Help! storage drive dead - how to save photos!

[NotAClue1]

I recently bought a 1tb Toshiba external hard-drive off Amazon;

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Toshiba-External-Desktop-Hard-Drive/dp/B001BG4QS4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1253024351&sr=1-1

Downloaded tons of old pictures, music etc on to it and then wiped them off my machine in order to save disk space.. 6 weeks later and the drive doesn't work - computer just doesnt accept anything is plugged in (and yes, tried a new cable and tried on two other computers, same result)!

Toshiba are sending me a box in the post so I can send it off to them, but they've said all they will do is post me a new one (and presumably fix the old one, wipe it then rebox it and sell it refurb'd)... this means I will lose all my pictures etc!!

Has anyone had this in the past? Surely a guarantee for a hard-drive must cover data that is on it? If I kick and scream loud enough at Toshiba, have I got a leg to stand on? Can I get them to 'compensate' me by getting all the data off for me?

The only other idea I had was to take it to a repair shop, get them to take it apart and get the data off the drive (im sure its still there) and then put it back together, but this will surely void the warranty as I've taken it apart...

Any help much appreciated...!

Joe

[crn3371]

I sincerely doubt that Toshiba will retrieve the data for you. Your best bet is the repair shop. It probably isn't the drive itself, but rather the enclosure. The repair shop might just be able to remove the drive and put it in a new enclosure for you. Also, I hope you've learned a valuable regarding backing up your data.

[NotAClue1]

I sincerely doubt that Toshiba will retrieve the data for you. Your best bet is the repair shop. It probably isn't the drive itself, but rather the enclosure. The repair shop might just be able to remove the drive and put it in a new enclosure for you. Also, I hope you've learned a valuable regarding backing up your data.

Lol - the lesson I've learned is...use more than one back-up? I don't want to have to buy two of the damn things!

Serioulsy though, am I the only one who thinks its rubbish that if you send a hard-drive off to be fixed, they can't retrieve your data? What if you backed up something on there that meant you had to be compensated financially if you lost it?! - I've got many photos on there that I would love to keep (not to mention about 20,000 songs that I...cough....paid for..)

[75D]

A good computer geek should be able to retrieve the information from the drive.
I know when the Hard Drives here at work go down they are able to retrieve most of the data.
Your best bet is to take it to a computer repair shop and have them try.
Once you send it to Toshiba say good bye to any info on it.
The price of external hard drive has come down and I've seen a 1 tb for under $100 Canadian, so buying a second back up makes sense.

Wayne

[pwm2]

Sorry, but data recovery is expensive. Way more expensive than the disk. And the warranty of the disk only covers the cost of the disk.

That is why it is so vital to have multiple copies of everything. At least one copy at home. At least one copy at a different location. Even two copies is quite little - a fire may kill the drive at home, and you may then find that the other copy wasn't readable.

A 1TB HDD is quite cheap. And 1TB of DVD disks isn't so expensive either, but it will take some time to write out the data.

All I can recommend is that you shop around of a data recovery service. Check carefully - the price can vary a lot.

[joove]

Lol - the lesson I've learned is...use more than one back-up?


Ot atleast have one backup. After you cleaned out your main drive, the external drive held the only copy of your data. No backups at all that I can see.

As far as the repairs go. My boss spent 10k USD having the data on his scsi raid0 disk restored. He only got some 80% of it back. It is very hard if the data loss is due to head crashes or some other form of platter damage.

If your only copy of data is on a dead drive, you are essentially screwed. Bad luck!

In your case, it is likely that there was a loose connection or some such inside the enclosure like was suggested in an earlier post. You might want to open the case up and get the hard-disk out. Then either use a known good enclosure or a SATA/IDE->USB connector and see if the disk is visible. Installing the drive in a computer to check it out is also an option.

I was able to read data off a failed RAID0 disk at work after some low level diskcopy using linux based tools. So it is possible that your data can be saved too. Grab a more techie friend if you have to.

[pwm2]

A good computer geek should be able to retrieve the information from the drive.
I know when the Hard Drives here at work go down they are able to retrieve most of the data.
Your best bet is to take it to a computer repair shop and have them try.
Once you send it to Toshiba say good bye to any info on it.
The price of external hard drive has come down and I've seen a 1 tb for under $100 Canadian, so buying a second back up makes sense.

Wayne
Computer geeks are good at retrieving data from disks that has been formatted or have a broken file system.

