OT Anyone know of a service to recover data off crashed harddrive

[craftytony]

So, yeah, my piece of shizzle hard drive crashed over the weekend. (physical crash, i heard the heads as they scratched across the plates) Does anyone know of a service/company that will recover the data?

I've heard this is VERY expensive...
Geek Squad at Best Buy is telling me they can send it to one of their sites in michigan i believe and looks like it would cost 3 hundo......anyone have any other options for me?????

[SA057]

I think you are talikng thousands not hundreds here. I don't know what Bestbuys can do, but I would want pros doing it if I was spending big bucks. ;)

[Illuminati]

I have seen have ads for this type of service in the back of PCworld magazine. I'll have to look tonight and see if I can find it

[craftytony]

What sucks is that I had all my photos backed up on my iPOD and that crapped out on me about a month ago. And I knew I should have backed everything up to DVD.....

Colinadam ...thanks, if you find anything please let me know...

SA057 yeah I spoke with our desktop team and he mentioned it cost them like 5,800 to recover a 40gig drive...

[FiberLux]

Tony, No its not necessarily huge dollars!!! :)

My most recent desktop crash cost me $300 for a brand new 60gb hard drive with all of the data and software on it. It depends on the ituation, so I'd recommend getting it checked out. The place I went is around the corner from Coral Paradise. Let me know if you want their contact info.......

Good luck!

Boyd

[SA057]

Yea, I have done some forensic computer work in the past and we had the same issues quite often. If you have a contact with the FBI, CIA or DOD they can do it for free. Don't that suck? :rolleyes:

[mhurley]

www.optimumrecovery.com
www.datarecoverycorp.com

Both offer "No Recovery, No Fee" guarantees.

[PSam]

If you have a 2nd computer you should be able slave the damaged HD to retrieve any files from parts that haven't been physically damaged.

I've had this done this once in the past (by a tech at work), and it worked just fine, only lost a few files. I was surprised at how much we actually retrieved.

Good luck. Data loss sucks.

[Racenrich]

THEY MAKE SOFTWARE FOR THIS....i have some if you need it.
of course you'll need another PC to put your drive in to do the recovery, but it works well!

couple frags and i can do it for ya......yet you need to come to my place or UPS the drive to me.

RK

[SA057]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8778576#post8778576 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by PSam
If you have a 2nd computer you should be able slave the damaged HD to retrieve any files from parts that haven't been physically damaged.

I've had this done this once in the past (by a tech at work), and it worked just fine, only lost a few files. I was surprised at how much we actually retrieved.

Good luck. Data loss sucks.

Data recovery is easy and requires no extra software of hardware, but he said "physical crash, i heard the heads as they scratched across the plates" that will require someone taking the HD apart and rebuilding the drive. That will cost big bucks. If the drive is spinning, without excessive noise you may recover some of the data yourself. If not then check out the Pros.

[craftytony]

Thanks everyone....tonight I am going to try and hook it up as a slave drive and see if I can access anything...if not i'll be checking into all these services....

I am wondering if the drive can still be readable, I can boot from CD and it brings me to the C:\ prompt, but when i do a "dir" it won't bring anything up :( so that leads me to believe the drive isn't spinning? But maybe it is just the boot sector that is damaged and if I hook it up as a slave, then maybe I can access some files???

[FiberLux]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8778380#post8778380 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by SA057
Yea, I have done some forensic computer work in the past and we had the same issues quite often. If you have a contact with the FBI, CIA or DOD they can do it for free. Don't that suck? :rolleyes:

Tony, this is GREAT news! Since the DEA and FBI are already looking for you, you can have them do it for free!!! :D

Boyd

[craftytony]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8778646#post8778646 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by FiberLux
Tony, this is GREAT news! Since the DEA and FBI are already looking for you, you can have them do it for free!!! :D

Boyd

I've already been arrested twice boyd....once on my friggin lunch break over a speeding ticket in NEVADA!!!! lol.....i don't like the feeling of cuffs!

I'm wondering if i can get a hookup somehow from the DOD from some of my buds from my military days......
AIR FORCE!!! ;)

[SA057]

DOD "claims" that if it has ever been on the HD to start with then they can retrieve it. No matter what it's condition, but they want tell you how they do it!

[Kmiec123]

Tony, my brother is kinda into that sort of thing. PM if you want his info, he just moved to Plano, and will travel. Carl

[DragonFish]

Well, this is my field so I'll help out a little. From your description it sounds like the hd platters are scratched. There is a good chance that you are just jacked. There are ways to recover data from a drive that has physical damage but it is insanely time intensive. Basically what has to be done is to remove the platters from the drive in a clean room and install them in an otherwise functional drive. Then you need to copy the bits one at a time, sector by sector to a perfect drive. This can take upward of 14+ hours for an average 80GB hd. Then you have to make some sense of the mess. Depending on how much damage is actually done you will most likely just have a big pile of files that you'll have to sort through and determine what is still good. That is why it can take thousands of dollars to do it, it is hard, time consuming and the equipment to do it is expensive. What I would do is see if you can recover anything at all with a free program, and if you can't then it is probably not worth pursuing.

