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Author Topic: Some skills for after the crunch  (Read 770 times)

offdalip

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Re: Some skills for after the crunch
« Reply #15 on: April 09, 2010, 03:20:19 PM »
well then pray for my external HDD, otherwise I gotta start my library over.

N E body know common causes for external HDD failures and how to retrieve the data?

I am sure some of it is irreplaceable, I was trying to consolidate all my data onto one drive, apparently THE WEAKEST LINK
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opsec

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Re: Some skills for after the crunch
« Reply #16 on: April 09, 2010, 06:20:53 PM »
There is forensic software and hardware that you can get to retrieve data. Something called a "sector scanner" comes to mind. I don't have any detail on this, but I do know it's out there. There may even be a service that you can mail your HDD to, to get this done.

Would this work?: http://www.datadoctor.in/
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offdalip

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Re: Some skills for after the crunch
« Reply #17 on: April 09, 2010, 07:32:46 PM »
looks good, but the disk has to spin B 4 I can use that software. I got it to spin a little when I first booted it a few days ago. That's how I got dick's encyclopedia's name out so I could refind it again on the interweb.

I wonder if there isn't a little "clock" battery that ran out on this external drive?

It ran great a year ago, then I didn't use it for a year..... altogether it is 9 years old, one of the earlier external drives.
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"Events can move from the impossible to the inevitable without ever stopping at the probable"

"A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the voters discover that they can vote themselves largesse...."

tigger

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Re: Some skills for after the crunch
« Reply #18 on: April 09, 2010, 07:34:53 PM »
Is it not working at all, intermittently working, or not able to access certain files?  Is it spinning up?  Making loud clicking noises?

Try:
Put in the freezer for a few hours then retry.
Try in a different computer or different enclosure.
Based on the manufacturer, see if they have drive analysis software that help report different types of errors.
Search for the brand/model online since the same drives often have similar problems so you might see if the issue is common or can be resolved.

You can get 2TB drives in the $120-$140 range currently, 1TB drives in the sub-$100 range (~$80), or smaller or used drives for even less.  If you don't have to back up too much, reasonably large flash drives are pretty affordable now and have no moving parts.  Get a pair so you can keep two copies of everything.  Or, keep a copy of your friend's data on a drive in trade for you copying your data to a friend's drive.  Then, you can share the cost and have a backup at a different site.  Or, pay to back your data up online:  http://www.backblaze.com/
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opsec

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Re: Some skills for after the crunch
« Reply #19 on: April 09, 2010, 10:47:27 PM »
Put it in a ziplock bag before freezing it, otherwise water will condense inside of it when it warms up.
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"The difference between a pessimist and an optimist is that the pessimist usually has more information"

"Where law ends tyranny begins. Where law begins, tyranny becomes legal"

"Truth is hate to those that hate truth".

offdalip

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Re: Some skills for after the crunch
« Reply #20 on: April 10, 2010, 03:30:32 AM »
Thanks, guys

it's not moving at all but I'll try the freezer thing.

it's an 80MB Que drive from 2001, I was about to put it all on flash drives , b/c I was afraid of something like this,
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"Events can move from the impossible to the inevitable without ever stopping at the probable"

"A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the voters discover that they can vote themselves largesse...."

Mike

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Re: Some skills for after the crunch
« Reply #21 on: April 10, 2010, 08:58:42 AM »
Quote from: tigger on April 09, 2010, 07:34:53 PM
Is it not working at all, intermittently working, or not able to access certain files?  Is it spinning up?  Making loud clicking noises?

Try:
Put in the freezer for a few hours then retry.
Try in a different computer or different enclosure.
Based on the manufacturer, see if they have drive analysis software that help report different types of errors.
Search for the brand/model online since the same drives often have similar problems so you might see if the issue is common or can be resolved.

You can get 2TB drives in the $120-$140 range currently, 1TB drives in the sub-$100 range (~$80), or smaller or used drives for even less.  If you don't have to back up too much, reasonably large flash drives are pretty affordable now and have no moving parts.  Get a pair so you can keep two copies of everything.  Or, keep a copy of your friend's data on a drive in trade for you copying your data to a friend's drive.  Then, you can share the cost and have a backup at a different site.  Or, pay to back your data up online:  http://www.backblaze.com/

Since it is a 'no spin' problem, I would take  the hard drive out of the enclosure and put it inside a desktop computer.  The idea is to eliminate the USB cable, enclosure, and power supply as the source of the problem. 

