physical hd recovery

[imported_Gunhoe]

Hoping someone here knows how they do it.
I've got a dead 160gb HD, when power is applied it starts to spin up and then just cuts off when it should be ready. I know there are places that will take it apart and try to get the data off it, but they cost way to much for 60gb of music.

I was curious if anyone knows how they actually do the repair work (can't find anything online for phyiscal repair, only software programs). I've got some small older hard drives that work and could serve as spare parts ( all <30gb in size). Since the drive is dead anyways I don't have anything to lose

 

[amdskip]

Eh, they take them apart in a lab environment, nothing you could really reproduce at home.

 

[PurdueRy]

Try search for the "freezer trick" I don't think it will work in this case but you can always try

 

[montag451]

Or, you could try and buy a drive exactly the same model no. and version no.
put the controller board from the new drive on to the old drive.
This WILL work if you get an almost 'clone' model/version and the problem is the controller board, but it won't do anything if it is the drive mechanics.

It is also worth installing some recovery software on your computer, then trying to put the drive into an external caddy just to see if you can coax some time out of it.

 

[tyborg]

freezer trick could work. if the drive spins up and just dies, though, that does sound a bit like the controller card. you need the exact same model number. manufacture date should be very close, and you need the same manufacture location (i.e. a controller card from a WD2500KS made in Singapore might have trouble with a WD2500KS drive made in Malaysia). if you do do that, try very hard to have ALL the specs AS EXACT AS POSSIBLE. if you do it wrong, the drive's geometry will be changed, and, assuming it doesn't break it completely, the data will be unrecoverable at that point.

As for the company that'll charge way too much, that's because they take the drives apart in a cleanroom and scan em with magnetic force microscopes. (I think that's what they're called).

As for data recovery programs, there are some freebies out there. In the office (data recovery company) we use products from DTI Data, like Recover It All. Things like that will only work if the BIOS recognizes the drive, though.

 

[imported_Gunhoe]

heh, after freezing / beating it, it kicks on but windows doesn't recognize it in disk management... may be my external enclosure... gonna try hooking it up internally in a min

 

[montag451]

Make sure you are ready to take the data off.
Cos even if you get it to show up/spin/work, it may only be for a few seconds! Or if you are lucky a few minutes.

GOOD LUCK FELLA