb is if it isn't making any clicking noises, you want to have the controller board or any physical connections to the harddrive looked into. Clicking indicates issues with the platters, so if you don't have this, your data is likely safe. Regarding the WD enclosures being set to "self destruct", I've have 2 of them that I've been running for years as junk drives, so if they die the data isn't important, but have been running well (knock on wood).
    Keith Mitchell,Dedicated & Virtual Server Engineer,Hosting.com
    Check out my Technical Blog - Keithdmitchell.com

  12. #12
    Quote Originally Posted by sitekeeper View Post
    As a last recourse you could try placing the drive in a freezer for at least one hour. This has worked for me 2 of the 3 time I tried it over a 20 year period. Use a freezer or anti-static bag.
    Only for HD's that have the click of death

    It's best to leave it overnight. Use gloves to move it, preventing the HD warming up to to the heat of your hands and if possible have the PC in a cold room. Also when connecting the HD, keep it OUTSIDE the pc case.

    It's surprising the number of times this works but once the HD warms up too much the HD stops, hence keeping it cool for as long as possible to recover the data.

  13. #13
    Join Date
    Aug 2008
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    In the shell...
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    90

    Its overpriced...

    Sorry to say dgessler, the price($1,300) what they are saying is overpriced and unconscionable. Please dont stick into that. In India it will just costs about $ 20-30. Please contact with these guys and enquire about your Western Digital hard drive.

    http://www.datarecoverymumbai.com/We...-Recovery.html

    Let me know if you have any queries.

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