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Hard Drive Retrieval
updated: Jul 18, 2011, 8:58 AM

My 3 1/2 month old computer has crashed! HP is sending me a box to return it, but I haven't backed up the hard drive in all that time and they will be wiping it clean. I need some one who can hook up the hard drive and retrieve the data if it isn't corrupted. Help, need a reliable and reasonable referral.

Places People Are Talking About:

Human Solutions Computers	Make It Work	Matt Tavianini
Mr. Pink	PC Pro

What People Are Saying:

COMMENT 193698	2011-07-18 09:20 AM
Just remove the hard drive and attach it to a friend’s machine, copy your stuff and then put the hard drive back in to the HP. Piece 'O cake! (Provided that the hard drive isn't the problem). If you are not that computer savvy, Google "how to install secondary hard drive" for instructions regarding the installation of your drive to another computer.No need to spend $250.00 or more on such a simple task. But remember this is only if the Hard Drive is not the problem.
COMMENT 193702	2011-07-18 09:30 AM
OP here: I am concerned that taking it out it will invalidate the warranty...can they tell it's been removed and replaced?
EMI PHOTO	2011-07-18 09:35 AM
No problem on the warranty, there is no exclusion for opening the case (that's how you would upgrade RAM or other components) and there is no indicator for having removed a hard drive. You might need an external drive enclosure depending on what machine you plan to hook it up to. Those can be found at (2nd)best buy for around $30. Make sure it has the same connectors as your hard drive (IDE, SATA, etc...) Good luck and if you need more help I charge $65/hr (about 50% of MIW) 886.3765
JOJOFLYS	2011-07-18 09:35 AM
Harrold at PC Pro 564-4110
COMMENT 193709	2011-07-18 09:36 AM
Call George Yaar - 805-708-3805.
COMMENT 193716	2011-07-18 09:50 AM
Ditto the DIY advice. Not as hard as it sounds.
COMMENT 193718	2011-07-18 09:52 AM
Hi, :) I own a local computer repair/maintenance/consulation business, Mr. Pink Computer Shrink. There actually are some instances where warranties can be invalid if a hard drive has been removed. Also, if the drive truly is crashed and not working, then hooking it up to someone else's computer will do you no good. We have special data recovery tools we use on our clients' crashed hard drives, and although there is no promise of retrieving crashed data, we have a very high success rate. My husband, our lead tech, has worked with computers for more 30 years and, imho :), the best in town. We charge $80 per hour for home users, which is less than most in town, particularly given Scott's amount of experience. If data is retrievable, it's often able to be done withn an hour. Feel free to call me if you have any questions or want to suss out the situation - my name is Stacy. (805) 966-2966. :)
COMMENT 193722	2011-07-18 09:56 AM
What do you mean by "Crashed?" Will it turn on at all? Do you see any errors/warnings or the dreaded "blue screen of death?" Can you start it in safe mode (during restart hold down the F8 key)? If safe mode works then you could at least copy your data to an external drive - maybe even a CD/DVD.
EMI PHOTO	2011-07-18 10:01 AM
193718: Would you please elaborate on how removing a hard drive from a store bought, home PC would invalidate the warranty? And "crashed" is used by most people to refer to a hard drive that isn't doing what it's supposed to. In my experience its usually an operating system issue though hard drives certainly do suffer mechanical and electronic failures that render them unreadable through standard access, There are a lot of software data recovery solutions available but once you get into opening the drive the price jumps quickly and can reach many hundreds into the thousands.
COMMENT 193732P	2011-07-18 10:19 AM
You could call my computer repair buddy, Shelton, he is awesome. His number is 964-2263. He makes house calls and is very good.
JBYRD	2011-07-18 10:25 AM
I too can not find the reasoning behind voiding a warranty by removing a hard drive from a system, especially in these days where all of the major computer companies consider a hard drive, memory, etc. a user replaceable part. Meaning, even if you have 'onsite' support warranty they will typically just send you the new hard drive and a return package for your old one and have you do it yourself. I've worked in the industry for 20 years and have never (with the exception of the early 90's Packard Bell machines and a couple others) where opening your computer case voids your warranty.
COMMENT 193741	2011-07-18 10:33 AM
When in doubt, check the facts. You can go to the HP web site and examine the full warranty information. I just did. Since HP now requires that users participate in some repairs, opening the unit DOES NOT void the warranty.
COMMENT 193753	2011-07-18 10:54 AM
OP here: This is what happened and what we have done so far...the computer was frozen the evening I went to shut it down, so I did a hard shut down. Next morning it said that Windows failed and did I want to try repair. We did that and it didn't work. Called HP support, and 4 hours later and many tries tapping F10, etc they gave up and said they would send a box to return it. Hooked it up to the old computer and it wouldn't start, but they may be too many years apart in age...but, the hard drive tests didn't fail using the old computer??? Re-installed it in the new computer and I get the same message that windows failed. Sound like operating system??? or Hard Drive?? By the way, we called HP and asked about removing the HD and they gave the okay, just replace it as you found it... Thanks to everyone for all of the helpful information...
EMI PHOTO	2011-07-18 10:58 AM
OS failure most likely. Corrupt registry or something like that. Your data is "probably" in tact. (no guarantees of course) and if you try your old computer again, hook the problem drive up as a slave or external, not the primary. Good luck.
YVES	2011-07-18 02:12 PM
Call Gregg Hart at 681-9947. See http://hartconsulting.org/ He makes house calls and has done a good job with my computers. Something is probably wrong with either the operating system installation or the boot sector of your drive. Chances are good that you can recover your data if you do it before sending the computer to HP. Afterward, check out Dropbox or something similar for regular backups....
COMMENT 193996	2011-07-18 06:11 PM
