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04/04/2006 06:45:59 PM · #1 |
| Well the nightmare finally happened. I think I've lost all my photos... about 10 gigs worth. I had them all on my laptop hard drive, and had them backed up on dvds. I had been having some trouble with my laptop's power supply. It is about 3 years old, and the battery barely has any charge. I noticed that it would switch from "plugged in" mode to "battery" mode even if it was plugged up. I finally figured out I had a loose DC port on the computer itself where I plug the power cord into the computer. Well that was the first problem. But this caused the computer to shut off from time to time whenever it would switch over to battery and the battery would be dead already. All this turning on and turning off of the computer screwed up something else... probably my hard drive. Now when I turn my computer on, the monitor stays black, the fans power up, and then the power lights start blinking simultaneously. The same thing happens if I remove the hard drive. I put the hard drive in a friend's laptop and it would cyclic boot over and over. So I am sending the computer in for service since it is under warranty, but they may replace or wipe the hard drive. I got out my backup dvds of all my photos and they didn't work!! i tried them in 2 different computers and the dvd drive wouldn't read them. I really would like to get these pics back, as there were many on there of my grandfather who just passed away over the weekend. Any help on how to get files off of a crapped hard drive or bad dvd would be greatly appreciated. Thanks! |
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04/04/2006 06:49:09 PM · #2 |
What computer?
Type of harddrive?
Brand of dvd?
Software used to write dvd?
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04/04/2006 06:50:54 PM · #3 |
Sounds more like a power supply problem than a HD problem.
The HD may simply not boot in the other PC because Windows is expecting a different hardware config.. did you get to a Windows start screen or just post-die-post-die crap? Or is it linux?
I would not send in the HD, try to hook it up to a PC (you can get adapter cables for IDE drives) or take it to a local shop to see if they can recover the data before you ship it all off.
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04/04/2006 06:52:56 PM · #4 |
| Before you send the computer in for service, take the hard drive out, and get an external USB attachment drive case. ($15 at CompUSA and other retailers) This will let you plug in the hard drive into any other USB computer. This should allow you access to the files. If not, try putting it in a ziplock, and put it in the freezer for about an hour, and then plug it in. It should give you a chance to get those files off. Once that's done (or completely failed) then ship it in for service. |
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04/04/2006 07:01:54 PM · #5 |
Get Data Back This application has saved my A$$ more than once. It works for All types of drives and discs.
I turned fotomann on to it and he used it to save some files off of a DVD about 2 weeks ago.
Try this it should work for both the Drive and the DVD's
Good Luck! |
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04/04/2006 07:35:04 PM · #6 |
Originally posted by eckoe:
Before you send the computer in for service, take the hard drive out, and get an external USB attachment drive case. ($15 at CompUSA and other retailers) This will let you plug in the hard drive into any other USB computer. This should allow you access to the files. If not, try putting it in a ziplock, and put it in the freezer for about an hour, and then plug it in. It should give you a chance to get those files off. Once that's done (or completely failed) then ship it in for service. |
I second this suggestion -- what've you've described is definitely a power supply problem. An external hard drive case is super easy (and cheap - mine was $20) to purchase and works like a charm. The reason your hard drive didn't work in the other computer was the configuration, but the external case will work because the computer won't be trying to boot from the external drive. It will show up in Windows Explorer just like any other drive -- MP3 player, CD, camera attached via USB, etc. Piece of cake.
With regard to the DVD's, whatever you used to write them may mean that you can only read them from the same drive they were written from. I've come across this with CD's before, just pop them back into the drive they were written from and you should be all set. In your case, you may need to get the laptop repaired first to use the DVD drive, but if you can recover the files using the external case it will be less of a problem for you.
Good luck! |
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04/04/2006 07:45:33 PM · #7 |
| The external HD housing is the correct choice for pulling the info off the hard drive. That will work like a charm. As for the DVD, you need to make sure that the drive you are trying to view them will read the media type. You will notice that DVD media and drives come in 2 types, DVD-R and DVD+4 (actually, there are 4 types, since -R and +R can be either DVD or DVDRW, but that is a different topic). CDs have the same difference in media, however, for many years now, all players are built to read all types. Unfortunately, DVD drives haven't caught up yet. So, if your laptop drive is DVD-R, and the drive you are trying to read them in only reads DVD+R it will not work. It could also be as A1275 said and your burning software marks it so that it is only readable by the burning drive. But do make sure you are trying to read it with a drive capable of reading your media. |
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