[DragonFish]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8778780#post8778780 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by SA057
DOD "claims" that if it has ever been on the HD to start with then they can retrieve it. No matter what it's condition, but they want tell you how they do it!

Yes, they would love you to think that but I work at a financial institution in the IT dept. and we have to clean our drives before we can dispose of them to government standards. I have a program that writes random bits to the ENTIRE hard drive three times, called Killdisk. When complete it is totally unrecoverable.

[aiko670]

tonya, call me I just had a service do this for me last week.

I'll email you my cell....

[moon jelly]

I have an extra PC if ya need it.

[aiko670]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8781228#post8781228 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by moon jelly
I have an extra PC if ya need it.


Always gotta one up me....

[moon jelly]

Just saw this post after my last post on the hijacker thread. HA HA!

[joroscoe]

Perhaps you might try SpinRite?
http://www.grc.com/spinrite.htm

[craftytony]

Thanks everyone, you guys rock....I actually stayed up wayy too late stopping by fellow reefers places last night and didn't get a chance to test the drive out yet as a slave....i'll hopefully have an update tommorow.....aiky, i'll definitely give ya a ring...and moongoo.....i do have an extra PC, but it won't connect online...i'll just pick up a harddrive on friday hopefully :)

by the way...i have a lot of the stuff backed up on my iPOD which crapped out on me about a month ago...could it be easier to recover from that possibly? I'm not exactly sure what went wrong with the iPOD, and I know it's not the battery as I replaced that, and that didn't solve the issue....

[SA057]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8779274#post8779274 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by DragonFish
Yes, they would love you to think that but I work at a financial institution in the IT dept. and we have to clean our drives before we can dispose of them to government standards. I have a program that writes random bits to the ENTIRE hard drive three times, called Killdisk. When complete it is totally unrecoverable.
I too have some knowledge of computer forensics. As a part of my job I have been to a number of forensic training programs across the country, and conducted a number of investigations involving computer crimes and data destruction and recovery.
What is called totally unrecoverable to the public is not always the same in some forensic settings. There are several "experts" that claim data can be recovered from several layers deep in the platters even if it has been overwritten three times.:rolleyes:

[DragonFish]

Ya, I read that too but I have yet to see it. I suppose in theory the disk could have some sort of electromagnetic "memory" but I have absolutely no idea how anyone could recover from that. Honestly I don't think it is possible unless you have some serious physics skills.

[craftytony]

OK, tried hooking it up as a slave drive last night and NO luck :( It does sound as if it is spinning though....maybe good news.....

[moon jelly]

Hey crybaby. Just stop yer crying and ask Santa for spanking new laptop. You have been a very, very good girl, I mean boy all year. I'm sure if you sit on Santa's lap wearing the pink dress and bat those eyelashes, you will get one.

[craftytony]

That's what I was thinking....commando style!!!!

[aiko670]

Well, than call me Santa.

[moon jelly]

Santa-are you wearing a tutu?

[karenL]

Santa has lots of tats

[karenL]

and loves scotch, scotch, scotch
Santa smells of scotch

[moon jelly]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8807074#post8807074 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by karenL
Santa has lots of tats

But does he have one of a tiny clownfish swimming around his naval?

[karenL]

I could always photo shop 1 if he doesn't

[craftytony]

Just don't sit on my hard drive...it's FUBAR :(

[moon jelly]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8807026#post8807026 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by aiko670
Well, than call me Santa.

Any elves working for you Santa?

[moon jelly]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8807127#post8807127 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by craftytony
Just don't sit on my hard drive...it's FUBAR :(

Well, I don't think Santa wants to sit on your software.

[karenL]

elves with ink?

[moon jelly]

So Knucklehead-What did you end up buying for me for Christmas?

[karenL]

Knucklehead, do you have ink?
piercings?

[ostrow]

I did not read through this entire thread, I confess. But I had a service recover a drive for me and it was under $200, they were fast, great customer service, and I was thrilled.

CBL Data Recovery
1-888-765-0220

[craftytony]

Thanks ostrow...i will give them a try....was it a physical crash as in the platters were scratched?

[karenL]

I'm not sure you can post that name and number
did you check to see if this place has been banned from RC
not quite sure how to use the word but is there shilling going on?

[moon jelly]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8807426#post8807426 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by craftytony
Thanks ostrow...i will give them a try....was it a physical crash as in the platters were scratched?

The Platters??? Wasn't that a band from the 50's!

[karenL]

speaking of the Platters
have you ever tried the shrimp platter at Red Lobster?

