hard drive crash - Program to get files!

[KuJaX]

One of my harddrives in a server that I have just crashed. I have used a program in the past that can SCAN the corrupt hard-drive and find specific files. Does anyone have their favorite program that can do such a thing? Thanks.

 

[Kenrin]

http://grc.com/spinrite.htm

best program to use, costs quite a bit but you can find it for free if you know how to

 

[Ice Czar]

http://grcsucks.com/spinrite.htm

I suggest that those with a technical bent visit the SpinRite website and see they can swallow such things as:

* "prevents mass storage systems from crashing" (nothing can do that)
* "sophisticated magnetodynamic physics models" (pseudo science)
* "weakest possible magnetic signals" (not real)
* "we doubt whether anyone but Steve and a handful of aliens would even know what all this is" (no argument there)
* "Weak Bits" (no such thing)
* "gradual evolution of the drive's storage surfaces through physical and magnetic stresses" (mumbo jumbo)
* "SpinRite is actually able to lower the amplification of the drive's internal read-amplifier" (impossible, and after all this time Steve apparently still does not know that data is recorded on magnetic disks with flux reversals, not "amplitude")
* "mass storage systems need periodic preventive maintenance" (nonsense)
* "yeah, we know, Steve's a magician with his code" (how modest)

As for all the "exclusive" SpinRite features, many if not all of them are anything but exclusive; for example, testing disk surfaces with worst-case data patterns goes back many years before Steve ever thought of SpinRite. SpinRite is 80% hype, 10% dangerous, and 10% real substance.

use FileScavenger for recovery
and Disk Patch if you want to attempt repairs to the metadata
for physically testing the drive, use the manufacturers diagnostic

(PS the boys at DIY used to be with Powerquest )

 

[Kenrin]

all those steve gibson haters, pfft... lol

 

[KuJaX]

what if the bios isnt detecting the harddrive and it is making a clicking noise?

 

[spectrum]

what if the bios isnt detecting the harddrive and it is making a clicking noise?

That would be physical damage. Only hope of data recovery in that case would be professional data recovery If the platters are seized the freezer trick might work, but it's kinda iffy. One way or the other, the drive needs to be replaced.

 

[Ice Czar]

or intermittent connection
each "click" is the heads recalibrating

now its one thing if its a problem with the circuit board
but if its a flakey power supply, or a poor connection or simply a bad cable...

Spinrite is junk, sold with hype
in a field like computers, psuedo science is always a good indicator of snakeoil

 

[dbc]

Well... assuming its not a physical problem with the hard drive (which would mean you're out of luck), you could try using a program called R-Studio NTFS. I used it to recover a lot of files from a family member's crashed comp (succesfully, I might add).

note: the demo only lets you recover files up to 64kb in size.
(or you could search around... )