Hard disk crashed HELP needed

[saivstech]

hi,

my desktop recently crashed due to internal hard disk failure. I am sure as it was making some weird noises and also i found around 90 odd files with some filecheck/foundcheck00-90. Cant exactly remember the filename. I checked on the internet as to what it means and i cant remember the site where it mentioned those are indications of a hard drive failure and suggested that I make a backup.

My system specs are as follows(though its old): Windows XP with SP3. 80 GB hdd SATA. Partitioned into C, D, E, and F. C is fat file system. My D drive contains all my backup or research/study information and some technical as well as personal data. So also my F drive. Motherboard is Gigabyte (GA-K8VM800M rev2.x) running AMD 64 athlon processor.

Now I need clarifications on the following:

1. is there anyway that I can recover my data stored in D,F drive??
2. i'm planning on buying a new internal HDD (seagate barracuda 1tb model ST1000DM003). is it going to work with my mobo?
3. in case if the 1tb or less supports my mobo, then is it going to be possible to install new OS in the new hard drive and then later connect the other(old hard drive) also so as to recover my data? I saw in the mobo manual that there are 2 SATA slots.
4. mobo manual says "it is recommended to use SATA (1.5Gb/s) hard disks", so is it going to be ok if I buy higher data rate hard drive/disk?
5. i checked with the gigabyte tech support, they were apprehensive of >1 TB but suggested me to try lesser storage capacity hard disks because of backward compatibility issue.
6. my main goal is to first recover my data so that i can sleep in peace.

So can anyone suggest or guide me in a step by step method to recover my data? feel free to ask me if I happen to miss out furnishing any information. thanks.

cheers,
saivstech

[T.J.]

There are many free data recovering software that you can use to recover all the datas from the drive that you have mentioned. There are also paid services for recovering data from hard drive, but those are costly and to be only applied when everything fails. Havent you tried connecting the failed hard drive to another computer and then transferring all the data's. As for new hard drive, you can go with it and can also install OS on it, as it wont make any problem as i can see.

[saivstech]

hi tj,

thanks for the prompt reply.

my concern now is how to connect the two drives together. like what should be order (primary & secondary). but while reading on the internet gave me some insights that sata does not need to be set manually the order (primary & secondary) in the bios settings. how should i connect the jumpers so that the new hard drive is first detected and the old drive too is recognised in the OS of the new hdd, so that i can access the old drive.

ok i just realised i remove the old hdd and in its place i put the new hdd. specifically, now how do i (old hdd)

1.connect the second(old) hdd is my question?
2.use the jumper settings, if any?
3.any bios settings change that needs to be made after connecting old hdd?
4.anyother things that i happened to miss in this process, please enlighten me
5.give step by step instructions

thanks.

[Siddanth Sudarshan]

@saivstech -
1. Yes, you can.
Solution - Since you have mentioned your HDD to be 80 GB, the best way for you to copy the files/important documents would be through an external HDD. Buy one or lend one from your friends.
2. Seagate Barracuda sucks. I've had my fair share of problems with it. I suggest you to buy a Western Digital Caviar black 1TB HDD. approx. cost - 4500 INR. and it would give you problems since all HDDs that are in market today use 6 Gbps. The motherboard won't support it.
3. Yes you can connect them and recover your data.
4. No, don't buy a higher disk rate HDD. It will fail. Or not work w.r.t to your config.
5. That's true.
6. Buy a External HDD or lend one from your friend. Buying one will always be of use. better than a Pen Drive.

My suggestion ---- Buy a new PC. If you want recommendations, mail me at siddanth.s.r@hotmail.com.........then we can discuss things and come to a conclusion.

[saivstech]

hi siddanth,

thanks for the suggestions.

i was wondering if I had given a wrong impression about my persisting problem. my issue is that my desktop has completely crashed. Now I cant log on to it nor can i connect any external hdd. jfyi, and for all those i gave a wrong impression.

even i was contemplating about buying WD as suggested by you, but i was not sure as it will work with my mobo. buying a new computer at this point in time is out of question. btw how much would a new one cost? for info sake. i'd rather be happy to build one. seriously. will definitely keep you in mind when I decide to build/buy a new one.

So i guess your suggestions would now change a bit based on my above updation. Also i dont mind if its 500/750/1tb as long as it suppoorts my mobo, and most of all my data is recovered.

hope i'm clear in presenting my problems. thanks for the responses.

[Mallory c]

The drive when connected are detected by the bios. You can see on the motherboard the ports as Sata 1, Sata 2, etc. Anyhow it is necessary that your system must detect the drive first. Later on you can recover your data. If the drive is not detected then it is crashed or it is a hardware failure. For a new system build there are two options. First going for branded desktop and second for custom build. Custom build will cost you between 20K to 25K if you go for this Intel Core i3 +Intel Board, 500Gb Drive, 2GB ram, 18" LED, etc. Between 25K to 30K you can get a higher model wit more storage and better processor and also a gpu.

[saivstech]

@saivstech -
2. Seagate Barracuda sucks. I've had my fair share of problems with it. I suggest you to buy a Western Digital Caviar black 1TB HDD. approx. cost - 4500 INR. and it would give you problems since all HDDs that are in market today use 6 Gbps. The motherboard won't support it.
My suggestion ---- Buy a new PC. If you want recommendations, mail me at siddanth.s.r@hotmail.com.........then we can discuss things and come to a conclusion.

hi siddanth,

I'm bringing it up here as it might help others looking up for something similar information.

I emailed you and have not received any response, probably you are busy. no issues. Anyways I just scouted/searched the entire market and over the internet about the WD Caviar Black 1 TB internal SATA hdd. The price is not less than Rs. 7000 for Caviar Black. JFYI. If you can help me procure that for Rs.4500-5000 as mentioned by you would be grateful.

Firstly, most vendors/retailers are not even aware that there is a Caviar Black available, infact they are not aware of Caviar Green's existence. What a pity.

Secondly, I checked with the mobo mfrs (Gigabyte), upon my request they tested 1TB(WD10EALX- CAVIAR BLUE) and 2TB(WD20EARS-CAVIAR GREEN) WD SATA internal HDD on this mobo (GA-K8VM800M REV2.X) successfully and sent me the test results.

cheers,
Srini