22 replies to this topic

[MrGrandTheftAuto]

My hard drive crashed!!! It could boot up but it freezes at 'Starting Windows'. I have not been using it cos i dont want to fuck up all my data. This is a laptop drive. REALLY REALLY important work data on it. Called up a data recover company and its too fucking expensive! PLZ HELP! I dont know what to do!! Should i freeze my hard drive in a sealed bag? Im using Ubuntu on a USB right now. Runs fine. Just need to recover my data so i can buy a new drive. The HDD is Hitachi and the laptop is a Sony VAIO. Thanks for the help in advance

[TUN3R]

Wrong section I'm afraid Happy Spaz?

[MrGrandTheftAuto]

Happy Spaz?

Spaz?

[Little_Chestnut]

Nah, its me who gets her panties in a twist over stuff like this (its not that hard to find the right section to put your post in, ... it should have been posted under computer and tech). Anyways, I have heard from people who have tried freezing their crashed hard drive that it really does work. If you cannot afford anything else why not give it a try? You also might be able to take it to a small computer store in your area (I find that they usually actually know what they are talking about and can do more complicated things and don't try to bullshit through it like chain computer stores) and see if they can help. They will probably be cheaper than a data recovery company.

[MrGrandTheftAuto]

Im gonna try freezing my HDD but im worried about moisture even in the sealed bag.

[Little_Chestnut]

Double bag it then, just to be certain!

[BlackListedB]

A laptop drive that is PATA or SATA? A good practice is called BACKUP of your DATA! hahaha If unable to boot, try a USB to HDD accessory, then make sure you use a booting, working drive to access it, in a daisy-chained manner, the same as any connected computer device, memory card or multiple array of Hard Disks inside a PC case. The laptop is 2.5, the standard is 3.5.

Another method is to use the XP Repair if it's XP from Windows, fix the Master Boot Record, something like that, pressing F8, see if you can boot up in a SAFE mode, then run antivirus. It's best you have the AV ware installed already, if not, when connecting to a good working system (drive) move a program to root out Malware to that via the working computer platform

[MrGrandTheftAuto]

Double bag it then, just to be certain!

I was going to

A laptop drive that is PATA or SATA? A good practice is called BACKUP of your DATA! hahaha If unable to boot, try a USB to HDD accessory, then make sure you use a booting, working drive to access it, in a daisy-chained manner, the same as any connected computer device, memory card or multiple array of Hard Disks inside a PC case. The laptop is 2.5, the standard is 3.5.

Another method is to use the XP Repair if it's XP from Windows, fix the Master Boot Record, something like that, pressing F8, see if you can boot up in a SAFE mode, then run antivirus. It's best you have the AV ware installed already, if not, when connecting to a good working system (drive) move a program to root out Malware to that via the working computer platform

Its SATA. Yeah ha ha i didnt backup because the laptops only 4 months old. I use a ubuntu live USB and everything works fine. I tried repairing from Windows 7 CD but its stuck at 'Finding windows installation' or somethinAnother method is to use the XP Repair if it's XP from Windows, fix the Master Boot Record, something like that, pressing F8, see if you can boot up in a SAFE mode, then run antivirus. It's best you have the AV ware installed already, if not, when connecting to a good working system (drive) move a program to root out Malware to that via the working computer platform g like that. I think its malware that caused my HDD to fail. I was randomly redirected to sites whenever i clicked something in Google Search. I tried Malwarebytes Pro, It said it was deleted but when i restarted, it was back again. And yes, i booted from Safe Mode

[Little_Chestnut]

If it was malware that caused your hard drive to fail I highly doubt freezing it will do anything. Freezing a hard drive only helps because it contracts the metal inside of it giving you a small window of opportunity to get information off of it when it fails. If it is any kind of software issue it will not help.

[Spaz The Great]

Best first step would be freezing the drive to prolong what life it may have left, and then trying to get into from another computer. It may not be booting up, but you might still be able to access the drive. They sell all sorts of hard drive USB docks, for both 3.5's and 2.5's. I'd get one that does both, because if you're going to buy one, might as well get one that you might get some more use out of later.

