Remember to backup

Looks like I need to format it and I don't want to just in case it makes file recovery more difficult.

Has anyone sent their hard drive off to Ontrack? How much did it set you back?
Cheers.
 
I always back up important stuff like work and gamesave files. Things like DivX movies and stuff normally either get burnt to DVD or copied to a different machine, thus backing them up.

Things like programs are a right ***** to install after a format, especially if you can't remember what progrmas you had installed. I remember reformatting my PC several months ago and it taking me the best part of 3 months to install everything - I'd be using the PC, want to use a program and think "oh heck, I forgot to re-install it!", thus commenses the hunt for install cds etc.

I solved the problem by having Windows + drivers/updates + essential programs (Office) on a bootable Ghost IMG on a DVD. My computer acts slow, I simply back up work/savegames, take a sshot of installed programs, then format + ghost my data back onto the HDD. Run windows update/driver updates, install other programs/copy data back to HDD. Job done.
 
If its really important Uni work etc you may have to bite the bullet and pay a data recovery company to recover it. Costs a small fortune though.

Despite backups and storage being my line of work, I've never got round to backing up my data drive. I should really, not really professional to be a backup specialist who doesn't back up his own stuff :D

The other side of backups is when people think their stuff is backed up the second they create it. Had a user once phone up and say he prefered the earlier wording of a draft he had created half an hour earlier and was wondering if we could restore to that version :eek:
 
Ken said:
I just sent Ontrack an email and they'll return with a quote.

http://www.hosthideout.com/showpost.php?p=44265&postcount=21 :eek:

So I'm looking at £60 for a breakdown of what can be recovered and then up to £1300 for the recovery.

****
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As I'm aware you only pay a huge amount if you've gone and set the drive on fire, dropped it out of a plane and then run it over with the car :D. The cost they incur (apart from their profit) is usually getting an identical drive with which to rebuild yours if its physically destroyed. For example replacing the drive heads, controller board etc. If, as it sounds like, its just data corruption, it will be relatively cheaper. Its still going to cost you a few hundred though.

Have you tried any recovery programs? If its just data corruption you may be able to rescue it.
 
fatiain said:
**** indeed, is this data *really* that important?
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I can live without it. Didn't expect it to be that expensive.
SiD the Turtle said:
As I'm aware you only pay a huge amount if you've gone and set the drive on fire, dropped it out of a plane and then run it over with the car :D. The cost they incur (apart from their profit) is usually getting an identical drive with which to rebuild yours if its physically destroyed. For example replacing the drive heads, controller board etc. If, as it sounds like, its just data corruption, it will be relatively cheaper. Its still going to cost you a few hundred though.

Have you tried any recovery programs? If its just data corruption you may be able to rescue it.
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If it's just data corruption, am I correct in saying that all they'll do is use their own software? I'm trying their Easy Recovery Pro now and in three minutes time, I'll have a list of what can be recovered.
 
Try a bootable Linux disc (Knoppix) and run from the disk; should give access to the bad drive; recovered a mates photos this way after everyone else had failed.

A lot cheaper too ;)
 
singist said:
Try a bootable Linux disc (Knoppix) and run from the disk; should give access to the bad drive; recovered a mates photos this way after everyone else had failed.

A lot cheaper too ;)
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Cheers :)

ftp://ftp.knoppix.nl/pub/os/Linux/distr/knoppix/

I'm downloading KNOPPIX_V3.8.2-2005-05-05-DE.iso right now. I take it that's all I need? The drive is still unformatted. Will Knoppix still see it or do I need to format it? Sorry, totally new to Linux.

Easy Recovery Pro ended up listing only 19GB out of the 120GB that was on the drive.
 
Ken said:
I can live without it. Didn't expect it to be that expensive.

If it's just data corruption, am I correct in saying that all they'll do is use their own software? I'm trying their Easy Recovery Pro now and in three minutes time, I'll have a list of what can be recovered.
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Yup. There's is probably as good as the expensive stuff you can buy, but with their experience they'll be able to 'guess' missing bits etc to put the data back together. The good thing about what they do is, as you have mentioned, is to give you a list of what they can recover and how much. So if they can only get what you can see using recovery software, you've only wasted a relatively small about of money.
 
I had a 250gig wd die on me 3 hours after I moved everything to it, I blame it on the packaging as it just had a bit of bubble wrap and poped into a normal envelope :rolleyes: :mad:

Oh well :p
 
Ken said:
Cheers :)

Easy Recovery Pro ended up listing only 19GB out of the 120GB that was on the drive.
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that might not be a problem. I had a similar thing happen with testdisk 6.3 http://www.softpedia.com/get/System/Hard-Disk-Utils/TestDisk.shtml. It only listed so much, but recovered all of the data i had on my 160gb hdd. I think this was something to do with the 'dos mode' it ran in though. I have had a similar problem using dos console to ftp to my server and look at my mp3 files - there were too many files in a folder, and not all were listed.

Someone also recommended getbackdata to me, but I didnt need it.
 
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Ken said:
Cheers :)

ftp://ftp.knoppix.nl/pub/os/Linux/distr/knoppix/

I'm downloading KNOPPIX_V3.8.2-2005-05-05-DE.iso right now. I take it that's all I need? The drive is still unformatted. Will Knoppix still see it or do I need to format it? Sorry, totally new to Linux.

Easy Recovery Pro ended up listing only 19GB out of the 120GB that was on the drive.
Click to expand...

You will need to chat to someone who knows about linux to be able to use the disk .... not too hard though, if I remember.
Leave you HD exactly as it is; boot from the Knoppix cd and use a few commands (can't remember, but someone will help) and you should get access to the HD so that you can get stuff that you need; once you've got the stuff, format and reinstall etc. Good luck.
 
When I first came on these forums I remember a Uni student who was something like 3.5 years into his course and all his work was on the laptop and he'd never backed it up.
The inevitable happened and it cost his dad £500 + VAT to get it back.
 
I've had this undefragged 60gig ide maxtor since 2000 and it's still going strong. Never backed up.

It even had winME for the first 3 years of its life and still survived to tell the tale despite the tendancy of the os to crash badly :eek:
It's been converted from fat32 to ntfs with files on it, installed xp over me without formatting. :D

Loves it.

That said, all school coursework etc is stored in both my tesco email (£18/mo gets you 1mb broadband with 15 pop3 emails each with webmail and UNLIMITED DL/UL :D + 50p/mo extra gets you F-Secure internet security.) and my gmail for both security, and transport as my printer's been playing up for a while(5year old photosmart 1215).
 
i haven't made any backups for a long time, am going to get another hDD again I think when I get paid next to match up with my 160 gig main drive and have some SATA 2 RAID going.

Might be a good idea for me to back some stuff up though, don't really fancy loosing all the data on my media drive.
 
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