HDD crash, file recovery options?

I've read a few threads about getting files back but the MG list seems quite out of date so would appreciate some current advice.

I've had both my primary and back up drive both go bad simultaneously. The secondary holds a synced copy of my docs and photos and is reading in BIOS but not in XP. The primary is a regular XP install and is still booting but blue screens after a few minutes. I use an APC battery backup but my guess is it failed to work correctly and the PC suffered a power loss. Not sure what else would kill 2 drives at the same time? I've ordered a WD Raptor drive to run the OS and 2 drives to store and back up data. I also do back up most of my photos online (I'm a photographer so I have to!) so an happy I can get the most important data (client photos) without too much issue. There is of course a lot of data not backed up online that I'd like to recover.

As the drive still boots I expect to be able to use a Linux Live CD to copy the files off the primary drive and simply back them up from there. I'll get the new drives on Monday but am trying to plan what to do if I'm unable to use a Live CD.

I've used GetDataBack in the past and was impressed with that, but it's over $100 now and I would like to use a free utility, preferably open source. I used photoRec a long time ago and it did get the files back but not the original names. As my photos are stored in client folders with it's important that I get the folder structure back with file names and time stamps. I have to order files by time as multiple cameras are used at a shoot, so file names can be out of sync. Clients order photos using the file names so I need those too. What is the best software currently for my needs?

 

I was just thinkin ... perhaps you should boot from your original CD first and run a chkdsk /r ... in the hope it may rectify some of your errors and make the drives easier to access ...

 

Thanks for the tip. I tried chkdsk multiple times on reboot and from the recovery console and it just keeps getting flagged dirty again and again.

 

Well otherwise, I'm not quite sure. You might just have to wait for someone else to come up with an answer.

 

Thanks anyway. I'm pretty sure the drives are toast but priority number one is to get the data then I'll see if the drives can be saved.