HDD Failure Help

she haunts me · 03-02-2009, 09:41 PM

Well my primary HDD died on me yesterday.

I came to my computer and I saw a black screen that said some error about the SATA drive 0. I did a couple of restarts and I got the same message. It wouldn't boot up my OS. I took it out and replaced it with another HDD I had lying around. I reformatted the new drive and installed my OS.

I had most of the stuff on my HDD backed up to an external. But there is a lot of stuff I didn't get to back up. Is there anyway I could somehow recover my data on my HDD that failed? Could I try to hook it up as a second drive to see if my OS will recognize it (doubtful)? My OS is still installed on my old HDD so I'm not sure if I could do that or not. The old HDD is still under warranty so is there any way I can wipe my data if it comes to it before I send it for RMA?

I need some insight. Thanks in advance.

**raptor_pa** · 03-02-2009, 10:17 PM

OK yes, you should be able to hook up to another port as a secondary drive. The question is, is the drive still spinning? You should be able to feel it when the machine is started, andis it making any noise? clicking or grinding? If the drive is recognized by the OS then you can just copy your data off. If not but it is seen in disk management, then you could try recovery software r-studio and getdata back are tow of the best, and both run as a demo and show you the files they can recover. Depending on what the damage is, the files may or may not have their original filenames and pths, and some may be corrupt in extreme cases. Once you see which of those two does the best job in demo mode, you can purchase a license to actually recover the files to another drive. Both are less than $80.00. If the drive spins up, once you have your data off, you can zero wipe the disk with d-ban or killdisk to clear the entire surface. Repartitioning and formatting won't really delete your data.

she haunts me · 03-02-2009, 10:25 PM

Thanks for the reply. I'm going to try and hook it up as a secondary drive tonight. It wouldn't matter if an OS is still on there would it? And would I have to set it as a slave drive? Because it used to be my primary HDD. Forgive my lack of knowledge on this. And thanks for the info and tips.

**raptor_pa** · 03-02-2009, 10:38 PM

Shopuldn't matter if there is an OS, if sata there is no slave setting, put it on the second port.

she haunts me · 03-02-2009, 11:06 PM

Thanks again. I popped it in as a second drive but my BIOS still won't recognize it and I still get an error saying it was unable to find the SATA drive before WinXP boots up. It didn't feel like it was spinning up and I didn't hear it making any noise either. It also stayed ice cold after leaving the PC on for a few minutes. I'm thinking it's pretty much cooked and I'll probably have to send it in for RMA.

she haunts me · 03-05-2009, 12:12 AM

Sorry for the double post but I had another question and didn't want to start a seperate thread.

Since SATA's don't get connected as Master and Slave drives are the jumpers important? Western Digital is sending me a new HDD, and the HDD that failed is now missing the jumper. It must have fallen out or something because I saw it in the HDD when I put it in. I also saw it when I took it out, so it had to fall out somewhere. Either way it's gone. I'm worried that WD will see that and refuse my warranty. So can I take the jumper off the new drive and put it on the one I'll be sending them? Would the new drive work without the jumper? If not where can I get a jumper? Thanks.

**raptor_pa** · 03-05-2009, 05:14 AM

The jumper, when on, forces the drive to run as SATA150 off it will run as SATA300. This is for compatibility with motherboard that only support the SATA150 standard. Will the new drive work without a jumper? Depends on your Mobo. Will WD notice? Probably not. You could probably get a jumper at your local PC shop, doubt if Best Buy or any of the big box stores would have them tho.

