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Retrieve pictures from broken external hardrive?
Hi, this is the external hard drive that I have http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/%E2%80%A6 The external hard drive was stepped on and now I can not get it to connect to my computer. When I turn the device on it makes noise like it is booting up but then the noise will kind of start skipping and then it gives up. My computer acknowledges that something is hooked up to it but it doesn't open the window that allows me to view any of the information on the external hard drive.
Does it sound like there is any way for me to get my pictures etc off of the device, and if so around how much would it cost?
TIA
3 Answers
- Anonymous8 years ago
Your link doesn't take me anywhere except to a non existent page.
1. Was this drive running when it was stepped on.
2. Does it make thumping noises.
3. Does it make a clicking noise.
4. Is there any kind of physical damage to the outside case.
One test you can do is have the computer running. Plug it in and shut down the computer. Once off unplug it and boot back up, wait a minute and then plug it back in to see if it is OK again. This is an Open State Condition Test. This one normally fixes a computer not seeing the device or telling you to format it.
Next step is attempt a scan disk or chkdsk /f /r on the external hard drive.
All else fails, down Load a Linux LiveCD, burn the .iso file to a CD/DVD and boot the computer with this disk and plug in the external hard drive and see if Linux will get the files off the Hard Drive. Fixing computers with crashed hard drives is what I use Linux for to help people recover their files.
If the hard drive is actually damaged, it could cost up to $500 for Data recover from the platters inside the hard drive if they are not damaged themselves and if they are you might get some partial recovery that isn't complete. The lowest price you might find would be around $250 for Data Recovery.
There is no easy answer short of trying different things to see if they will work.
- ?Lv 48 years ago
On a practical level there's not a lot you can do when a hard drive is physically damaged like that.
There are data recovery services out there that will remove the individual platters from your drive and put them in special equipment to try to read the data off of them, but they're insanely expensive (think thousands of dollars), and there's still a decent chance they won't be able to recover anything, and in most cases you still have to pay them whether they get anything or not.
- Anonymous8 years ago
You probably can't get anything off a hard drive that someone stepped on but I suggest taking it to best buy even though it is overpriced (about $250).
Otherwise there are lots of software programs that will try to do the same thing but they all cost money too.
