HELP! Stupid stupid me! Hard drive recovery company recomendation?

[joelen]

After recovering data from damaged windows installations from countless customers, and also sending some of them on to companies like lazarus, i have failed to backup my main computer for the last few months--- and now the hard drive is clicking. doh!

what companies do you all recomend for data recovery on a dead hard drive?

[Ferrit]

Usually the company that made the harddrive is a safe bet for recovery.
Seagate has a great recovery division.

[Matridom]

also there are many data recovery places that won't invalidate the warranty.

I think the big question is, the data you plan on recovering, is it worth the cost?

[joelen]

Thanks Ferrit- i talked with seagate's recovery division- might go that route.
i AM hoping to find something a little cheaper, although Matridom- YES the data is needed- its my QB info for the last 6 months-- also my business emails- i am kicking myself for getting lazy with my own backups... most of the QB info is not something i can recreate either.

would love to get all my photos, vids, etc, but the main thing is the qb info and the outlook data.

any other suggetions out there for data recovery companies?

[CeeBee]

ontrack, drivesavers
Looking probably at $1500 though.
However one of these could save you in the future: http://shop.ebay.com/i.html?_nkw=DDS....c0.m270.l1313
Tapes are cheap and not subject to data loss by viruses or power surges...

[jaydeee]

data recovery until now is very expensive...
I have an idea.
try buying exact make and model of your broken HDD, then replace the board of your broken HDD with your new one... you may need special tool and skills to do that.

[Matridom]

data recovery until now is very expensive...
I have an idea.
try buying exact make and model of your broken HDD, then replace the board of your broken HDD with your new one... you may need special tool and skills to do that.

The way drives are made now, the firmware is customized based on yields of the disk platers, meaning no 2 controller boards are identical, this get's even more complicated on some models (like the western digital Green series) where even spindle speed is determined individualy by drive.

Also, in this case, it's the "click of death" meaning that it's probably a head crash or other physical problem with the mechanisms that read the data off the plater. That means that the platters need to be removed and mounted in a special reading device in a clean room.

If the data is truly as important as the user states, it's best to take it to specialists that know what they are doing, not amateurs recovery people like most people here (myself included), where more harm then good can be done.

[CeeBee]

The way drives are made now, the firmware is customized based on yields of the disk platers, meaning no 2 controller boards are identical, this get's even more complicated on some models (like the western digital Green series) where even spindle speed is determined individualy by drive.

+1
Even if the boards are identical down to firmware level, they store data about sector (re)allocations and bad areas to avoid in the flash - so replacing the board will likely yield an unusable drive.

[Matridom]

+1
Even if the boards are identical down to firmware level, they store data about sector (re)allocations and bad areas to avoid in the flash - so replacing the board will likely yield an unusable drive.

I had forgotten about that. Thank you for the reminder.

[slgrieb]

ontrack, drivesavers
Looking probably at $1500 though.
However one of these could save you in the future: http://shop.ebay.com/i.html?_nkw=DDS....c0.m270.l1313
Tapes are cheap and not subject to data loss by viruses or power surges...

I used to be a big tape proponent, but once the ammount of data you want to backup exceeds the capacity of the tape, they're a pain unless you spring for an multi-tape system. More and more I've come to use multiple external hard drives and treat 'em like cartridges. Rotate through two or three and lock them in a safe when not in use.

[CeeBee]

I used to be a big tape proponent, but once the ammount of data you want to backup exceeds the capacity of the tape, they're a pain unless you spring for an multi-tape system. More and more I've come to use multiple external hard drives and treat 'em like cartridges. Rotate through two or three and lock them in a safe when not in use.

Realistically, how many people have more than 20GB of compressed critical data changing frequently???
You do the first backup that may take 2-3 tapes and then differential. The pr0n is not critical data
And people are lazy.. if you force them to change tapes because of overwrite protection settings they may do it.. but changing drives is too much to ask for... Talking from experience...

[jaydeee]

The way drives are made now, the firmware is customized based on yields of the disk platers, meaning no 2 controller boards are identical, this get's even more complicated on some models (like the western digital Green series) where even spindle speed is determined individualy by drive.

Also, in this case, it's the "click of death" meaning that it's probably a head crash or other physical problem with the mechanisms that read the data off the plater. That means that the platters need to be removed and mounted in a special reading device in a clean room.

If the data is truly as important as the user states, it's best to take it to specialists that know what they are doing, not amateurs recovery people like most people here (myself included), where more harm then good can be done.

guess this is the best option if data is really important...

I just want to share my experience.. I has something like this before where our project HDD archive failed. We thought that I will really hurt us but actually we can live without it

so importance of the data will determine your next step.
good luck!

Thanks Matridom for your inputs

[TangleWeb]

I have used Gillware, Inc. personally & at work & referred several outside customers. They charge $378.99 for a Windows drive.

They have a clean room & use the same techniques as Ontrack & Drive Savers.

~Dave