Just been contacted by a friend who says he has lost data on 2 samsung HD501LJ drives. The data are jpeg images which are of great value to him!!

The HDDs were in an external case and both developed their fault within hours of each other. So I suspect heat and/or power suppy overvolts could be a cause. But not having seen the drives yet it's impossible to know.

He says he has put them in another external case. Different PSU.
One HDD shows up on the PC but only indicates disk size (doesn't show any files) and the other isn't even recognised but both seem to spin up.

Sorry this is very brief info but all he has given me.

I have advised him to use a professional recovery service but it's unlikely he can afford to pay out significant money, at least at the moment, so is there anything that could be done to attempt an initial rescue? Assuming,that is,that it isn't a hardware issue caused by overvolts or similar.

I am aware of the warnings about going in with recovery software that might cause more damage than before so only want to do this if it isn't going to cause more probs.

If it's a major problem then I agree it's best to wait until he can afford the pros help. But if it isn't then he can restore the nostalgic pics that he has had for over 50 years.

I am computer literate (linux, bsd, ms) but know enough to know I am no data recovery expert.

If you can point me at an appropriate site it would be appreciated.
Thanks

I can almost certainly help at a sensible cost for hddguru members, as I have done many times before.

PM me if interested.

Cheers

Sean

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PC Image Data Recovery
http://www.pcimage.co.uk

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Put the HDD-s in to another external case does not make sense.

Let he check the power supply, and change it.
If it not help, he may study program like a WinHex or another . To recovery data in this case he must have special skills.


P.s. Sorry for my English, I only teach it

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Angel Data Recovery

@seanimage:
thanks sean and I have just had a quick look at your site. I thin it best I have a look at his drives in my PC fist on Monday then if (as is likely) we need your help I'll get in touch hopefully with more info for a quote to see if he can afford your pro service.

@DR-Kiev,
Hi and thanks for your reply.

Perhaps I should have been clearer. I think it does make sense. What I was trying to say was that he has taken the 2 drives out of their original external enclosure and placed them in another enclosure with a different power supply...in other words what you are suggesting. The result was as I explained above.

I am aware of WinHex but thank you for the suggestion nevertheless.
Best wishes
ps your English needs no apology. It's fine.

Start by imaging the drives. If you're not able to image either for whatever reason, it needs pro help.

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You don't have to backup all of your files, just the ones you want to keep.

@drccsc
Yes that was my plan and then only to work on the images for recovery.
Was going to use a linux live cd (knoppix?)
Any best/better practise way recommended to do it?