HDD Fail, cannot access through USB

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Carbon03

Honorable
Jul 26, 2016
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10,510
Greetings,

A co worker gave me a laptop hdd to try to recover. I plugged it in to my PC running Windows 10 with a sata to usb. He was running Windows 7 at the time, not sure if that will matter here. My PC recognizes the drive, but when trying to access it it will lock up Windows Explorer all together. The drive still shows after I have ejected it but with a blue question mark over it.

The person who gave it to me said that they got a black screen when booting and it said "Primary hard disk drive not found. No boot device available. No bootable device--strike F1 to retry boot, F2 for setup utility". He said neither function worked.

They are asking if the drive can be cloned. Does anyone have any experience with this type of situation? Is it possible to still clone it without being able to access the contents? I'm not sure if this has to do with conflicting OS's or possible a drive collision when his is plugged in. Any help would be appreciated. Thank you.
 
Solution
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1. Get a windows 7 system with a recovery software installed on it. I use recuva. And sufficient disk space. And get the person who owns the disk.

2. Now, determine what you want to recover.1st try with the recovery software. In cases like file system corruption/ MBR corruption, there is a secondary MBR that with the proper software will let you recover the files. It should at least show you the files. If it works that means that it a software problem & you can use the appropriate software to recover the files. Do NOT try Windows Explorer, and specially not the win 10 version. You may not be able to clone the files, but you should be able to recover files. Do not try this repeatedly.


3. Then if that did not work, I...
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Andy_K

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Jun 1, 2017
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I would expect windows 10 to read any standard windows 7 partition, sounds like its well and truly borked.
Realistically it's either send off to a professional data recovery or chuck it in the bin.

But you could always try a host of data recovery apps, I wouldn't keep your hopes up though.
 
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Neur0nauT

Neur0nauT

Admirable
Dec 1, 2014
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If you place your ear close to the drive when it is first plugged in, does it sound like it is spinning up normally? Or does it sound clicky or clunky? It sounds like the physical disk is either banjaxed beyond repair, or the internal PCB is faulty.

If it cannot be detected even in a bios or via a USB connection, then I would just bin it.
 
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Carbon03

Honorable
Jul 26, 2016
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10,510
Thank you for the responses. The hard drive hums when it starts up and then there is a noise, not quite a ticking noise, but sounds more like running on a treadmill. It seems to be at a regular interval. There is a little bit of a gravely sound when it seems to be trying to read something.
 
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Andy_K

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Jun 1, 2017
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Yeah that sounds like the head is trying to seek and not getting anything back. :(
I'm afraid its toast...
 
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drajitsh

Distinguished
Sep 3, 2016
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1. Get a windows 7 system with a recovery software installed on it. I use recuva. And sufficient disk space. And get the person who owns the disk.

2. Now, determine what you want to recover.1st try with the recovery software. In cases like file system corruption/ MBR corruption, there is a secondary MBR that with the proper software will let you recover the files. It should at least show you the files. If it works that means that it a software problem & you can use the appropriate software to recover the files. Do NOT try Windows Explorer, and specially not the win 10 version. You may not be able to clone the files, but you should be able to recover files. Do not try this repeatedly.


3. Then if that did not work, I have a possible solution which has worked for me. Wrap the disk in an antistatic bag tightly and keep it in the freezer. Now discuss with the owner what he/she wants to recover. Get the drive, and plug it in. you only have a minute. Quickly, copy files in order of their importance. Once the drive stops sending data, only a data recovery specialist with a clean room facility, and physical data reconstruction facility will be able to get any more data out of it.

If all this sounds risky, it's because it is. That's why data recovery services charge such huge amounts. If the drive data which has a high economic value attached to it , the information collected in step 2 will help limit the charges. Good luck
 
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