Here's a 2.5 SATA dock, sounds like exactly what you could use. It's only 10 dollars USD.
http://www.newegg.co...N82E16817348028

Or for a couple less dollars, you can try this enclosure.
http://www.newegg.co...N82E16817816015

This is all assuming you can still get into the drive. I mean, at the very least, the computer still recognizes that Windows is on the drive, so it can't be TOO far gone.

[MrGrandTheftAuto]

Best first step would be freezing the drive to prolong what life it may have left, and then trying to get into from another computer. It may not be booting up, but you might still be able to access the drive. They sell all sorts of hard drive USB docks, for both 3.5's and 2.5's. I'd get one that does both, because if you're going to buy one, might as well get one that you might get some more use out of later.

Here's a 2.5 SATA dock, sounds like exactly what you could use. It's only 10 dollars USD.
http://www.newegg.co...N82E16817348028

Or for a couple less dollars, you can try this enclosure.
http://www.newegg.co...N82E16817816015

This is all assuming you can still get into the drive. I mean, at the very least, the computer still recognizes that Windows is on the drive, so it can't be TOO far gone.

Thanks!! I'll buy that dock from Amazon. One question, can you freeze HDD and then clone it? Will it work?

[Spaz The Great]

........ What?

[BlackListedB]

I also own a Sony Vaio laptop, it's one from a pawn shop, with a 60GB PATA, so nothing so new, and it proved very problematic due to cooling it's larger Pentium 4, desktop CPU variety, the K23/25 model Vaio. Anywho, download Prevx CSI for your issues, it will allow you one free cleaning if infected and can search out ROOTKITS, also use Avira FREE version as well, Grisoft offers a free AVS version still.

As far as freezing it, I wouldn't it's metal which can cause water issues and that leads to rust, once it thaws. Optical needs to be dry and dust free in my opin

[MrGrandTheftAuto]

........ What?

...What?

[Spaz The Great]

...What?

I didn't understand your question. What do you mean can you freeze it then clone it? I mean, sure, if you're capable of cloning the disk, then you should be fine. This is ALL assuming the hard drive is still accessible. And remember, it's going to heat up fast, freezing it is very temporary, and only helps while it's still cold.

[MrGrandTheftAuto]

How fast can it get hot? Can I plug the HDD while its still in the freezer?

Edited by MrGrandTheftAuto, 15 October 2011 - 08:51 PM.

[NotYouHaha]

Huh. Sorry, I don't have any tech advice but I've had hard drive problems with the Sony VAIO laptop I'm using atm. It also had a Hitachi SATA hard drive inside. I don't know what it is, but after about using it for 7-9 months, it started having hard drive problems. There were a few BSODs in its time but the major problem for me was that it would also stop loading when it was starting Windows. What I did was either wait a while for it to slowly startup or to just reboot it (and see if it'll load Windows any better the next time). Eventually though, the problem got out of hand (it happened way too often), so I got a new hard drive and transferred my data over. I've been using this new hard drive for a month now. It has more RPM, doesn't have the Sony VAIO software, and has a 32-bit OS installed.

I don't know what caused the problems, maybe it was the laptop, the software, or all the defragging, hard drive partitions, and configuring that I did. It could've been anything, with all the crap I did and put on it. That was just my experience with a Sony VAIO laptop, and I guess I've been relatively lucky, but good luck to you. Hopefully you get everything sorted out soon.

[rockstarrem]

If it's just crashing at the Windows screen try booting a live CD like an Ubuntu live cd (http://ubuntu.com/) and see if it boots and if you can see the Windows partition in the file manager. It might not be the hard drive itself but the actual Windows installation.

[Spaz The Great]

Or, possibly, your Windows is just fucked. I mean, it freezes trying to load Windows, and even trying to repair it, right? That seems pretty logical to me. Pretty much, step one is still trying to access the contents of the HDD.

[rockstarrem]

Or, possibly, your Windows is just fucked. I mean, it freezes trying to load Windows, and even trying to repair it, right? That seems pretty logical to me. Pretty much, step one is still trying to access the contents of the HDD.

Yeah, that's why I suggested booting a live CD.