I was working on my laptop (windows XP, 32 bits) and suddenly a BSOD appeared. I restarted but the drive was no longer detectable. I attached the drive it to another PC using an USB-interface and allthough the USBdevice is working properly the drive has 0 sectors and so far I have not been able to find a partition using progarms like Genius e.a.
I also tried Victoria but it doesn't find a drive passport but indicates 465 GB
Other programs show 2199 GB (totaly wrong) or even more.

Crystaldiskinfo 4.0.1. shows my ST9500325AS having 0.0 GB
It also shows its serial number (or at least it mentions a serial number)
Serial SATA/300
standard ATA8-ACS | ATA8-ACS-version 4
Buffer size 8192 Kb
5400 rpm
Firmware 0003
SMART, 48bit LBA, APM, NCQ

I have some valuable data on that HDD that I really need to recover.
I do have experience with software (and also some with hardware), what can I do?

I would suggest u try a utility called TestDisk.

TestDisk can
Fix partition table, recover deleted partition
Recover FAT32 boot sector from its backup
Rebuild FAT12/FAT16/FAT32 boot sector
Fix FAT tables
Rebuild NTFS boot sector
Recover NTFS boot sector from its backup
Fix MFT using MFT mirror
Locate ext2/ext3/ext4 Backup SuperBlock
Undelete files from FAT, exFAT, NTFS and ext2 filesystem
Copy files from deleted FAT, exFAT, NTFS and ext2/ext3/ext4 partitions.

TestDisk has features for both novices and experts. For those who know little or nothing about data recovery techniques, TestDisk can be used to collect detailed information about a non-booting drive which can then be sent to a tech for further analysis. Those more familiar with such procedures should find TestDisk a handy tool in performing onsite recovery

Sounds to me like u should try recovering the boot sector from a backup,(which should be on the drive already).

@SoftwareTester,

Not enough info supplied (e.g. unfortunately USB-SATA bridges prevent accurate diagnosis of some issues), but based on your description, it's unlikely that you can do anything that is sensible DIY, IMHO.


No longer detectable where? BIOS? WinXP Device Manager? WinXP My Computer? If it was no longer shown in the BIOS (disk setup screen), then there is an internal drive problem. Further diagnosis may be possible via the serial terminal, but is risky (you could lose your data unnecessarily by trying DIY, for several potential reasons, when it may be recoverable by a DR company). If an internal drive problem is confirmed, then the suggestions from Vaunster won't apply.

Note: If the drive is making strange sounds e.g. clicking, then do not power-on the drive any further.


Again, that's common behaviour for drives which are not initialising correctly, due to an internal problem. A USB-SATA bridge may report such a drive as having 0GB capacity via the USB interface, but you (and Victoria, MHDD etc.) can't show the details of exactly how the drive is behaving e.g, staying busy.

Therefore based on your description, if the data is important, IMHO you should consider using the services of an experienced DR company. I know of a trusted DR company in Belgium (member dobrevjetser on this forum) but not one in the Netherlands. Perhaps other members know of a trusted DR company there...