Failed disk. Can data still be recovered?

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skitsofrenic

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Sep 11, 2010
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I'm trying to help a friend recover his data from a laptop that won't boot. Seems like the problem is the hard disk failing.

It is a HP laptop and the error message i get is #10008 Replace Hard disk 1

The memory diagnose passed with a 100% but the hard disk diagnose stops at 6% and the error message pops up.

Is there still hope for recovering data form this disk? He has some precious photos and videos on here that he would really like to keep.
 
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zink1701

zink1701

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I'm assuming the system will no longer boot. You may be able to recover files ect but you will need to remove the drive and install it in a working machine. Access the drive like you would any other and transfer any wanted files ect to a good HDD.
 
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Boogieman_WD

Boogieman_WD

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Hey skitsofrenic. This sounds unfortunate indeed. In cases like this when the hard drive is in pretty bad shape or you're in doubt that it might fail, you should backup the important data first and then run diagnostic tests on it. I'd recommend that you try the drive with a different computer to see if it's recognized and if you can recover the data. You could also try to access it via Linux Live USB/CD or try a few data recovery programs like the ones listed in this thread: http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/forum/id-1644496/lost-data-recovery.html
If this doesn't work your most reliable solution would be a professional one, such as a data recovery company.

Hope that helps.
Boogieman_WD
 
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skitsofrenic

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Thank you so much for the replies!

I know how important those data are to my friend so I want to do anything I can to try and help him with the recovery.

You guys both suggested that I try hooking up the drive to a working computer to see if it can be accessed through it. Could you guys help me by explaining the method in a detailed step by step instruction?

For example, how would I hook it up to the machine, would I hook it up to a desktop or a laptop, where would I go to see if the hard drive is recognized and is accessible, and any other steps!

Again, thank you very much!!
 
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Boogieman_WD

Boogieman_WD

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Sure thing. It would be best if you could use a desktop and if you can connect it directly to one of the motherboard's SATA connections. Here's a video on how to do that: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kt_XwDL0qjU. It's about installing a WD drive, but this goes for all SATA interface HDDs.
As for how to see if it's recognized, you can just see if it shows up in Windows Explorer, but if the drive is acting up, it might not be detected there, then you should check if it's recognized in Disk Management. You can see how to open Disk Management in the same video.
Another option for you to connect the drive is via a SATA to USB cable externally. This is a cable which connects SATA drives to USB ports. Some other external connection options would be an HDD docking station or an external enclosure.

I'd suggest that you watch the whole video tutorial before you start the procedure.
Please follow the video only until the openning of Disk Management so that you can check if it's recognized and do not initialize, partition and format the HDD
 
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skitsofrenic

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Thank you very much! I don't have access to any computers right now but I am visiting home during spring break in a couple days. I will use my brother's custom built pc to see if I can get anything out of this drive.

I will update this thread if I ever get more questions and also with the results. Thank you very much for your help!
 
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Boogieman_WD

Boogieman_WD

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No worries mate, I hope you're able to recover the data. Fingers crossed.

Good luck!

PS: You could also connect it internally to a laptop if it has a second HDD slot or an optical drive (this would require removing the DVD/CD-ROM and using its SATA connection), but you'll have to consult with the laptop's manual on how to open the 2nd HDD slot (in case it has one) or how to remove the optical drive.
 
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fzabkar

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@skitsofrenic, the first thing you should do is to determine the physical state of the drive using a tool such as HD Sentinel or CrystalDiskInfo. Look for reallocated, pending, or uncorrectable sectors.

If the drive has physical problems, then I would clone it with a tool such as ddrescue which understands how to work with bad sectors. Then I would run data recovery software against the clone, if necessary.
 
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