Hey Ken,

Two things to try....but a preface.....when you do these you have to be
ready to copy the data 'IMMEDIATELY'......plug it in and go...

1st......Freeze it!  Yep, put that harddrive in a plastic bag, get rid of as
much air as you keen, and stick that sucker in the freezer for at least an
hour..two hours would be better.  Then plug it back into your system and do
an immediate copy of all files you want to save.

2nd......Drop it! Yes again, hold that sucker about 6 inches above a desktop
and drop it.  Being sure as possible that it lands flat.  Then the same
procedure...plug it in and copy everything as fast as possible.........

Drawbacks....either of these procedures are a "one shot"(tho I have had
success doing it more then once) and if they don't work or your not fast
enough(get files copied before the drive heats up) there is not much hope
unless your ready to pay the bucks for the fancy "recovery" services
offered.
Stanley Churchill
"Dragger201"


-----Original Message-----
From: PCBUILD - Personal Computer Hardware discussion List
[mailto:[log in to unmask]]On Behalf Of Ken Shearer
Sent: Wednesday, March 26, 2003 9:22 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: [PCBUILD] HDD Data Recovery


Worked on Client's Win XP HE machine today which had a Quantum Fireball EX
10.2 AT HDD formatted as FAT-32.  Machine would not boot.  After each
unsuccessful boot, the black boot screen offering to restart in three
configs of "Safe Mode," Normal Startup, and "Last Known Good..." comes up.
Regardless of which you choose, the machine restarts again without further
effort to actually boot.

Ended up replacing her HDD, got her system restored, and brought the old HDD
home to hook as a slave on one of our other PCs in an effort to recover the
data (it's been ages since she had backed this drive up).  When I start my
machine, the black bootup screen shows her drive as the slave on IDE-0 and
identifies it correctly.  However, after Windows starts, you don't see the
drive at all when you go to Windows Explorer.

Anybody out there know how I can get her data back for her without spending
oodles for data recover software or professional services?

Thanks!

Ken Shearer, [log in to unmask]

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