Tips to revive hard drive

This is a situation that every tech support person has faced or will face at least once: a failed
hard drive.
In this particular case, a user was getting errors like "disk 0 error" and "invalid drive specification."
Here were the other facts in the case:
• The data wasn't backed up.
• The problem came out of nowhere.
• The user had accessed Setup and tried to manually enter the settings for the drive type when
"Auto" didn't work.
• There was no startup disk made by this machine.
Reviving a drive like that one—even if only long enough to copy its data before you throw the
drive in the garbage—is a tough challenge.
When this document was first compiled back in 2001 data recovery was (and still is
for many) a very expensive option.
While the Freeze it, Hit it, and Drop it options are still experimented with by some, the current
size and sensitivity of the newer larger hard drives makes these options extremely risky
and definitely NOT recommended for hard drives with a capacity that’s greater than 1
gig. And even then some of the operation suggested here should be approached with caution.
Getting it wrong by trying to save some money will only end up costing you more if you then
decide to pass on your hard drive to a data recovery company...
If your hard drive does work and you are attempting to recover a FAT or NTFS file
system, then this FREE step by step guide could help you get back your lost files.


Time for an update
When this document was first produced back in 2001 data recovery was (and still is for many)
a very expensive option. While the Freeze it, Hit it, and Drop it options are still employed by
some, the current size and sensitivity of the newer larger hard drives makes these options
extremely risky and definitely NOT recommended for hard drives with a capacity that’s greater
than 1 gig. And even then some of the operation suggested here should be approached with
caution. Getting it wrong by trying to save some money will only end up costing you more if
you then decide to pass on your hard drive to a data recovery company...
There are, broadly speaking three classes of data recovery, Logical, Electronic, and Physical.
• Logical
Where the FAT, NTFS or other file structure has been corrupted either by accident
or on purpose or individual filed or folders have gone missing. The hard drive has
not suffered damage to the components of the hard drive itself.
• Electronic
Component failure on the PCB (the circuit board on the bottom of the hard drive)
in the motor or internally.
• Physical
Internal damage to the hard drive, damaged platters, head crashes, damage to
the motor, or head rack signal amplifier. You need a clean room and plenty of
experience to have any chance of a successful outcome here.
Logical recoveries are becoming an affordable option for those people who are familiar with the
risks involved with data recovery. Software tools that are now available for this task vary
greatly in their capability, complexity and cost.
Careful research should be done before any work is done on the damaged hard drive. If you
are able, get another hard drive and experiment. Format it, Fdisk it, delete files and partitions
and learn how the data recovery software operates under these various conditions.
Before to start work on your own or your clients hard drive back it up, the backup mantra is
one that you all should be familiar with by now! There are tools available to backup (or image)
a hard drive that has been fdisked!! Use them. Ghost software is not suitable for this task,
then perform your recovery attempts on the image not the original


Some electronic data recoveries are also within the capability of many technically minded
people who spend much of their time working around computers. Remember your static strap
when removing PCB boards.
A repair of this nature can be as simple as swapping the PCB board. With a board from a
matching working hard drive. Data recovery companies keep an inventory of many 1000’s of
hard drives for events such as this.
If a PCB swap does not work then the most common problem is that the match was not close
enough. In any production run of a particular model of hard drive there could be as many as
several dozen changes in firmware upgrades, components on the board, etc.
To have the best possible chance all of the code numbers and letters on the top plate of your
drive and its parts donor should be the same. If you have no success then find a reliable data
recovery firm near you as you has done as much as you can.

Freeza IT

From: mpicpu
If this drive isn't spinning up, putting it in the freezer for about an hour will usually get the
drive spinning again so you can copy needed files before the drive warms up again. The first
thing you want to do is run a disk utility like Norton disk doctor or wddiag (if it's a western
digital drive) to verify whether the drive is working mechanically or not. If it is a master boot
record problem, sometimes running Fdisk/mbr will correct the problem. It could also be a
virus, and a program like F-prot will look at the drive as a physical unit. As an A+ PC
technician I have seen this problem many times. Usually if the drive is not making a clicking
sound I am successful in recovering the data.
From: Scott Greving
I've run into this scenario numerous times. One time it involved the main Novell SYS volume
on our HP File Server. I was really sweating as the server would not boot. I took the drive out
and put it in a freezer for 30 minutes. I then reinstalled it into the file server and Presto! I was
up and running. Needless to say I quickly mirrored the drive onto another and got rid of the
bad drive. In stand alone client systems, the method I've had the most luck with reviving
drives from death has been removing the drive, firmly tapping the top of its case several
times, and then re-installing it making
sure all cables are secure. I've had a better than 60
percent success rate with this method.


From: Bill Rankin
1. First some background info is needed:
A. Does the BIOS recognize/see the HD? (Correct drive settings? Disk Manager in use?)
B. What is the OS? (Win 95/NT/Linux/etc.?)
C. What is the partition type? (Fat16/32/NTFS/etc.?)
2. If A. is yes, and C. is Fat16/32, try a boot diskette (Win95/98). A command prompt, a
couple of utilities, and a working parallel port will get your data off safely.
3. If A. is yes, and C. is NTFS; try a new hard drive as C:, load a new NT/NTFS system, and
access the "dead" NTFS drive as the D:. Sometimes the hard drive's onboard controller can
fail, yet be chained to another's board a master/slave mode. Copy the data off ASAP and ditch
the old drive to avoid the temptation to keep it as spare storage.
4. If A is no, try another computer—the BIOS/motherboard/CPU/memory/IO controller may be
dead or malfunctioning. Troubleshoot the computer later when you have time.
5. If all else fails, attempt a drive recovery with R Studio . If successful, copy the data off
ASAP.
6. If the data is EXTREMELY valuable, and if you have a certified clean room/booth (or a
professional service), transfer the disk platters into a exact duplicate working drive. This is a
very costly option due to the requirements of a certified clean room/booth.
7. Last, but not least, PREACH TAPE BACKUPS!
LEGALESE: These techniques have been used by me to recover failed hard drives. Use of any
of these techniques does not in any way bind me, nor any companies associated with me,
liable for your attempts, actions, or losses as your circumstances may be dissimilar or
conditions not covered by the aforesaid instructions. Be sure to get technical advise from a
reliable source familiar with your situation.