AutumnAlicia Posted November 8, 2012 Report Share Posted November 8, 2012 my laptops hard drive went up yesterday. And we can't get the data off of it. IM getting it replaced but all the pictures and videos I haven't posted here or on Facebook are gone forever. I know I can't take more, but there are some good pics in there. I also won't have my laptop back for 5~7 days. Luckily I have the forum on my tablet. And now IM going to insert random Wizard photo. Lol [ATTACH]63570[/ATTACH] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stormy Posted November 8, 2012 Report Share Posted November 8, 2012 oh no! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueWolf Posted November 8, 2012 Report Share Posted November 8, 2012 What happened exactly to the hard drive? is it physically broken or does the computer simply not recognise it any more? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy Posted November 8, 2012 Report Share Posted November 8, 2012 If you can plug the old hard drive into a PC the you can use this type of software http://free-backup.info/data-recovery-software.htm to examine the drive and hopefully recover the pictures vids and documents. Be aware though that it takes many hours to search and retrieve the files. Also When it's finished you simply have many THOUSANDS of anonymous numbered files. You then have to examine them to see if they are what you want to rename and save. You need to order them by size the bigger files are the ones you'll want to look at first. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dunc Posted November 8, 2012 Report Share Posted November 8, 2012 The pictures/ vids you have uploaded to Facebook will still be there Sync up with Google+ like me every picture or vid I do is upload there Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AutumnAlicia Posted November 8, 2012 Author Report Share Posted November 8, 2012 What happened exactly to the hard drive? is it physically broken or does the computer simply not recognise it any more? It said "a disk read error occurred. Press Ctrl+Alt+Del to reRECOVERY" I took it to the place where I bought it and they said they couldn't recover my data. Would have charged me $150 to do it, but they couldn't. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Removed #5 Posted November 8, 2012 Report Share Posted November 8, 2012 (edited) A disk read error of that type is often not really that fatal. Assuming it's a later model computer, with a SATA drive, get someone who has just a bit of techy knowledge to plug it into their tower (( yes, the connecters used in laptops and the connectors used in a tower are the same! )) and you'll probably be able to get quite a bit off of it. Failing that, PM me and I'll take a look at it for nothing more than the cost of shipping. Whether there's any personal information on it or not, get the drive back from the guys doing the work. Most shops are reputable but others are less so. If you've ever contacted your bank or CC company from that lap top make sure to get the drive back. Edited November 8, 2012 by Al Jones Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueWolf Posted November 8, 2012 Report Share Posted November 8, 2012 Like Al Jones said, that error is usually not fatal at all. Too bad you don't live nearby. I've recovered harddisks before for other people. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elyse Posted November 8, 2012 Report Share Posted November 8, 2012 You live 'kinda' close to me, 7 hours away according to Google Maps. I wish I could take a look at it (have recovered HDDs in the past for friends) but I don't have the time right now. (Stupid university!) I agree with Al. Some computer repair shops are sketchy, you have to be careful they don't steal any important/banking data from your hard drive, while others are sketchy because they don't know what they are talking about (most of the time!) I would get the HDD back from them and then take it to some other places for more opinions. Just out of curiosity, who did you take it to? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Osinn11 Posted November 8, 2012 Report Share Posted November 8, 2012 I agree with what others have said. I've been able to pull info off my last 3 "crashed" Hard Drives. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AutumnAlicia Posted November 12, 2012 Author Report Share Posted November 12, 2012 woohoo!!! I have my laptop back!! They actually gave me the old broken hard drive.. All you computer geniuses.. If the hard drive went bad, is there something I can do to see if I can get the data back myself? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elyse Posted November 12, 2012 Report Share Posted November 12, 2012 Did they give you a new hard-drive with your laptop? If they did, then reinstall windows/whatever on there. Once you have things set up, then you can start your hunt for data. What I would do: 1. Buy an external hard-drive case. Put drive inside, following the instructions. Be careful - touch bare metal with your hands to get rid of the static electricity. Also, make sure magnets aren't anywhere nearby... 2. Boot up drive, and see if drive is accessible (using a HDD recovery program if needed). If not... 3. It might be a faulty external case. In that case (pun not intended!), exchange for another one. If you feel it isn't working because you connected something wrong, have somebody at the shop do it. It should take less than 5 minutes, and if they charge you, bitch them out! Alternatively, you can attach the external hard drive + case to another computer, and transfer any found files over the network back to your laptop. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Removed #5 Posted November 12, 2012 Report Share Posted November 12, 2012 For $19.00 (plus or minus) you can get an EZ-Dock from Tiger-Direct or Directron ( but Directron is sold out ) I've dealt with both of them and my preference is Directron but can't really say anything bad about Tiger-Direct except that they have *NO* tech support. This plugs into the wall for power and into the USB port, then you plug your drive into the unit, then turn it on and it's recognized as a USB device. Then you just go looking for whatever you can find on the drive. If you took me up on my offer, that's exactly what I'd do- then burn whatever you wanted to DVD and ship it all back to you - you just save a step and have an extra piece of hardware that can come in handy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elyse Posted November 12, 2012 Report Share Posted November 12, 2012 For $19.00 (plus or minus) you can get an EZ-Dock from Tiger-Direct or Directron ( but Directron is sold out ) I've dealt with both of them and my preference is Directron but can't really say anything bad about Tiger-Direct except that they have *NO* tech support. This plugs into the wall for power and into the USB port, then you plug your drive into the unit, then turn it on and it's recognized as a USB device. Then you just go looking for whatever you can find on the drive. If you took me up on my offer, that's exactly what I'd do- then burn whatever you wanted to DVD and ship it all back to you - you just save a step and have an extra piece of hardware that can come in handy! That's even better (more user friendly) than my suggestion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Removed #5 Posted November 12, 2012 Report Share Posted November 12, 2012 That's even better (more user friendly) than my suggestion. Naw, we said the same thing, only differently ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Osinn11 Posted November 12, 2012 Report Share Posted November 12, 2012 In the past when I've been told my HD was bad I was able to slave the drive to my desktop and pull info. this way as well. Just a thought. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kaiser Posted November 12, 2012 Report Share Posted November 12, 2012 what ever you do don't throw it out, most of the time there fixable Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AutumnAlicia Posted November 12, 2012 Author Report Share Posted November 12, 2012 Thanks for all the info guys. I wouldn't throw it out, thats just silly. My friend who is a computer tech for the government says he probably cant get the info off, but I honestly think he is just being lazy. So when i get a chance, I will try what was suggested. I really appreciate all the help! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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