So my F3 1tb just died and nothing is backed up...

Muel · 24 Jan 2011 at 19:04

Howdo all, looking for some advice.

I have two Samsung F3 1tb hdds in my computer, no RAID or anything, just singular drives.

The newest has W7 installed and is working perfectly still.

When I have the working one connected, you can hear the discs spin up when you boot it up, but when I only have the broken one connected, it doesn't spin up.

Typically being a useless student I hadn't backed anything up, but fear not! Nothing that important on there, it only had video on it. Some of it I shot of me on my bikes but I have the edited videos online. Most of it was just telly and films.

Where do I go from here? I know I'll have to send it back on warranty, (if it's still in it), but how about getting my stuff off it? Not the end of the world if I can't, but it's got over 750gb of stuff on there. I'd rather have it back.

Cheers!

dustofnations · 24 Jan 2011 at 21:27

Unless you are willing to fork out a fortune, the chances of you seeing your data again are approaching nil unfortunately. Recovery services are usually only worth considering in cases that extremely important data is present and needs to be recovered at all costs.

Even then, it is highly dependent on the type of failure. If there has been a severe head-crash then chances are still very poor, versus a simple failed motor which is a relatively simple job comparatively.

If you are worried they might repair the drive and find videos on it, I wouldn't be too concerned. It is always cheaper for them just to replace it as far as I am aware.

Sh4rkie · 24 Jan 2011 at 22:45

It's worth a try with some software recovery tools as it might not be a total loss depending what's wrong.

Google around for "free recovery hdd software"

Not used it but reads well = http://www.geckoandfly.com/3163/cra...isk-data-recovery-software-tools-and-service/

Good luck.

Scuzzy · 24 Jan 2011 at 22:57

A few peeps on here have used the freezer method !! It all depends on how much you want your data back....

But this only helps if your getting power to your drive, search the hard drive threads.. For more info

JonJ678 · 25 Jan 2011 at 00:13

It's probably a write off. Sending it off for data recovery is likely to be expensive and ineffective. RMA it, and invest the £60 or so in a backup hard drive for next time.

DoubleCheese · 25 Jan 2011 at 09:35

You could try Spinrite before you bin it. The site looks like its never been upgraded from Windows 98 era, but its supposed to be good recovery software.

Muel · 25 Jan 2011 at 12:27

Software won't work yet unfortunately, because the discs don't spin at all.

Apparantly taking the drive out and physically spinning it left and right can free the discs off, failing that I'll try the freezer method.

Gonna have a crack when I get in tonight, cheers guys!

If I get it going I dunno how I'm going to get the stuff off. I guess copy it in chunks? most important first?

MikeHunt79 · 25 Jan 2011 at 12:35

If the freezer method fails then try and get hold of a 2nd F3 that is the exact same model.

Prophet · 25 Jan 2011 at 12:37

Give the drive a knock on something solid. Not too hard but enough to jolt it a little. This has worked many times in the past when disk have refused to spin up.

robgti · 25 Jan 2011 at 12:54

Does your computer still boot if the drive is plugged in? I have a F1 drive which died on me last year. Never got round to trying to fix it but I remember if it was plugged in the computer would not boot.

JonJ678 · 25 Jan 2011 at 14:02

Orange Peel said:
Give the drive a knock on something solid.

This makes a lot of sense to me. Certainly more than taking the disks out and giving them a spin by hand. Will remember this suggestions for future reference, cheers orange.

balls · 25 Jan 2011 at 14:15

Freezer trick for a last ditch effort? worked on an old seagate drive of mine.

Sandwich bag with some silica gel packs and then in the freezer for an hour or so.

Heatsinked · 26 Jan 2011 at 15:44

Here is what I have done in the past:

o Place hard drive in fridge for 8 hours.

o Keep hard drive cool during file transfer (place near open window on a cold day).

o Recover files using TestDisk.

Good luck

Prophet · 26 Jan 2011 at 16:36

JonJ678 said:
This makes a lot of sense to me. Certainly more than taking the disks out and giving them a spin by hand. Will remember this suggestions for future reference, cheers orange.

I've done this to nearly every drive have had fail since 1992 and in more than half of the cases it's worked to get the drive booted at least one last time to get the data taken off.

In a few cases it's 'fixed' the problem and the drive has lasted for a long time afterwards.

Muel · 27 Jan 2011 at 15:13

Haven't had chance to get it out yet, I'll get round to it at some point. I've just unplugged it and left it in place for now so it's not going to get any worse.