Data Recovery Baby Steps?

[esjones]

Hi, I'm a newbie here, and would appreciate some guidance and advice. I have three hard drives that I'd like to access (2 SATA, 1 IDE). None seem mechanically faulty in that they spin quietly and have not been subjected to drops or other shocks. If memory serves me, they are just not recognized by my PC BIOS, so of course they are not visible to Windows.

IN GENERAL, what steps can and should be taken at little or no cost before engaging a professional? And how can recovery costs be kept reasonable? I can't afford any of the places I've found that just charge a flat rate for "whatever is wrong."

Earl

[jermy]

to begin with, state their models

[labtech]

A drive can still have mechanical fault despite not clicking. Quite common actually.

[esjones]

to begin with, state their models

Seagate ST2000DM001
Seagate ST3120022A
Western Digital WD10EADS

[esjones]

A drive can still have mechanical fault despite not clicking. Quite common actually.

Thanks. That's good to know.

Earl

[jermy]

for the Seagate drives can you post terminal log ?
for WD maybe a simple slow fix

[moorken]

A drive can still have mechanical fault despite not clicking. Quite common actually.

Thanks. That's good to know.

Earl

yups, most of the times its still hardware in this case