If it is just the power supply or the USB electronics that is broken, then your average computer geek can open the box and connect the HDD directly to a computer and see if it works. If it does, they can retrieve the data basically for free. If it doesn't, then only a data recovery service can help.

Todays hard drives stores a lot of extra information, such as remapped sector information. Often in EEPROM in the electronics. So if the electronics in the HDD is broken, it may not be safe to replace the electronics.

Unless Toshiba has a special deal that you can buy data recovery from them, then the Toshiba route is the same as a full data loss. And any other alternative will make you lose the warranty. If it is just the USB cabinet or power brick that is broken, then you can put the HDD into a new cabinet and continue using it.

[NotAClue1]

Ot atleast have one backup. After you cleaned out your main drive, the external drive held the only copy of your data. No backups at all that I can see.

Ah yes, good point.:oops:

Sodd it, i'll give it to a geek to try and get some data and then put it back together and hope that Toshiba don't claim the warranty void becuase I took it apart.

Joe

[ChasP505]

It happened to me a few weeks ago... But I had redundant external backups in addition to an internal data drive, so I didn't lose anything. Mine was a WD MyBook 500GB USB. I pulled the drive out of the enclosure and tried it with a spare USB enclosure I keep around for just such occasions. No good. Sometimes you'll get lucky, sometimes the drive is truly fried. I had a friend with a drill press and a blow torch make Swiss cheese out of it before recycling.

[pwm2]

It happened to me a few weeks ago... But I had redundant external backups in addition to an internal data drive, so I didn't lose anything. Mine was a WD MyBook 500GB USB. I pulled the drive out of the enclosure and tried it with a spare USB enclosure I keep around for just such occasions. No good. Sometimes you'll get lucky, sometimes the drive is truly fried. I had a friend with a drill press and a blow torch make Swiss cheese out of it before recycling.
Was your warranty out, or did it contain material that you did not allow to be sent to WD?

I had a quite new $1000 HDD that I didn't send to IBM because of proprietary documents with NDA and very, very stiff punishments if they got out. I guess a professional photographer wouldn't want photos on the loose.

[ChasP505]

Was your warranty out, or did it contain material that you did not allow to be sent to WD?

Both. At around $100 for the WD MyBook Special POS Edition, it wasn't worth sending back to WD, warranty or not. And I am a paranoid when it comes to my files. If I sell a used PC, I put a brand new HD in it and destroy the old one(s).

[tim]

Has anyone had this in the past? Surely a guarantee for a hard-drive must cover data that is on it? If I kick and scream loud enough at Toshiba, have I got a leg to stand on? Can I get them to 'compensate' me by getting all the data off for me?

Hard drive warranties explicitly say the warranty does not cover data retrieval.

Take the drive out of the enclosure, put it directly inside your PC, and see if you can access it. If you don't know how take it to a computer store. If they can't help you'll probably be paying a few thousands dollars to a specialist company if you want the data back.

Lol - the lesson I've learned is...use more than one back-up? I don't want to have to buy two of the damn things!

You didn't have a backup, you had one copy. Put a bigger drive inside your PC, and use your new external drive as a backup. Keep it offsite, else you'll be vulnerable to theft and fire.

[hollis_f]

I pulled the drive out of the enclosure and tried it with a spare USB enclosure I keep around for just such occasions. No good. Sometimes you'll get lucky, sometimes the drive is truly fried.

Before going the Swiss-cheese route, there are a couple of other things to try. Stick the drive in a USB enclosure, plug it into the PC to give it power, hold it about 2 inches above a mouse mat (padded) and slam it down as hard as possible. I've tried this (years ago) with a dead drive and it worked - just long enough for me to get all the data off it (so you'll need another drive ready to accept the data).

I've never tried, but I've read of, sticking the drive in a freezer overnight, then trying it. Again, you'll want another drive ready to accept the data straight away.

[pwm2]

The freezer trick is quite common. It has to be stored in a bag to avoid condensation. When picking it out of the freezer, it must be immediately connected to the computer.

Note that anything bad you do with the actual drive inside your USB cabinet, can affect the cost and probability of a data recovery company to be able to retrieve data from the drive. Not all recoveries costs the same - it's a question of how much work it takes to talk with the drive. They can fix the electronics, if needed. If the head assembly is broken, the cost will go up significantly. Same too if the head assembly scratches the surface so they have to switch to their own analog probes to try to recover the data in the damaged zones, instead of letting the HDD drive head perform the read.

