External HD failure

**Gunny** · 10-28-13, 08:06 PM

I have a external Hard drive that has failed, What app do you all recommend using to recover the files, mainly pictures?

**DJ Ms. White** · 10-28-13, 08:12 PM

Are you sure it's failed and not use the power input?

**iLLusioN** · 10-28-13, 08:25 PM

Yea I'd put it in your normal computer case and see if you can just access the files that way.

If it is for sure a failure, I've always had good luck using Knoppix(a linux live boot distro) and mounting the hard drive and copying the data from there.

If you aren't comfortable using linux I've had some luck with TestDisk and Recuva(both Windows based). Test Disk is(or at least was last time I used it)

**Gunny** · 10-28-13, 08:29 PM

Originally Posted by DJ Mr. White

Are you sure it's failed and not use the power input?

The hd just clicks and is never recognized by windows.

**nihilanth311** · 10-28-13, 10:51 PM

If it's clicking badly then it may never spin up in windows in order to use recovery software. Back in the day I used a program called stellar phoenix, i think, with success.

If it never initializes in windows there are some linux tools you can use which can read without having the mount the drive, or something like that.

**Phyrelight** · 10-29-13, 10:27 AM

if the platters won't spin (clicking) you are screwed. You would need special data recovery hardware that you would then disassemble the Hard drive and load the platters into the recovery machine. You would need to visit a place specializing in data recovery to have this done as the machine is rather expensive. In Phoenix they start at a couple hundred for this service and goes up based on complexity...how much are the files on that external worth to you? Did you keep a cloud backup of it?

If it does spin and is recognized then anything mentioned before this will work

Data Recovery Services Information

**Kanati** · 10-29-13, 10:29 AM

Drivesavers would charge a few hundred dollars to pull the data from a drive that's got the click of death I think. They aren't cheap but they can pull data from just about anything. Failed raid setups... fire damaged drives... etc.

**Phyrelight** · 10-29-13, 10:32 AM

Yea I edited my post, I didn't realize data recovery has gotten much cheaper.

**WileECyte** · 10-29-13, 10:41 AM

I read an article somewhere about a guy who attempted to recover data himself... it's a very tedious and time consuming process, which is why it's not necessarily cheap (although a couple hundred bucks is MUCH cheaper than the couple GRAND it was when I last had to get a drive recovered at work).

**Phyrelight** · 10-29-13, 10:48 AM

Yea the university had to send out a drive 8 years ago and it had sensitive data on it so we could only use a certified recovery service and it was just under 10k for the recovery.