[FiberLux]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8807238#post8807238 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by moon jelly
So Knucklehead-What did you end up buying for me for Christmas?

Hi Moon Jelly, it's always so nice to hear from you or your bratty co-worker....... You know, I spend way too much time reading these hijacked threads, so I get very little time for shopping! LOL

I do hope you have a wonderful Christmas, just stop all of that shilling for Tonya! You know the saying, "Guilty by Association!"

I think I will definitely buy myself something in your honor for Christmas, it may not be the same as actually giving something to you, but then I'll have these pleasant thoughts about you when I see it in the reef! :D

Knucklehead

[karenL]

after that comment knucklehead, I'm glad I didn't vote for you

[ostrow]

KarenL you have had too much coffee. Or egg nog.

Tony: I forget how it had gone bad. Was a smallish drive (10G?) and a few sectors were lost.

[karenL]

I could sure go for some coffee

[moon jelly]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8807685#post8807685 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by FiberLux
Hi Moon Jelly, it's always so nice to hear from you or your bratty co-worker....... You know, I spend way too much time reading these hijacked threads, so I get very little time for shopping! LOL

I do hope you have a wonderful Christmas, just stop all of that shilling for Tonya! You know the saying, "Guilty by Association!"

I think I will definitely buy myself something in your honor for Christmas, it may not be the same as actually giving something to you, but then I'll have these pleasant thoughts about you when I see it in the reef! :D

Knucklehead

I am so confused! There are so many hijacked threads, I keep forgetting which one I am on! fingernails, tatoos, computers, tank pics. It is crazy!!!!

How about buying me a TDS meter?
If you need non-tank ideas for a gift, I would not mind a pearl necklace. Maybe with matching earrings.
If none of these work, and you need to buy something for your tank, how 'bout a pretty pink acro with green tips, just like Tonya's.

[karenL]

Hey knucklehead
I know I asked for a ASM G4, but if it's not to much troulbe could you return that and give a nail clipper
My nails keep chipping and breaking off in the ice

[moon jelly]

why don't you get all your fingernails ripped out and get fake tatooed nails on your fingertips. then you have no worries about chipping your nails and having them fall into the ice cooler.

[karenL]

that's kinda like your trademark thing
I hate copying
I need to be original

[panmanmatt]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8807088#post8807088 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by moon jelly
But does he have one of a tiny clownfish swimming around his naval?

Like this?

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v637/silverseahorse/Sexy%20Pirate%20People/i00066.jpg

[moon jelly]

Can't see anything, work blocked it out. Is it a foto of Karens tats on her tummy?

[karenL]

Matt, you at home?
I'm at work, working pretty hard too
let moon jugs no her pt is setting off the alarm, and it might be a good idea to check on her

they block pics at work
is that a pic I would recognize?

[panmanmatt]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8809747#post8809747 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by moon jelly
Can't see anything, work blocked it out. Is is a foto of Karens tats on her tummy?

Well then I think you need to leave work and get home so you can catch up on all these pics.

As for your question, you'll have to go home to find out. ;) :D :strooper:

[panmanmatt]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8809756#post8809756 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by karenL
Matt, you at home?
I'm at work, working pretty hard too
let moon jugs no her pt is setting off the alarm, and it might be a good idea to check on her

they block pics at work
is that a pic I would recognize?

Yup I am home. See my response in the OT thread for explanation.

Well then I too think you need to get home to see the pics. You may recognize it, may not. I also have a pic of another certain tat that may not be appropriate for this site. ;)

MJ, go tend to your patient so the bells will stop going off in karen's head.

[moon jelly]

I have been asking to be sent home for several hours but no one is letting me!!!!!!

[panmanmatt]

Well then quit asking and just go. What's the worse they can do, fire you? Who else would put up with karen if you weren't there?

[moon jelly]

Thats true-no one would put up with her and ........there is a nursing shortage!

[karenL]

I think they pay her extra to work with me

[panmanmatt]

Well then why aren't you home yet?

[moon jelly]

Cuz she is super nurse!

[karenL]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8809916#post8809916 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by moon jelly
Cuz she is super nurse!

It's true, I have a cape

[panmanmatt]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8809972#post8809972 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by karenL
It's true, I have a cape

But do you have the tights to match?

[karenL]

yes I do
why do my patients need me so much?

[moon jelly]

She has tights, commando style

[karenL]

is this the thread about hard drives, finger nails, manderin oranges, or hi jacking

[aiko670]

where am I?
Who are you?
What happened?

[moon jelly]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8810903#post8810903 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by aiko670
where am I?
Who are you?
What happened?

In a thread of RC
Moon Jelly
Went off topic

[aiko670]

why

[moon jelly]

Hijacking season. If you can't hijack your friends thread, who's can ya hijack?

[aiko670]

Tonya, were you able to recover your midget porn?

[moon jelly]

If not, no worries. Knucklehead has a backup for him.