I am in the middle of my first HDD data recovery and could use some help.

The drive (my C drive -- 500gb WD Caviar) -- with my OS, programs files, lots of data, etc.) seemed to be getting a little funky, then wouldn't allow my system to boot up. We diagnosed it as a motherboard problem because the BIOS screen at startup seemed unstable. At that time we could read the HDD on the DVD version of Windows 7.

So, we didn't think the HDD was a problem at that time. I decided it was time to upgrade my system anyway, so we headed in that direction.

Okay, we put the new system together, with a SSD for the OS, then started having more problems with the HDD we were trying to reboot with. It could detect the drive and file system, but we couldn't get the OS to run. Instead of the easier swap, with all my installed programs, we opted to clean install to the new SSD.

Once up, we tried to access the file system on the HDD and failed. As in, it was interrupting the boot. So we pulled it out, which gave us a stable system. We tried installing the HDD in a different computer, which created similar boot problems. We know knew the HDD was the problem.

At this point we booted the 2nd system off a live Linux CD. We mounted the drive to off load data. We could see the complete file structure, tried copying all the data (in one fell swoop), and got many of the folders and files, but with 0 bytes inside. And untold error messages.

Our next step - for we knew the problem was worse than we imagined -- was booting in Windows to try Recuva. Now Windows could not see the disk. Rebooted into Linux, which detected the disk, but could not mount it. Linux's disk info identified the type of drive, capacity, but could not detect the firmware version, or serial number, world wide name or rotation rate, registers partitioning as unknown scheme.

Next step was DDRescue. We tried to copy the drive to a second empty drive, but got zero transfer and persistent error messages.

So, on to MHDD. We downloaded the .iso and burned it to a CD (no floppy drives in system). Ran the cd from the system with bad HDD, and a blank HDD -- and boot HDD disconnected for safety. Booting MHDD the autodetect only saw the DVD drive, and neither HDDs. The optical drive, as well as the other two HDDs, were all SATA drives plugged directly into the MBs sata ports.

So, this is where we stand right now. It wasn't until yesterday that we really dove into what we should have been doing and saw Scott Moultons dos and dont's, so we know we slimmed our chances by stumbling around in the dark as we began our recovery. Hopefully we still have a gasp or two left, and could really use some advice, based on what we have attempted so far.

We would really appreciate any ideas!
-O

STOP! Clone this drive to a new one now!!! You might of already lost a lot of your chance on this one to get back your data. But you can try this one now. Clone it then work from the clone on it. This will give you a better chance to work in other recovery programs to see if you can get back your data. After cloning you can use rstudio or even GET DATA BACK NTSF, If not and all the mess you have created now on this one you might end up at a DR company paying some cash to get this one done. If you can not clone it now then you chances of you doing this one on your own are very slim. Sorry

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Iorana Haraharaini

Any recomendations on the proper software/procedures for cloning the one drive to another?

Yes! We are in desist mode now, gathering all the advice we can before proceeding further. Thanks.

I thought we were trying to clone it with ddrescue?

Okay, I'll dive deeper into Cloning software research. Any ideas of software I should check out?

Checking over other posts, DIY DataRecovery DiskPatch seems an option for immediate cloning and later attempted repair - having the advantage of working from disk to avoid windows based complexities (Which programs like the also recomended Roadkil's Raw Copy might be subject too.)
Is this a reasonable choice for the home based attempt? Or is there some other program that offers significantly better performance without costing over $500