I've Stuffed My Hdds I Think

[910trx]

ok - epic story

because i was having issues with Win 7 installation, i had reverted back to xp as the operating system.

as i have been using my pc for a while i have gathered a lot of random data to which i wanted to keep.

i had the scheme to then set up another small hdd and use that to install win 7 (64 bit) and use it as a master, then use my existing as a slave - this way i can keep my data and try to get around the installation problems i'm having - i mean never have too many hdds

so i plugged in a new hdd drive and started the pc and put in the 7 disc

the pc randomly restarted and i repeated the process (like wtf?)

windows asked me to choose a hdd for installation but no drives were shown and kept asking for drivers (another wtf) i tried the xp disk and recieved a message statign the drive has failed/corrupted or there are no drivers.

i threw in my mother board disk and did an xpress recovery - but states no ide drivers or drives connected.

now both the drives do not appear to start up, humm or anything - not even in another pc...

i have checked the power source and it powers my dvd so that is not the problem.

i think the "restart" was due to a short from the power source which was powering both my hdds.

ive tried ALL bios settings

reloading drivers (wont work because it wont detect a hdd)

so i'm thinking i have buggered it up big time and now lost all my data

i will return the hdd to the shop i got it from because clearly there is an issue and i'm considering trying to buy another hdd in the mean time to see if that one works (could always off load it to a mate or Dad)

is there something very basic i have missed to make them work?

so recap

hdd(s) now do not work in another pc, dont spin up, bios does not recognise them

power is ok, sata cable(s) is ok

problem started a random restart of the pc which was unprovoked.

Ideas?

Edited March 1, 2010 by 910trx

[R31Nismoid]

Simply plug the HDD's into another system.

You'll soon tell if it's the HDD's or one of a dozen other possibilities.

[D-G]

Does the other system your putting it in have the same OS as your original?

Edit: Your new system runs a different one to that which is on the hard drive? That's the only thing i can think of without saying your hard drives are just gone. This happened to me with my old 80gb HDD. The problem originally was me running XP Pro on the hard drive and trying to put it in a Vista computer so they didnt communicate and i couldnt get it working. So that could be it?

Edited March 1, 2010 by D-G

[910trx]

i put it into another system with the same operating software and none work

even in that system either of the two suspect ones are not recognised as a slave to the other pc

completely undetectable

that and the fact there is not tell tale signs (sound, vibration, the gyroscope effect of the spinning hdd when you twist it) to indicate that the drive is even spinning.

i think they are shagged - which sucks because the whole intent was to preserve my data in the first place

Mega facepalm

is it worth pulling apart to see if a connection somewhere has fried? or not that simple...

[R31Nismoid]

just run them as primary, one has a O/S ye?

I wouldn't slave them off something else.

It could even be something as simple as which SATA port you are using... i had a massive problem when setting up RAID0 a while ago wit two drives and then having 2 other spare ones connected.

I had to plug them into specific ports which the manual had zero notes/points about so i only worked it out off trial.

So could be things like that, even cabling used etc.

[910trx]

might take it to the geeks at the local pc store this w/e if i got time

they would probably laugh at me behind my back when i leave because its so simple but who cares its fixed...

[33driver]

if your giving them power and they are not even spinning up I think your in trouble unfortunately

there is some good news though, if the PSU has killed the HDD circuits, its unlikely that platters themselves are damaged, so the data is probably still there, but without the circuits to spin them up, your shit outta luck, You do have options though:

If you can find other drives that are the same model, if you're careful you could switch the circuit boards to repair it and recover the data that way (no gurantees though)

or

If the data is critical, take it to a data recovery specialist, they generally cost a bit, but they do this sort of thing every day so it wouldn't take long to recover, which from your original description, there is a good chance they can get it all back.

This is why I have an online service to back up everything critical to a server in the US, cost me $5 a month for peace of mind (I have currently uploaded about 15gig, but it is an unlimited service and have about 50gig more to upload that is not as critical, so good value)

[Zurlox]

are they sata or ide hdds? im assuming sata, try and get your hands on a sata usb hdd dock and see if that works, make sure you have taken the jumper off the 1.5gb limit pins, in your bios double check your sata ports are set to the correct setting (eg, sata/pata), if all sata ports are set to raid it wont see them at all, unless you have created a raid on the drives. so try a motherboard factory reset again to be sure, and then go over your settings a fourth time...

also try the seagate hdd boot tools, or ultimatebootcd

[12th_man]

is there any way to recover stuff off a busted hard drive?

sorry to semi hijack, but i have a HDD that all of a sudden failed. and any PC i connect it up to, simply wont start.

any ideas?

[75coupe]

there are heaps of way to recover data off HDDs... HHHEEEAAAPPPSSS!!!!

as for the original thread problem, could it be the MBR (Master Boot Record) on the drive is corrupted somehow...

take it back to as simple as you can get, primary drive on a simple setup and see if can be CHKDSK'd start simple work your way up...

[33driver]

12th man - there are heaps of ways as 75coupe said, check my previous comment for a few ideas. If you can get the hdd to spin up then there are a few ways to get data back. Ultimatebootcd is your friend.

There are a few other free apps around and some specialized gear for data recorvery if you know where to look. We do a fair bit of our own data recovery at work, we use write blockers and sometimes a dedicated recovery pc with some funky hardware in it to do it.

At the end of the day though, if the hdd isn't spinning up when given some juice, no software is going to get that data back, which leaves I with my 2 original suggestions.

Matt

[910trx]

ultimate thread revival

got 7 all working n stuff and been using the 160g hdd i bought as a replacement

now its almost full and i need to add a 2nd drive to the mix

b4 i go blowing up the hdd again and hav to start from scratch

wtf do i do?

i dont have any "jumpers" or anything - is this necessary?

all the you tube stuff is for replacing ide drives or is some tool in a basement in the US in the dark replacing his.

everything i read talked about these "jumpers"

what i intend on doing is just adding a 2nd drive

got it all ready to go but reluctant to fire it up incase i blow the arse end out of it once again.

please please i need some very precise step by step instructions as (and always) myself and electronics dont mix

must be my electrifying personality or something, but electrics and me are not compatible.

no matter how dumb the explination may seem i am the noobest of nubs.

and SAU often has a few peeps on here to help

thanks for all the info before guys

Edited May 28, 2010 by 910trx

[910trx]

i'm so amazingly annoyed

i have been researching this all night to try and understand what the hell is going on here

correct me if i'm wrong...

but the installation process for a sata hdd as slave is to

connect it up

turn on

go into bios and see if connected ok

start windows

format it etc

use

i decided to give it a go anyway and the process went like this

connect it up

turn it on

immediately smoke bellows out of the hdd

hdd is fried

wtf!

i'll return it to the place of purchase because unless i have done something wrong -

made sure it was secured b4 starting it in the chassis

double checked all connections

didnt submerge it in water prior installation

and it STILL fries.

OMFG!