In the end, I do recommend that if moving the HDD to another USB cabinet (or connecting using a USB-to-IDE/SATA dongle) doesn't solve the problem, you should seriously consider the next steps to take. How much do you value your data? Just a bit, or a lot?

[OdiN1701]

Restore them from your backup.

[Tony-S]

I'd also suggest you try pulling the drive to make sure it's the problem, and not the drive's controller. If it's the controller, then your data will still be available to you by using another drive case or by installing it on a free port insider your computer.

[NotAClue1]

How much do you value your data? Just a bit, or a lot?

Just a little bit. I'll be annoyed to lose it but it won't be the end of the world.

OK this is my plan. Toshiba have sent me a box to post it back to them but BEFORE I do that, im going to try the freezer trick, then find someone to take the thing apart and try and get some data back, THEN i'll send it to Toshiba and hope they don't claim the warranty is void...

I still think its complete rubbish that companies don't have to compensate you for data loss!

Thanks anyway
Joe

[NotAClue1]

Oh, and its a laptop sorry so no such luck with putting the actual HD into the back of the computer..

[pwm2]

The freezer trick is best played after you have extracted the hdd.

1) Because there is a significant probability that it's just the enclosure that is broken.
2) Because the enclosure isolates the drive, making the temperature rise faster inside.
3) With the drive still inside the enclosure, you will not be able to see if there is condensation on the disk.

Step 1 is to open up the enclosure and test using the drive directly. If you have a laptop, then you can get a cable dongle with USB to IDE/SATA. If it is a 2.5" disk, then you power the disk from USB. If it is a 3.5" disk, then you get a separate brick to power the disk.

Step 2 - if 1 doesn't work, is to consider either putting it in the freezer, or shipping it to a data recovery company. You may do both, but the freezer trick may affect the recovery progress.

[hollis_f]

I'm not sure how Toshiba do their external drives but if it's the same as WD then it may be difficult to extract the drive and stick it in a different enclosure.

I've just taken my 500GB WD Passport apart - planning on using the drive in my eSATA dock for the extra speed. Annoyingly, WD include the SATA-USB electronics and connector on the drive's circuit board. So there's no way I can plug it into a SATA dock (and it is a SATA drive in there, according to the label).

[pwm2]

Ouch. Hopefully, WD then have a more reliable solution. I have seen quite a number of failed external enclosures, with a fully working HDD inside.

[SuzyView]

I used a local shop to recover a crashed hard drive. It cost me $60 for transfer to another drive I gave them to use. They did it in a day. Not a problem if you develop a relationship with the local shop and see if they can help you. I've done this twice now, saving many years of documents and images.

[pwm2]

A local shop can only help with a not too badly trashed file system. Not a failed HDD. For real problems, you need a data recovery service. They can get data from a drive with failed electronics or mechanics and often even a disk damaged by fire. But they may not be able to recover 100%. And the cost is high, and quickly rises depending on how hard it is to recover the data. But 50% of companies that suffers a total data loss gets out of business within the next 6-12 months.

If you have done it twice, then you really have to look closer at your backup strategies. You have been lucky twice, but the third time all data can be lost. Do make sure you have your data on another drive at home, and on another media off-site.

[Tony-S]

Oh, and its a laptop sorry so no such luck with putting the actual HD into the back of the computer..

You should pull the drive from its enclosure and put it into another USB enclosure to check the controller. The drive is likely a SATA drive it it's been made in the last couple of years, so the enclosure should have an internal SATA interface. It's very possible that your drive is perfectly fine and that the problem you're having is the enclosure's controller. Sure would be worth $10 to find out, IMO.

[tstowe]

A few years ago I found out the hard way that my Western Digital MyBook has the same exact tip as the power supply for my laptop (I plugged in the wrong power supply and fried the external drive).

I pulled the drive from the enclosure and put it in a generic one. Nothing. I put it in a desktop computer. Nothing. It was dead. All the circuts were fried.

HAD to have the info back.

Contacted a data recovery company that Western Digital recommended. Just over $1,000 but they got every file back.

So try another enclosure. Tiger Direct sells seveal different kinds. There is also data recovery software (might be a damaged master book record). If that doesn't work, toss it or get out your checkbook.

[tim]

I used a local shop to recover a crashed hard drive. It cost me $60 for transfer to another drive I gave them to use. They did it in a day. Not a problem if you develop a relationship with the local shop and see if they can help you. I've done this twice now, saving many years of documents and images.

You didn't learn your lesson after the first time you had to use a recovery service? The first time most people come close to losing their data they tend to institute a bullet proof backup routine, especially professionals.