You can get an external "HDD docking station" on ebay, connect it to a USB port, and see any data that is still intact. Less than $20.00. But you may want to try reinstalling your operating system and see if that fixes anything before you do all that.
COMMENT 194013	2011-07-18 07:02 PM
Another vote for Harold at PC Pro. In the phone book. He's outstanding.
COMMENT 194094	2011-07-19 07:48 AM
I would like to second the suggestion of a couple of the posters who recommended getting an external hard drive enclosure. This is what I found to be the best method for backing up data on a bum PC or laptop. Basically, an external enclosure will turn your hard drive into an external hard drive that you can connect to any machine via a USB cable. Then you should be able to retrieve any data on there that's still in tact. These enclosures can be cheap as $10 online. But if you go to Best Buy or Staples you can probably get one for < $40.
COMMENT 194097	2011-07-19 07:52 AM
CompuWest or CompuVision. They aren't cheap, but they have years of experience and depth - not just grad students..
COMMENT 194126	2011-07-19 08:41 AM
570-W i l l {9455}. Very experienced/reasonable price. done on site, unless it's "gone", then its DriveSavers, 10% discount w/ DS16925.
COMMENT 194156	2011-07-19 09:29 AM
HI. I am Human Solutions Computers. Bring it to me and my price would be about $70 to copy data off (to a USB Stick would be easiest or to DVDRs). No need to remove the HD I'd boot from a CD. I would of course also diagnose why it is "Crashed" Because it may not be the hard drive at all and there isn't a Windows install I can't save. I'm also assuming under 9GB of data. Now if it is bad spots on the Hard drive or require hours (or even days) using a professional data recovery software then it would be $140-$210 but if the hard drive motor, heads, or electronics has failed then only a professional clean-room recovery firm could get the data and they would have you buy a new hard drive to put the data onto as well but I know a firm that is half DIsksavers or Ontracks prices. Go with me, any Edhat member and I will do it for half price as long you you post an Edhat follow up about your experience. 805-563-1257 25 years, 4 Best of Santa Barbara's.
BECKY	2011-07-19 09:33 AM
A a former IT pro with decades of experience... All you folks encouraging the poster to fix it him/herself are not doing the poster any favors. If it is a hard drive crash, the more you do to it, the less likely it is that you can recover the data. 1. Take it to a good IT pro and tell them that you need to recover your "not backed up" data. 2. Learn from this painful lesson that you have to regularly back up your data. Depending on whether it is (was?) a PC, Mac, or other, there are different programs that are very well designed to recover data off a possibly corrupted disk. After that, let HP fix/repair it under warranty. When you get the fixed computer back, have the IT pro restore your data and set you up with a good, regular back up system to an external drive or the cloud or both.
COMMENT 194163	2011-07-19 09:35 AM
whatever you do, do not call Make it work... they will sell you services you do not need... kind of like Roto Rooter
COMMENT 194165	2011-07-19 09:43 AM
If it's REALLY a hard disk problem and not just a software problem, take the hard disk to a tech who uses GRC (dot) com 's spinwrite data recovery software. Or better yet, buy the software yourself and solve your own problem. It's amazing how many good tech shops don't know about spinwrite. It has been around for years and is fantastic. El Rojo (retired IT guy)
ELROJO	2011-07-19 09:53 AM
Try spinwrite from www.GRC.com . It can be used without removing your hard drive from your computer and repairs "unrepairable" hard drives. It's amazing how many good tech shops still don't know about spinwrite. It costs about $70 and is a bargain at twice the price. ElRojo (retired IT guy)
MOARTS51	2011-07-19 10:59 AM
E-mail Matt Tavianini - mettyboy2@cox.net He's reasonable, personable and trust-worthy too !
COMMENT 194255	2011-07-19 12:33 PM
Boy, this one sure got a lot of varied comments offering both DIY methods and referrals to other computer consultants / professionals. This is all good information, and the only thing I want to add to this is that I would have to agree with Becky regarding taking potential hard drive matters into your own hands. The one aspect of all the offered DIY suggestions is that each requires some surrounding context to it in order to accomplish the task in a successful and MEANINGFUL manner. For example, in order to use the external hard drive enclosure method, you would have to be comfortable with following the instructions to install the hard drive; then once connected to another computer, KNOW what to copy, and where to copy FROM to successfully back up data; or know to use something like Fab's Autobackup Tech Edition to back up the data. Other than that - I had no idea there were this many other computer professionals (other than the firms such as MIW, Techease, Nerds to the Rescue, etc) here in Santa Barbara and Goleta. Hats off to you all! I am also another such computer professional.
COMMENT 194267	2011-07-19 12:58 PM
Mr. Pink is great! He'll get you fixed up.
COMMENT 194319	2011-07-19 02:56 PM
You can call Make it Work and they will provide recommendations over the phone and they go onsite if needed. They are fair and reasonable in their pricing and they back up their work (from experience). Also I am always getting emails about deals and specials to help on the price (for example, I can buy a package for about $80/hr). I am not sure which "services" 194163 are referring to but they have always provided excellent service and quick turn around time. Either way, there are several great services in town, I say find the one that meets your needs the most and don't base your decision on the comment of one person. I am sure you can find people for each and every service listed here that aren't happy with the work. Such is life and service/retail.
COMMENT 195856	2011-07-23 08:10 PM
OP here: I want to give a shout out to Hugh at Human Solutions Computers. I had a particularly tricky problem due to the dual hard drive raid configuration but he still managed to retrieve my lost data. It took a lot of diagnostics and hours of running a recovery program, but I got my precious photos and other documents and at a most reasonable price. I can't speak highly enough...if you have a particularly difficult computer problem, Hugh is your guy!