Hard disk died, Data Recovery (Dell Inspiron 8600)

embetsmeister · April 24th, 2008, 09:08 PM

Hi, I had an I-D-10-T moment and did not back up my hard drive completely.

I'm running WinXP (I know, I know...I'm working to convert to Linux) on a Dell Inspiron 8600. The hard disk made some interesting clicking noises, overheated, and now when I try to book, it does not recognize a primary hard disk. I attempted to get into the drive via the Recovery Console, and while it recognized that my external hard drive was present, as well as the CD drive, it did not pick up at all the internal hard disk.

I searched through the forum, and while I found several of the threads helpful (like this one), my problem lies in that the drive itself is not recognized, therefore I can't get very far in data recovery. I downloaded PC Inspector, but I'm also not certain the best way to try and use that to recover data from my laptop. I do not have a desktop computer, only a couple of laptops, so I can't slave the original to a master drive on another computer.

Does anyone have suggestions on the best (and least expensive) way for me to recover off my hard drive? If I took apart an old external Maxtor (USB 1.1), would that enable me to recover the data? I would think that would be fruitless if the drive isn't even being recognized now.

Thank you for your feedback.

Steve R Jones · April 25th, 2008, 07:21 AM

Welcome to TechIMO

Quote:

my problem lies in that the drive itself is not recognized, therefore I can't get very far in data recovery

Connecting it via USB probably won't help but would be worth a try.

Keymaker · April 25th, 2008, 08:30 AM

http://search.ebay.com/search/search...p=1%26fsoo%3D1

Watch the shipping, don't be tempted to order outside of the country.

I own a laptop hard drive encloser myself. Works right through the USB. The hard drive will show up under "My Computer".

If the hard drive dose show up through the USB connection, and is accessible I would format the drive after removing your data and see if that hard drive would work again.

BipolarBill · April 25th, 2008, 11:46 AM

Spinrite has been known to save "hopeless" drives.

http://www.grc.com/sr/spinrite.htm

embetsmeister · April 28th, 2008, 05:13 PM

Thank you folks for your input. I'm checking out the adapters right now, picking out a replacement drive on newegg.com, and if all else fails, I'll purchase Spinrite, which looks incredibly promising.

Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!

BipolarBill · April 28th, 2008, 05:17 PM

SpinRite won't work on a drive in a USB enclosure. If it comes to that, you will have to install it in a PC if you want to use it.

embetsmeister · April 28th, 2008, 05:28 PM

PS - I think I'm "sold" on this drive, except from Newegg - It's $40 cheaper. Yays or nays?

WD Scorpio®
WD2500BEVE 250GB 5400 RPM 8MB Cache ATA-6 Notebook Hard Drive

embetsmeister · April 28th, 2008, 05:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BipolarBill

SpinRite won't work on a drive in a USB enclosure. If it comes to that, you will have to install it in a PC if you want to use it.

Thank you! Do you mean, install the faulty hard drive as a slave onto a desktop via IDE? Or would it work if I installed Spinrite onto another computer, and used the USB connection to hook up the old drive to the alternate computer? (I wasn't certain of whether you were saying that it wouldn't recognize a USB hookup at all, or just that it wouldn't work for me to try and install it on the bum drive)

Right now, I only own laptops, although I have access to a desktop. It's been ages since I've taken a computer apart (completely dissected it, I mean), and my attempt to replace a screen on a Dell Inspiron 7500 resulted in extra screws and thus, no power to reach the motherboard, etc.

BipolarBill · May 30th, 2008, 06:10 AM

The spammer returns. I've only heard of "diskemergency" here - from this guy.

Yes - the drive must be connected via IDE, SATA or SCSI to work. USB and Firewire drives won't be detected by SpinRite. You have to boot from the SpinRite floppy or CD.

austin traveler · August 16th, 2008, 01:57 AM

...I'm not well versed in hardward issues so please "dumb it down" for me. I have a Dell Inspiron 8600 running XP. Last week I got the blue screen of death and the laptop is making a clicking noise now when powered up. It will not recognize the hard drive and the standard Dell recovery disk does not find the disk either.

Any ideas on the best course of action? I would like to salvage as much on the drive as I can, but it's not the end of the world if I don't. Do you think the drive is toast? Who/how do I get another drive installed?

Thanks!

Mike in Austin, Texas