03-02-2009, 09:41 PM	#1 (permalink)
she haunts me Registered User Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Mordland Posts: 26 OS: Vista SP1	HDD Failure Help Well my primary HDD died on me yesterday. I came to my computer and I saw a black screen that said some error about the SATA drive 0. I did a couple of restarts and I got the same message. It wouldn't boot up my OS. I took it out and replaced it with another HDD I had lying around. I reformatted the new drive and installed my OS. I had most of the stuff on my HDD backed up to an external. But there is a lot of stuff I didn't get to back up. Is there anyway I could somehow recover my data on my HDD that failed? Could I try to hook it up as a second drive to see if my OS will recognize it (doubtful)? My OS is still installed on my old HDD so I'm not sure if I could do that or not. The old HDD is still under warranty so is there any way I can wipe my data if it comes to it before I send it for RMA? I need some insight. Thanks in advance.

03-02-2009, 10:17 PM	#2 (permalink)
raptor_pa Mod Hardware Team Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Central PA Posts: 4,839 OS: XP	Re: HDD Failure Help OK yes, you should be able to hook up to another port as a secondary drive. The question is, is the drive still spinning? You should be able to feel it when the machine is started, andis it making any noise? clicking or grinding? If the drive is recognized by the OS then you can just copy your data off. If not but it is seen in disk management, then you could try recovery software r-studio and getdata back are tow of the best, and both run as a demo and show you the files they can recover. Depending on what the damage is, the files may or may not have their original filenames and pths, and some may be corrupt in extreme cases. Once you see which of those two does the best job in demo mode, you can purchase a license to actually recover the files to another drive. Both are less than $80.00. If the drive spins up, once you have your data off, you can zero wipe the disk with d-ban or killdisk to clear the entire surface. Repartitioning and formatting won't really delete your data. __________________

03-02-2009, 10:25 PM	#3 (permalink)
she haunts me Registered User Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Mordland Posts: 26 OS: Vista SP1	Re: HDD Failure Help Thanks for the reply. I'm going to try and hook it up as a secondary drive tonight. It wouldn't matter if an OS is still on there would it? And would I have to set it as a slave drive? Because it used to be my primary HDD. Forgive my lack of knowledge on this. And thanks for the info and tips.

03-02-2009, 10:38 PM	#4 (permalink)
raptor_pa Mod Hardware Team Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Central PA Posts: 4,839 OS: XP	Re: HDD Failure Help Shopuldn't matter if there is an OS, if sata there is no slave setting, put it on the second port. __________________

03-02-2009, 11:06 PM	#5 (permalink)
she haunts me Registered User Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Mordland Posts: 26 OS: Vista SP1	Re: HDD Failure Help Thanks again. I popped it in as a second drive but my BIOS still won't recognize it and I still get an error saying it was unable to find the SATA drive before WinXP boots up. It didn't feel like it was spinning up and I didn't hear it making any noise either. It also stayed ice cold after leaving the PC on for a few minutes. I'm thinking it's pretty much cooked and I'll probably have to send it in for RMA.

03-05-2009, 12:12 AM	#6 (permalink)
she haunts me Registered User Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Mordland Posts: 26 OS: Vista SP1	Re: HDD Failure Help Sorry for the double post but I had another question and didn't want to start a seperate thread. Since SATA's don't get connected as Master and Slave drives are the jumpers important? Western Digital is sending me a new HDD, and the HDD that failed is now missing the jumper. It must have fallen out or something because I saw it in the HDD when I put it in. I also saw it when I took it out, so it had to fall out somewhere. Either way it's gone. I'm worried that WD will see that and refuse my warranty. So can I take the jumper off the new drive and put it on the one I'll be sending them? Would the new drive work without the jumper? If not where can I get a jumper? Thanks.

03-05-2009, 05:14 AM	#7 (permalink)
raptor_pa Mod Hardware Team Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Central PA Posts: 4,839 OS: XP	Re: HDD Failure Help The jumper, when on, forces the drive to run as SATA150 off it will run as SATA300. This is for compatibility with motherboard that only support the SATA150 standard. Will the new drive work without a jumper? Depends on your Mobo. Will WD notice? Probably not. You could probably get a jumper at your local PC shop, doubt if Best Buy or any of the big box stores would have them tho. __________________