Hardrive error

Hi everyone, not sure if you can help....my laptop started working and I need the info off my hard drive......heres what has happened.....

internal hard drive is WD 3200BEKT I purchased a nexstar lite external 2.5 hard drive enclosure to access the info through another laptop via usb.

My previous laptop was running windows 7 as the OS and temp laptop is running Vista. I have downloaded a couple of apps to find the source of the problem with no luck. I have tried going to computer management and the HD is not found on under the device management under the storage section.

However it does show under USB controllers as USB Mass storage device and also under other devices as an unknown device. I have had error 28 appear but from what i can find while googling it i have not come across a solution.I have tried the freezer trick which did not workand even came across some sites suggesting to change the internal working logic card by purchasing the exact same HD.....I did try to do this but a techy suggested that since it was from a HP laptop that i need to purchase it through HP is this correct or can I just purchase an identical WD3200BEKT with same firmware, etc

Any solutions would be appreciated

thanks in advance for your help

 

Hello and welcome to the MG forums.

I am going to assume that the hard drive has not physically failed completely, and that replacement of the circuit board is not actually necessary ... ? ... based on the limited information supplied.

Data recovery from a difficult situation (for example a failing hard drive or badly corrupted disk file system) is best done with the ailing hard drive attached directly to a computer's motherboard, rather than attached via USB connection. The USB connection is susceptible to data corruption and limits "readability".

Put the ailing hard drive back in the laptop from whence it came and try the following suggestions. The first suggestion is to try booting from a Linux CD or flashdrive to see whether or not you can see and access your files, and simply copy them to an external USB hard drive or flashdrive. This may not be possible if file corruption is severe: If that is the case, then the second suggestion is to attempt data recovery using TestDisk, again run from a bootable Linux CD or flashdrive. (From your description of the situation, I suspect that you will need to use the second suggestion, namely TestDisk.)

Suggestion 1: Use a LIVE Linux operating system run from a bootable CD or flashdrive to access and copy/retrieve files on the hard drive to another media.

***Note: If Linux is able to see and access your files, they can also be retrieved/copied equally well using xPUD (see Suggestion 2) if you wish, rather than using the following instructions and one of the Linux distributions suggested below and possibly having to create two different bootable Linux systems.***

Step 1: Using a working computer:

• If you wish to use a LIVE CD ...
  • Download the Linux version of your choice (usually an .ISO image file).
    • There are many options to use for a LIVE CD. I suggest that you try one of the following:
      • Puppy Linux (download file size 128 MB)
      • Ubuntu (download file size almost 700 MB)
  • Burn the .ISO image to CD: If you do not already have a suitable burning program for writing .ISO images to disc ...
    • Download and install ImgBurn.
    • Ensure that you UN-check the box agreeing to install the Ask toolbar during the installation.
    • Place a new (blank) CD disc in the drive tray.
    • Choose Write image file to disc.
      • Under Source, click on the Browse button: Navigate to and select the .ISO file that you wish to burn.
      • Place a check-mark in the box beside Verify.
    • Click http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d183/AustrAlien_1952/Computer%20Support/imgburnwrite.jpg
  • When the CD has been burned and verified as successful, it will be bootable.
• OR ... if you wish to use a LIVE flashdrive ...
  • Go to UNetbootin - Homepage and Downloads and at the top of the page, click on Download (for Windows) to download the application.
  • Follow the instructions further down the page under the heading Installation & Screenshots.
  • Run the application to download and install the Linux version of choice to your flashdrive.
    • I suggest that you try one of the following:
      • Puppy Linux (download file size 128 MB)
      • Ubuntu (download file size almost 700 MB).

Step 2: Boot the problematic machine from the LIVE CD or flashdrive.

• 
  (You may have to configure the Boot Menu or BIOS Setup Menu to boot first from the optical/CD drive or the flashdrive, which ever you are using.)
• Choose to run the Linux operating system from the CD or flashdrive without making any changes to your computer.
  Do NOT install Linux on your hard drive.

• When the Linux operating system loads ...
  • You will be able to navigate to all the files on your HDD.
  • You can backup your files by copying them to a flashdrive or an external hard drive.

Success? If the partition and your files are not visible from Linux, try Suggestion 2.

==============

Suggestion 2: Using TestDisk, run from a bootable Linux CD or flashdrive, find and retrieve your files to a USB-connected flashdrive or external hard drive.

There are many options, but here are detailed instructions for one method ...

