Old Hard Drive 'Dead'...

[jdw88rm]

Hi guys, I have an old Acer desktop computer that died a few years ago now. When it did pack in, I got it looked at and the bloke said that the only way to get all my old photos, music, films etc back was to have it sent away where someone will retrieve everything in a dust free environment but would cost a few hundred quid so I didn't bother and just stuck it at the bottom of my wardrobe. My question is, even though it's been inactive for about 6 years now, would I still be able to get all my old stuff back? Many thanks, Jon.

[seedy21]

Hi Jdw88rm and Welcome to FPCH

 

With Data Recovery its really a guessing game, sometimes it works other's it doesn't

 

If the Disk is making abnormal noises it would be a safer bet to get it sent away to a Data Recovery company to put the disks into another Hard Drive.

 

If it isn't you could attempted using a Data Recovery Software like Recuva that is free of charge http://www.piriform.com/recuva

[Plastic Nev]

Hi and welcome to Extreme Tech Support - Free PC Help.

If you remove the hard drive from the old computer and connect it to a working computer you will quickly find out if it is possible to retrieve the data or not.

I assume that being that old there is a good chance the hard drive will be the older standard of IDE, easy to tell as the data cable is a very broad flat one.

There are still plenty of complete enclosures or minimal adapters around to be able to connect to the USB port of a working computer.

 

This is just an adapter for USB data, you would need to supply power to the drive as extra, but just as an example of what is available, maybe cheaper as well elsewhere.

 

http://www.maplin.co.uk/usb-2.0-to-ide-adaptor-35057

 

Nev.

[Synapse]

If you send it away for recovery, many companies will have a look and give you and estimate for free.

 

Cost really is dependent on how much work there is involved, so for example cloning a faulty drive is possible with the right tools, and quite easy for an expert, that is your cheapest option. Then you are looking at a drive being disassembled, and various parts being replaced to enable the platter to be read, time consuming and more expensive.

 

If the platter is not damaged, all your data will be available, it is just down to cost, £500 isn't out of line.

[KenB]

Just to add to what has already been said:

 

I have an old Acer desktop computer that died a few years ago now.

You don't say what "died".

If it was anything other than the hard drive then you should be able to access your stored data yourself.

 

Nev has linked to one example of an adapter which will connect the drive to a USB port on a working PC.

 

There are adapters that come with their own Power Supply - and you would probably need this for a 3.5 inch drive ( from a desktop machine )

 

I would start with this before I sent the drive away to a recovery company.

You could have your pics etc. back for a small outlay :)

[jdw88rm]

Hey, thanks for your replies! The guy I took it too when it stopped working said that the hard drive was dead but could still possibly have all the data recovered by it being sent away.

[KenB]

I would still get an adapter ( about £10-15 ) and connect it up ......it is worth a try.

When connected you access it just like a memory stick.