HELP please!!!

Crash Test Zombie · 27 Dec 2017 at 15:48

Hi guys,

I'm looking for some help because I think I've lost everything. My desktop was made by Overclockers about 5 years ago and I've never had a problem with it until today. It was working fine on Christmas Eve and I went to turn it on today and was greeted with this screen :

https://www.dropbox.com/s/f77des4pveo6e4a/20171227_145705.jpg?dl=0

I did nothing it booted up after a couple of minutes and allowed me to log in to Windows. Problem was that when I logged on, I didn't have my storage drive.

I have two hard drives - a Samsung SSD which stores the operating system and any programs and a Seagate Barracuda SATA for any storage (pictures, music etc). The SSD is clearly still working as I can log on to Windows but the SATA isn't being found - it's like it's disappeared.

I've got into Device Manager and it's not there. I've unplugged it then plugged it back in again and still nothing.

Can anyone help? Any ideas?

Thanks in advance.

Marak · 27 Dec 2017 at 16:41

Check if the drive appears in the BIOS.

From your post I suspect you have not gone into the BIOS before if you were surprised by the screenshot on your Dropbox page, but if you turn the PC off then turn on again and keep pressing "DEL" from the moment you press the power button you should get into the BIOS. Have a look around and there should be a boot section which will show you which drives have been recognised by the motherboard. If it's not showing there then it's probably borked.

Alternately if you have an external drive caddy you may be able to connect it externally via USB and see if the PC recognises it. If you don't have this someone that you know probably does.

Sounds like it's just gone poof though I'm afraid, which if you haven't made regular backups is going to be one of those painful learning experiences for you that we have all had at one time or another. Sorry mate.

Crash Test Zombie · 27 Dec 2017 at 17:19

Marak said:
Check if the drive appears in the BIOS.

From your post I suspect you have not gone into the BIOS before if you were surprised by the screenshot on your Dropbox page, but if you turn the PC off then turn on again and keep pressing "DEL" from the moment you press the power button you should get into the BIOS. Have a look around and there should be a boot section which will show you which drives have been recognised by the motherboard. If it's not showing there then it's probably borked.

Alternately if you have an external drive caddy you may be able to connect it externally via USB and see if the PC recognises it. If you don't have this someone that you know probably does.

Sounds like it's just gone poof though I'm afraid, which if you haven't made regular backups is going to be one of those painful learning experiences for you that we have all had at one time or another. Sorry mate.

Thanks for the reply, much appreciated.

I had a look in the BIOS but couldn't see it anywhere. The reason I posted the screenshot is I never normally see it, I turn my PC on and it takes me straight to the Windows log in page within seconds. Does this screen normally appear when there's a problem with something plugged in to the motherboard?

I don't have an external drive caddy but it might be an idea to get one and give it a go.

If it has gone, can anyone recommend a data recovery service?

DampDog · 27 Dec 2017 at 17:29

At 5 years old it might just be that that the battery supporting the CMOS memory might need replacing. A couple of years back mine did something similar.

Crash Test Zombie · 28 Dec 2017 at 17:15

I tried an external drive caddy but no joy I'm afraid.

I took it into a PC repair shop, they plugged it in and it started clicking. They said that the heads need replaced and quoted me £440. From what I've seen online, this seems about the norm?

Rroff · 28 Dec 2017 at 17:21

Is that a complete data recovery to a brand new drive?

Crash Test Zombie · 28 Dec 2017 at 17:45

Rroff said:
Is that a complete data recovery to a brand new drive?

Yes. Decent price?

bledd · 29 Dec 2017 at 13:04

https://home.krollontrack.co.uk/

In future, take backups.

SMN · 9 Jan 2018 at 09:52

Crash Test Zombie said:
I tried an external drive caddy but no joy I'm afraid.

I took it into a PC repair shop, they plugged it in and it started clicking. They said that the heads need replaced and quoted me £440. From what I've seen online, this seems about the norm?

Replacing the heads... I genuinely lolled when i read this, and then i checked Google and wait..its now a thing?! I like to think I am very knowledgeable in storage having worked in enterprise storage for years, and theres no way i'd recommend attempting to replace any internal components of a sealed HDD. I'd put your success % at... 0.001%? Any spec of dust, any grit, dirt, breath, etc that gets on a platter and its done for. Theres a reason they are built in air-tight, dust free environments by robots - not by hand in a 'repair shop'.

OP, it sounds like the HDD is dead i'm afraid. If you go into BIOS and go to 'boot options', does it show up as an option there? If not, its dead. If it does, it sounds like some OS issues. Go through the standard investigation - check if the disk shows in device management, etc. Whatever you do, dont p*** £450 down the drain on a 'head replacement', jesus...

bledd · 13 Jan 2018 at 11:51

^meh, I've fixed 'stuck head' on 3 drives in the past by opening them up and moving it. I did warn the owner that it's a destructive process that could leave the drive unrepairable.

Open up, move the needle, close the drive and hey presto it lives.. quickly copy the data and pray

If it was vital data or they could afford the expense, then I'd pass then on to a professional.

AyeAyeAhoy! · 16 Jan 2018 at 21:22

There's always the old stick it in the freezer trick...