Download GETxPUD.exe to the desktop of your working computer

• Run GETxPUD.exe
• A new folder will appear on the desktop.
• Open the GETxPUD folder and click on get&burn.bat
• The program will download xpud_0.9.2.iso, and when finished will open BurnCDCC ready to burn the image.
  Please be patient: This could take awhile - download file size 63MB.
• Click on Start and follow the prompts to burn the image to a CD.

You will use this CD to boot the ailing computer from.
-----------

Preparation:

• Still on your working computer, download and extract TestDisk to a USB flashdrive:
  • Download xPUDtestdisk.exe and save it to the USB device
  • Double click xPUDtestdisk.exe to extract the contents to your USB device
  • Remove the USB and insert it in the ailing computer.
• Connect to the ailing computer, an external HDD large enough to accommodate your retrieved files.

---------

Using xPUD and TestDisk:

Step 1: Lets run TestDisk to check what we can see in the way of files in partitions:

• Insert the flashdrive with TestDisk in the ailing computer.
• Boot the ailing computer to the xPUD CD.
  • A Welcome to xPUD screen will appear.
• Click on File.
• Expand the mnt icon on the left (click on the little arrow beside the icon).
  • sda1, sda2 etc. ...usually correspond to your HDD partitions if a SATA hard drive.
  • hda1, hda2 etc. ... usually correspond to your HDD partitions if an IDE/ATA hard drive.
  • sda1, sdb1, sdc1 is likely to correspond to your USB flashdrive with TestDisk on it, external USB hard drive etc.
    Note the designation of your external HDD that you intend to save files to: You will need to know this later.
• Click on the folder that represents your USB flashdrive (sdb1 ?)
  • You should see the TestDisk folder showing in the right-pane.
• Click on Tool at the top and choose Open Terminal.
• Type testdisk/testdisk_static and press the <ENTER> key.
  • The TestDisk command window will open.
• Choose [Create] and press <ENTER>
  • TestDisk will now detect all local hard drives.
• Use the arrow (up and down) keys to highlight the disk called /dev/sda if it represents your primary hard drive and press <ENTER>
  • (If your not sure then note everything you see and post it for my review.)
• Select [Intel] and press <ENTER>
• Select [Analyse], and press <ENTER>
• Select [Quick Search] and press <ENTER>
• Press Y.
  • 
    You will see your partitions listed.
    
    (If you do not see all your partitions listed, then press <ENTER> to go to [Deeper Search] and press <ENTER> again to begin the search for more partitions. Please be patient while the search completes: It will take some time.

This is the starting point from which you can investigate the content of each of the partitions listed.


Step 2: Let's look in your <PARTITION> (substitute your own partition name) partition ...

• Use the Up/Down arrow keys to select the <PARTITION>[ partition.
• Press P to list the contents of that partition.
• Use the Up/Down arrow keys to select a folder to explore, from among the list of files and folders.
• Press the right-arrow key to open that folder and see the contents listed.
  • Use the left-arrow/right-arrow keys to move up and down respectively through the folder tree.
    Doing this, you should be able to navigate the contents of the partition and see all files in all folders.

Success?


Step 3: Now, let's retrieve your files from the <PARTITION>[ folder ...

At the root of your <PARTITION>[ partition, use the Up/Down arrow keys to select a file or folder to copy.

• • Note: If you select a folder, the entire contents will be copied!
    I have chosen to start at the root of the partition, but if there is nothing there that you wish to copy, simply navigate to whatever file or folder that you wish to retrieve, and select (highlight) it.
• Press C to copy the item.
• Now choose a location to save the item.
  • By default, I think you will find that the flashdrive on which you have TestDisk will be selected. You need to navigate to the external HDD you wish to save your items.
    
    Navigation could be tricky: Try the following ...
  • Press the left-arrow key, and you will see a list of your hard drives.
    • (In my case, the flashdrive with TestDisk is sdc1, and my external HDD is sdd1.)
  • Use the Up/Down arrow keys to select the hard drive on which you wish to save your items.
    • (If you wish to use a folder on that hard drive, use the right-arrow key to navigate into that partition.)
• When you are sure that you have the correct destination entered, type Y.
  • Be patient: If there is a lot of data to be copied, it may take some time.
• With any luck you will see the message "Copy done!".

Success?
--------------

If you wish to get out of TestDisk and close the Terminal ....

• Press Q repeatedly until TestDisk closes.
• Close the Terminal Window.

 

thanks for your response...much appreciated....I did forget to mention that it does make a buzzing sounds when it is plugged into Usb port...the reason I am using usb is the fact that I only have access to a laptop..I will try your suggestion...thank you very much

 

Try the suggestions and let us know what happens, or if you need assistance.

Good luck.