getting info off a dead HDD.. spinrite no workey.

[Antec-User]

Not sure if this belongs in this room, since it's not really software related either..


I have a hard drive that I've been holding on to that I am still hoping I can get some info off of. I had a LOT of pictures from my travels to Germany, Paris, Amsterdam, Swiss Alps, Saudi and Kuwait.. I am really wanting to get these back, that's what means the most to me.

My photography professor mentioned that it will cost her about $1000 to get info off of her two crashed HDD's and I was thinking spinrite, but it's never worked for me out of three HDD's I've tried it on. I get the program to run and all, but it doesn't produce a result.

The dead HDD in question is an older Maxtor P-ATA 320g that had the 'click of death' and died about 3 years ago. like I said, I've tried Spinrite on it but to no avail. I didn't think Spinrite would work seeing as the click of death is a mechanical error. I entertained the thought of switching the plates to an identical HDD, but that would be too risky, and I don't think it will work.

Can anyone offer any products or software that has been successful at retrieving files off of these dead drives??

 

[Lexluethar]

Is the drive dead or did the files get deleted / written over?

If the drive is truely dead and won't actually work (not regonized) then it probably is a physical problem with the drive. If you have very important things on this drive i'd take it to a professional. Yes it will cost you an arm and a leg because they have to use special tools to take apart the drive and the platters, then read the data, but if these files are really important pay someone to do the job right (reputable, reliable business).

 

[Antec-User]

^ The drive died.. It did the click of death for a while and then became unresponsive..

otherwise, I'm not sure.. it's hard to justify a price to have memories returned.. I CAN take the drive apart if I get the told, but once I get it apart, I probably have a 50/50 shot at actually getting anything off of it. I'll have to read up on it a little to see if doing it myself is worth the risk or expense.

 

[memory]

Have you tried a external enclosure or a usb to sata/ide adapter cable? I just had a hard drive start clicking on me, would not boot up. I put the drive in an external enclosure and it read the drive fine.

I don't know if it will work on a drive that is completely dead but may be worth a try.

If the drive is still clicking, does that mean the drive is not completely dead yet?