Hard disk failed, need to get information off it so I can put it on a new one

[jamminbreadman]

I have had the misfortune of having a hard disk fail to my new ASUS Essentio. I'm going to have to replace the hard disk, but since the computer is only a month old I haven't had a chance to back up the information on this hard disk, this hard disk also has windows 7 on it and everything else, I have some things of MAJOR importance on there, how do I get the information off of there and get it onto the new hard disk when I change them. I also still have a best buy warranty but I have never dealt with them besides buying products, do you think I should contact them and see what they can do for me?, would they replace the hard drive and get the data onto it for me or should I just do it all myself? I also heard that installing linux can void your warranty but I have it installed through a wubi installer would that do anything to void it?

 

[berry120]

Installing linux shouldn't void your warranty - I've heard that in rare cases it has, but I'd hope that was the excepotion rather than the norm. You should definitely contact them and they should swap the drive over for you - no way should it fail after a month.

However - the warranty WON'T cover the data on the disk. If you really can't get anything off of it and you need the information, you'll have to take it to a professional data recovery agency. What they'll do is open up the disk in a dust-free zone and move the platters containing the data across to another disk, then use that one to grab your data. It's got a pretty high chance of success.

However - it won't be cheap.

I realise you've learnt this the hard way, but the fact that you've only had the PC a month is no excuse for not backing up. Components can fail at any stage in their lives, and if you've got anything stored on a PC you can't afford to lose you must back it up elsewhere. If for whatever reason you can't or won't backup often then at least look at a RAID 1/5/6 option - all of which will let you lose at least one drive without losing any of your data. If you opt for RAID 6 you can lose 2 disks and still have all your data (though that's overkill for most home users!)

 

[Rickeh69]

Define fail.

As in it won't literally power up?
Did S.M.A.R.T. tell you "Bad hdd, backup and save."

If it turns on, you're in luck. Use a Live Disc and an external hard drive.

If it won't, listen to berry120.