Poor wee lass in need of help!

Hi guys.

I had an external, worked great for years, but gave it to my nephew to store his uni work, transferred all my pics and vids onto computer.

Got hassled, saying 'ooooo you should back up onto an external blah blah blah'

So got an Fujitsu Siemens 1tb external hard drive for backup, as advised, purchased very recently, transferred all my stupid girlie stuff like photographs and family videos, main problem work files and project designs.

Spent hours transferring the data, it worked great so i deleted everything from my computer to free up space, including emptying the recycle bin.

Now, the bloody thing doesn't turn on, no spinning noise, no light, nothing!
I kinda need/want to get that data off, the photographs and videos of my kiddies and friends, work stuff and past projects.

Pls someone needs to help me!

 

Noooooooooooooooooooo!!!

Not meaning to be smart or anything but you know the purpose of a backup is exactly that ... you're supposed to leave the originals.

It could be one of three things, the Hard Drive itself, the Caddy, or the Power Supply for the Caddy. Easiest thing to do is get a new caddy that supports 1tb drives and put your drive into it and hope it works. If, when you plug it back in it says you must format this drive, DO NOT DO SO. You will lose all your data.

 

Also if you can, you want to stop using the computer the files have been deleted from...

Cos if the external is dead then File recovery on the deleted files is your only chance and the more it gets used the less likely a successful recovery of deleted data is.

 

Sorry for your data loss.

Another relatively risk-free step you can try is to undelete the original files from the PC's internal hard drive (to be safe; however, back up any new data first). Here is a free program I have successfully used from the Major Geeks' download site; it works with all versions of Windows:

http://www.majorgeeks.com/FreeUndelete_d4407.html

When you "delete" files it doesn't actually erase them; it just markes the hard drive space as available. Provided new files haven't been written over the deleted ones, you should be able to get most pictures back. Office files (Word, Excel, etc) are trickier: Although it will appear they are restored, they may be corrupted to the point MS-Office can't open them (if any others have ideas on how to avoid this please post them).

Depending on the amount of files and your PC's speed, this process may take a day or longer to complete. Before starting it, be sure any power saving options (Sleep, Hibernate, Auto Power Off) are disabled. You will not be able to use the PC while the program is attempting to undelete files from the internal drive. You will have to restore the files to a second drive (internal or external); be sure the drive is large enough to handle everything if the restore is 100% successful.

If this, along with TimW and Q's ideas don't solve the issue, you'll have to decide how valuable the lost data is.

If you've ruled out a bad power supply or a USB issue with one PC, there are some programs in the downloads section that can attempt to recover the data from the crashed external drive. There is, however, a risk using these on a defective disk: If they don't work there is a chance they can make recovery of the data harder (if not impossible) if you go to the step below.

There are professional data recovery services (check your local PC store for details), but the cost can run into hundreds of dollars.

If you have priceless files and want to add an extra layer of backup protection, consider an online backup service like Carbonite. It runs about $55 USD per year and allows unlimited backup of files from a single PC.

In addition to drive failure issues, online backup protects you in case of fire, theft or natural disaster. My house was broken into last year; the thieves got both the PC and the external backup drive. Had it not been for Carbonite I would have lost ten years of writing, photos and music.

 

Thanks for the replies peeps, i hear ya!

Yeah yeah back up I know, basically, because I have so much junk I needed somewhere else to put them to free up computer space, but I do see the back up logic, my logic was 'kinda waste of space though, keeping 2 copies of everything', boy I could kick myself now!

I don't want to crack open the external as I plan to send it back and get my 60quid back!

Okay recovery, I have been reading up on it and is it really possible to put everything back?? Paying for it to be done is out of the question, I don't have pennies nor can justify paying out at the moment. So I will begin a recovery from the suggested link download, fingers and toes crossed for me!

later gators & Cheers!

 

They're crossed, if the recovery doesn't work but, you may have to get on the phone and tell the Siemens the situation, and inform them you need an a Return Authorisation number and authorisation to extract the HDD in order to recover your data, and if they say no, spray em till they do ...

 

I would implement what TimW advised before you attempt the other suggestions. I have a external that will not work on this rig but does in all other Desktops and Laptops.

 

Please don't shoot the messenger on this: The odds of getting Siemens or any other HDD mfr. to attempt a free data recovery on a drive are basically nil.

Although this may vary in warranties outside the US, every manufacturer's warranty in The States specifically excludes data loss or recovery from the company's liability. When I worked in retail, I made calls on behalf of customers to both Western Digital and Seagate begging them to attempt data recovery under warranty for a customer. Although the call center reps were sympathetic, they had no authority to offer this service for free.

I have my fingers crossed that either TimW's solution or the link I posted will help get your data back.

On the data you recover, I would attempt to keep at least two copies. If using an online backup service is too pricy and you don't have room to keep one copy of the files on the existing internal drive, purchase a second external drive when the budget allows it. If fire or theft protection is desired, you can store the second external drive at a friend's or relative's home as an off-site backup.

Good luck - I hope you recover all your data.

 

Just as an aside: if you're interested in knowing how much it might cost for a forensics lab to recover your data, you could always use DriveSavers' toll-free number or email form for a free estimate.

 

I do agree, I still work in retail and am in charge of both the IT department and the Returns department lol ... every now and then, I see customers get lucky with manufacturers, but I agree most of the time there's not much you can do. But hey, its worth a try