PC fell on side, Hard Drive OS is gone

[raiden1701]

My PC fell over onto its side the other day while I was downloading some stuff. Now Windows 7 doesn't load at all and trying to repair shows no OS anymore. When I slave the drive I can't see any partitions or data. But when I run "Recover My Files", It detects all my data with names intact. Is there some way to repair the partition or OS? Or is the hard drive actually damaged?

 

[WyomingKnott]

My personal preference would be to assume that the disk is unreliable, dangerous, and actively hostile to the data. Recover files to another drive immediately, using a clone tool if possible

If you want to try to boot from the recovered data, put the new drive as the only HDD in the system, boot off of the Win7 DVD, and choose a Repair install.

Please note - I stated that this is my personal preference, not something that I can prove is the best approach. Good luck.

 

[John_VanKirk]

I agree 100%. When your HDD is active during an accidental fall, there's a good chance the heads and platter locked lips momentarily causing damage.

As WyomingKnott said, while the disk is still functional, copy all your files to a different HDD, until you can get a replacement for your laptop.
Also well put, he noted there is no perfect or correct way to backup your files, usually it is what worked. Another consideration if you can't clone over the whole disk, is to try Easeus' Data Recovery Wizard (free edition).

The cloning suggestion is best, since most laptops have a hidden partition at the end containing the restore and recovery files to get your system looking like new.

 

[raiden1701]

So if I clone it to a new drive, the PC will boot from it even though this one doesn't boot? And in My Computer the drive letter is there but nothing else, and in Computer Management the drive is: RAW (file system), Healthy (Active, Primary Partition). That would suggest that only the bootable part of the hard drive is messed up.

 

[WyomingKnott]

If you clone to a new drive, some percentage of your files will be recovered. If you are lucky, and that percentage is 100, you should be able to boot after a repair install. You may not be lucky, the number may be small, and you may have to do a complete re-install. We have to see how successful the clone is.

Hey - if you can see "My Computer," then your computer is booting. I thought that you couldn't boot? Did you put the drive in another machine?

 

[raiden1701]

I did put the drive in my other PC. That's how I'm able to retrieve the files. I'll try the cloning idea and get back to you. It might be awhile.

Thanks so far

 

[raiden1701]

Well, the drive officially died. Made some bad clunking sounds and one of the chips burned. I got all the data that I needed I think from my recovery program.

Thanks for the help though