If it still doesn't spin in the desktop computer,.... we can be certain that it is the hard drive.
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Mike

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Re: Some skills for after the crunch
« Reply #22 on: April 10, 2010, 09:08:37 AM »
Tigger,
My external HDD makes a loud clicking noise.  I have already removed all of my backup data. 

It takes longer and longer to be recognized.  Do you know what the problem might be?  Can it be saved?
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tigger

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Re: Some skills for after the crunch
« Reply #23 on: April 10, 2010, 09:36:23 AM »
Quote
My external HDD makes a loud clicking noise.  I have already removed all of my backup data. 

It takes longer and longer to be recognized.  Do you know what the problem might be?  Can it be saved?

I was thinking of the sounds only for diagnosis.  I usually listen for changes and abandon drives at this point.  I don't think there's much you can service.  You could get more technical details from a site like:
http://www.datarecovery.com.sg/data_recovery/hard_disk_symptons_clicking_sound.htm

Some other tips:

If the drive is still barely working and under warranty, see if you can wipe it and get a replacement.  http://www.dban.org/

Even if your drive fails, you can usually reuse the external enclosure (unless you think it's a poor one that aggravated the problem).  If you do, make sure you check if it's PATA or SATA and realize that some older ones might have more size limitations.

For prevention, watch out for heat and vibration.  I've had a hot system with loose drive rails that destroyed a few drives over a few months.  Of course, realize the difference between a hot desktop computer with poor ventilation and a hot aluminum enclosure since the hot enclosure is dissipating the heat.

One other suggestion:  I've found the 2.5" laptop drives to be a lot more reliable than the 3.5" desktop drives.  They are also generally smaller, quieter, but slower and more expensive, etc.  Another bonus is that a laptop drive in an external enclosure is pretty tiny and doesn't usually need any external power other than through the USB connection.  This might be a good choice if your data is too small for flash drives but not large enough to warrant the latest 1 or 2TB drives.
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tigger

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Re: Some skills for after the crunch
« Reply #24 on: April 10, 2010, 09:40:35 AM »
Quote
This might be a good choice if your data is too small for flash drives

Um, I meant too large.
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Mike

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Re: Some skills for after the crunch
« Reply #25 on: April 10, 2010, 11:17:23 AM »
Wow!  Thanks for the link.
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offdalip

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Re: Some skills for after the crunch
« Reply #26 on: April 11, 2010, 06:44:02 AM »
Bummer, freezing didn't work, drive still doesn't spin power up.

the weird thing is that I plugged in in a few days ago after sitting in storage a year and it powered up, I was able to access data that one test fine.
I suspicion that one discreet electronic part died  or something but am almost 100% certain the data on the disk is alive

I'll poke around in the link you gave us tigger, Thanks!
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_______________________________________
"Events can move from the impossible to the inevitable without ever stopping at the probable"

"A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the voters discover that they can vote themselves largesse...."

offdalip

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Re: Some skills for after the crunch
« Reply #27 on: May 14, 2010, 05:14:00 PM »
one long costly mistake but got all my data back  :confused013:




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"Events can move from the impossible to the inevitable without ever stopping at the probable"

"A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the voters discover that they can vote themselves largesse...."

opsec

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Re: Some skills for after the crunch
« Reply #28 on: May 14, 2010, 05:26:27 PM »
How did you manage to recover the data?
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"The difference between a pessimist and an optimist is that the pessimist usually has more information"

"Where law ends tyranny begins. Where law begins, tyranny becomes legal"

"Truth is hate to those that hate truth".

offdalip

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Re: Some skills for after the crunch
« Reply #29 on: May 14, 2010, 05:39:20 PM »
the data on the disk was all ok,

but the actual drive died, I didn't do it, I figured the data was important enough to outsource it to dat recovery experts
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_______________________________________
"Events can move from the impossible to the inevitable without ever stopping at the probable"

"A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the voters discover that they can vote themselves largesse...."
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