adiohead 
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Registered: 28th Sep 01
 
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Found one online guide for possible data retrieval: 
http://geekyprojects.com/storage/how-to-recover-data-even-when-hard-drive-is-damaged/ 
 
but anyone know any other tips/advice? 
 
   
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Gary 
Premium Member
 
Registered: 22nd Nov 06
 Location: West Yorkshire 
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Should've backed up tbh  
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Brett 
Premium Member
 
Registered: 16th Dec 02
 Location: Manchester 
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Could just be the front LEDs failing?
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adiohead 
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Registered: 28th Sep 01
 
User status: Offline 
 
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innit, it's my bro's macbook pro.  
 
Everything needs changing   
 
Hard drive, superdrive, screen, metal case/shell   
 
Think he should just buy a new one. But I'm gonna see if I can retrieve his data for him.  
 
 
 
quote: Originally posted by loafofbrett 
Could just be the front LEDs failing? 
   
 
  
 
  
 
 
 
 
[Edited on 01-06-2011 by adiohead]
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Steve 
Premium Member
 
Registered: 30th Mar 02
 Location: Worcestershire             Drives: Defender 
User status: Offline 
 
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stick it in the freezer overnight, can and does work has worked for me before now, tried it quite a few times on dead hdds at work seemes to be around 50/50 as to wether it does. 
 
Also if it does start working youve only got a window of time to get the data off so be quick
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SetH 
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Registered: 15th Jul 01
 
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I wonder how much HEFFER Pron is on there.
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oceansoul 
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Registered: 19th Jun 06
 Location: Sunbury, Surrey 
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quote: Originally posted by Gary 
Should've backed up tbh   
  
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adiohead 
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Registered: 28th Sep 01
 
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quote: Originally posted by oceansoul 
quote: Originally posted by Gary 
Should've backed up tbh   
   
   
 
My mate had HD failure..... and back up HD failure.  
 
He should have backed up the back up   
 
[Edited on 01-06-2011 by adiohead]
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adiohead 
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Registered: 28th Sep 01
 
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just plugged this into a desktop PC and the bios doesn't see it.  
 
think it's totally fooked and only expensive repair bastards can fix it.  
 
coffee is to blame as it was spilt on the laptop. 
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Russ 
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Registered: 14th Mar 04
 Location: Armchair 
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quote: Originally posted by adiohead 
quote: Originally posted by oceansoul 
quote: Originally posted by Gary 
Should've backed up tbh   
   
   
 
My mate had HD failure..... and back up HD failure.  
 
He should have backed up the back up   
 
[Edited on 01-06-2011 by adiohead] 
  you laugh but, if it doesnt exist 3 times, it doesnt exist when it comes to data
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Steve 
Premium Member
 
Registered: 30th Mar 02
 Location: Worcestershire             Drives: Defender 
User status: Offline 
 
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quote: Originally posted by adiohead 
quote: Originally posted by oceansoul 
quote: Originally posted by Gary 
Should've backed up tbh   
   
   
 
My mate had HD failure..... and back up HD failure.  
 
He should have backed up the back up   
 
[Edited on 01-06-2011 by adiohead] 
   
 
stick it in the freezer blud, trust
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adiohead 
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Registered: 28th Sep 01
 
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I'll try the freezer if the ubuntu thing doesn't work.  
 
I've read that water on the plates from the freezer trick can wreck it totally  
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Dom 
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Registered: 13th Sep 03
 
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quote: Originally posted by adiohead 
I'll try the freezer if the ubuntu thing doesn't work.  
 
I've read that water on the plates from the freezer trick can wreck it totally   
   
 
Hence why you shouldn't just stick it in the freezer, you need to put it in a sealed sandwich bag (ie :gaffer it down) and leave it a few hours. I've done it a few times and it worked where the drives had a fault with the heads. The drives lasted around 30/40 mins which was enough time to take an image (GetDataBack for Windows has that feature, no idea what software you can use to do that with Hfs+ drives) which i could then do the file recovery on (500GB is around 12rs with GDB). 
 
Edit - Imaging the drive is something i was told by a file recovery firm a few years back; you want to access the drive as little as possible to prevent further damage (heads damaging plates etc). Instead once you get read access, don't attempt to do a file recovery on the physical drive instead image the drive and recover from that. 
 
[Edited on 01-06-2011 by Dom]
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Steve 
Premium Member
 
Registered: 30th Mar 02
 Location: Worcestershire             Drives: Defender 
User status: Offline 
 
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iv stuck several in the freezer at work in tescos carrier bags and after they have worked fine, for half an hour or so   
 
hard drives should be vaccum sealed anyway, and will be far more sealed internally then any sandwich bag you might use 
 
[Edited on 01-06-2011 by Steve]
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Dom 
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Registered: 13th Sep 03
 
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quote: Originally posted by Steve 
hard drives should be vaccum sealed anyway, and will be far more sealed internally then any sandwich bag you might use 
   
 
I've always been told that commerical hard drives aren't hermetically sealed, instead they are vented thru an air filter to allow for air pressures to be equalised as well as cooling. 
 
Edit - Dismantled drive: http://www.pcdoctor-guide.com/wordpress/?p=595 
 
[Edited on 01-06-2011 by Dom]
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Steve 
Premium Member
 
Registered: 30th Mar 02
 Location: Worcestershire             Drives: Defender 
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i think that is true of older drives 
 
either way unless you vacuum the air out the sandwich bag that is equally as likely to generate moisture when freezing. 
 
aside from all of this iv done it several times and its worked lol
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3CorsaMeal 
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Registered: 11th Apr 02
 
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could be a cv joint
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adiohead 
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Registered: 28th Sep 01
 
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disk in freezer  
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Steve 
Premium Member
 
Registered: 30th Mar 02
 Location: Worcestershire             Drives: Defender 
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leave it overnight
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adiohead 
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Registered: 28th Sep 01
 
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I can't as I've gotta go home and I'm in London tomorrow   
 
I'll leave it for about an hour and then give it a go. Pretty sure it's totally fucked anyway.  
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Steve 
Premium Member
 
Registered: 30th Mar 02
 Location: Worcestershire             Drives: Defender 
User status: Offline 
 
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you need to leave it longer really
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adiohead 
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Registered: 28th Sep 01
 
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didn't work. Drive was freezing too. I'll keep it in there and try again another day
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Jambo 
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Registered: 8th Sep 01
 Location: Maidenhead, Drives: VXR Arctic 
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You best be trying to recover the data off that drive with certain files on it  
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