Copy data from SATA drive

[dgoedken]

We have a computer, worker quit, we don't have password to the machine, there is data on the machine we need. The HDD are SATA, I tried to daisy chain the two drives to access the data, and no luck...doesn't even see the drive. Is there a way to get at the data? Perhaps create a boot disk and boot from there and get the data?

The person removed the 'root' account which we could have used to access the computer normally, so the only log in is via their id, and obtaining the password isn't an option at this point.

Any tips would be appreciated. My feeling is it's a no-go, but I'm being tasked w/ getting the data..sooo...looking for other options I haven't thought of.

Thanks.

(The hdd will most likely be reformatted in the end, so a new person will be able to use the computer...so, short of surface scanning (taking hdd apart) ideas are welcome, as the data is needed but not "mission critical".)

TIA

 

[RBBRMADE]

I use this relatively often. It works great:

NT Password editor

Ron

 

[birdpup]

What system is this? Stating root account tells me it is a unix derivative in which it is not possible to remove the root account. In windows, I seriously doubt it is possible to remove the administrator account. Try rebooting the machine into Safe Mode and select Administrator. Perform a non-destructive repair procedure with the install CD.

You can recover data with these utilities:
1) R-Studio
2) GetDataBack
3) Ontrack's Easy Recovery Pro
4) Quetek
5) File Scavenger
6) HDD Regenerator

I prefer GetDataBack.

But I think RBBRMADE's idea may work the easiest.