Thanks for allowing me to sign up. I hope i am on the right forum I have read thru a bunch of topics etc and the members seem very knowledgeable and perhaps even on the 'hi end' of the knowledge spectrum.
I myself have built a couple of PCs, latest being an i5 gen3 cpu, 16gb ram SSD, W7 DAW (for audio recording studio)
But by no means a solid intermediate in this world of PCs

My problem:


XP Pent D 4gb desktop
SMART warning of hard drive failure for past month Meanwhile I have been moving files off of what I thought was the failing drive. Since one drive is an older Samsung with OS on it, .I assumed that was the one failing. YES it's my extreme bad by not testing which drive it was, I was under the impression of SMART being an OS drive warning protocol. I know now it is for all drives.

The 2nd drive ( a 250gb Seagate) is the newest drive and I had been in the process of moving files from the OS Samsung drive to this one. At the same time I have been copying files over to an External "master" back up drive.
Just bought a new drive to replace what I thought was the failing drive only to find out it was the newer Seagate that was failing and NOT the older Samsung OS drive UGH !
Put verbal flogging here.........

Installed a new drive And started to transfer files from failing drive.
I managed to get some files off it then the PC started to hang /freeze.
Thinking that perhaps my 450 watt PSU was being taxed by 3 drives I pulled the failing drive and set up a SATA to USB transfer adapter w/ its own power supply, this has worked well in the past for transferring files etc .
As soon as I plug it in the PC freezes /hangs again If I unplug the USB cable the PC unhangs.
Plug it back : Hangs again.

Tonite I have connected back up with the sata USB adapter. Once plugged in- AutoPlay begins like normal as if the PC is reading the disc it takes a bit of time ( 250 gb withe nearly 230gb of files).
"My Computer" sees the disc and it's drive letter along with the two good drives.
I hover over it with cursor but am not able to open or get to properties etc.
Installed in a 2nd XP pc with the same results as above.

The Drive acts like a normal drive spinning -no clicks scratchy sounds etc.
Now, things I have not done to the drive:

Have NOT run ChkDsk
Have NOT run any recovery programs such as Recuva , Seagate etc
Have NOT reformatted although it has asked me to at one point, i clicked NO, Knowing it would wipe all data.
Hope this has a been clear reading post.

There are several different possible approaches, if you're going to take the risks of DIY recovery. Remember that your failing drive is deteriorating and your actions could be "the last straw" and result in a more expensive / more difficult / less successful recovery, if you choose to contact a DR professional later, instead of doing so now.

Typically, attaching a failing drive via USB is less successful than attaching it via SATA. The problems you describe using USB are typical.

Therefore using a non-Windows (e.g. DOS or *nix) cloning approach, using cloning software which is designed to cope with errors and offer options to skip or retry errors, is a typical DIY approach - but it carries risks (as all DIY does). Depending on your choice of OS & cloning software, you would attach the failing (source) drive via SATA, and a good (target) drive via any supported interface (e.g. USB is OK, if that is supported by your chosen cloning solution), and attempt to create a raw clone (or image file) of the whole of the source drive, onto the target (not at a filesystem level, but every block).

There are too many choices to write much more, depending on whether you really do a raw clone, or whether you try to create an image file, but you'll generally need lots of empty space on the target drive. For safety, you should have nothing at all on the target drive, but this guidance can be relaxed if you know exactly what you are doing, and how you are using the target drive.

Also, depending on what happens, then more empty disk space may be needed to hold a copy of that initial clone, if you end up needing to perform any changes to the target clone / image file (e.g. if you later decide to run chkdsk, do not do that on your only copy of the clone / image file, since it makes changes!).

This subject area has been covered many times - search for "clone" or "cloning" in the archives. Good luck - remember that you have to take responsibility for the possible bad results, as well as the possibility that you might be successful. You could kill the drive completely - your data; your risk; your choice! If the data is valuable, consider consulting a DR professional now. I don't know who is closest to Colorado, but there are several respected members who work in / run DR companies, if you need recommendations.

Thanks for the reply.
I am leery of attempting of a DIY recovery. The files are very important.

Any recommendations for reputable DR services are surely welcome.

Thanks for the reply.
I am leery of attempting of a DIY recovery. The files are very important.

The drive is recognized in BIOS and in disk management on several computers.
I cannot get it to open though.
A couple of times the PC asks to format the drive. I have clicked NO.
Trying to figure out how far gone it is at the moment.

Any recommendations for reputable DR services are surely welcome.

Stop trying to figure that out! The only sensible choices are to either (a) choose to go ahead with all the risks of DIY, or (b) choose to stop taking further risks, by stopping any further use the drive. Anything in the middle (e.g. "trying to figure things out") risks you killing the drive, without using that remaining (unknown quantity of) drive lifetime for attempts at recovering data - it's the worst of the available options (sometimes known as "diagnosing a drive to death"). As Yoda would say: Do, or do not, there is no try


In the USA, members jono-ats, quasimodo, and labtech are some of the DR professionals who I would contact, if I was a customer in your situation. (I don't claim to know all of the good USA professional members, so I hope the others don't take offence )

Unfortunately as a new member, you cannot PM (private message) other members, until you have a certain number of postings (5? 10? I'm not sure of the exact number). I can think of a way around this, but hopefully they (and other members) will see your thread anyway and offer opinions.

P.S.

Yes, very. You obviously took some time to write things in a methodical way, which made the situation and available options, clear to readers. Thanks for that!

Much thanks for the replies and member info.
Hopefully, one or two will chime in here.

The "trying to figure it out " statement was more of a 'in my brain thought process' in understanding HDDs limitations when they start to fail etc, as opposed to trying different methods physically using the HDD.
I know repeated attempts will likely cause damage or reduce the already limited lifespan and since I have tried a few different connection scenarios with no good results:
Don't worry, I am at the STOP sign now.

Vulcan, thanks for the recommendation.

@op
Unfortunately, due to certain agreements, I do not take on cases on the forum, nor I make direct recommendations.

There are a couple of choices in your area, or many nationwide. Needless to say, use google and phone to get a good idea of what's out there that suits your requirements. Don't rush. Educate yourself before sending.

_________________
Hard Disk Drive (HDD), Solid State Drive (SSD, SATA, NVMe, etc), USB Flash Drive and RAID Data Recovery Specialist in Massachusetts

Yes agreed. No rush, the data isn't going anywhere, the HD is now stored in the anti static.
Will research and follow thru.
This is a great forum with considerable knowledge base and I look forward to perusing it more.
Again thanks for the quik replies and info.

sturoc,
I second recommendations- here is Jonoat's company's website. Relatively inexpensive, defiantly qualified. There ate two options that they will offer you- files recovered to disk or clone drive. Files is data only. Clone disk will likely give you a usable drive if its still capable of booting, if it cant boot it would need to be accessed as second drive. Good luck!