retrieve data

is there any way to retrieve harddisk info back as i got important doc inside.my pc got boot up primary harddisk error.
please advise soon as i need to get important data
it got beep beep sound too. i tried to use the harddisk in external disc and it just shut off

There are various companies that specialise in recovering data, but expect to pay a LOT of money for such a service - probably many times the cost of a new drive.

If the data is important to you, why don't you have backups?.

Thanks! Is there any way to retrive the data back ourself?

shermaine said:

Thanks! Is there any way to retrive the data back ourself?

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There have been various pieces of software sold for such purposes, but I've no idea how effective they are?.

You might also try buying an identical drive, and swapping the platter(s) over - but this if fraught with danger, and costs you the price of a new drive which you destroy.

my harddisk is maxtor athena....and under bios, it's still able to detect the maxtor athena model, but can't view it at all and it keep having clicking sound

or is there any free bootup available that can help it?

shermaine said:

my harddisk is maxtor athena....and under bios, it's still able to detect the maxtor athena model, but can't view it at all and it keep having clicking sound

Click to expand...

I have had a couple of disks fail in that mode (i.e., clicking). As Nigel suggests, it is an expensive operation to recover the data and may only be partially successful. I did that once. Then, I learned my lesson about back-ups. Next time, I just opened the disk out of curiosity. The surface was physically scratched, apparently by the reader/writer head. The unit ID information may be in PROM or other solid memory, not on the disk per se, and does not prove the disk is being read. John

Clicking is bad

Clicking means there is a problem mechanically - software recovery program probably won't do the trick (unless as other suggest, you pay the big bucks and send the HD off to a data recovery company). One thing to try (and you may have tried it already) is to add it as a slave drive on another computer (if you dont have a 2nd pc, maybe a friend will let you do this on theirs) and boot from their hard drive and see if you see it as a second disk. Chances are this won't work since the clicking, but it may be worth a shot

One thing I have tried several times and it only worked once was to place the HD in a ziplock bag and stick it in the freezer for a few hours. Then quickly plug it back and and be ready to copy your data - if it works you probably dont have long to get the data.

As an extreme last ditch effort when all is lost anyway. You can try dropping the drive flat on the ground from a foot or 2 height. Chances are very slim but i've heard of a drive being accessed after doing that. Again, if it works copy your data quickly!

Good luck!

Glen M