dropped external hard drive data recover

[shadowpanda]

As the epically long suject title suggests, my issue is about an external hard drive that was dropped (I feel like it was me, but I'm almost positive it was actually one of the cats, still, I feel guilty...).

It connects via usb and also has a power cable. It stopped reading so my mum took it into a shop (its actually her hard drive) and the company said it's not a connection issue, its actually knackered and she will need a specialised data recovery service if she wants her stuff back. We do trust the shop to not be making this up, it's not even a service they offer so they aren't just saying it to get more money out of it.

Basically, can anyone recommend a company/give me things I can advise my mum to watch out etc? We are UK based, her Manchester, me Leeds if that is any help (I know it at least reduces the company options somewhat).

I am grateful for any and all advice, thank you

[csquared]

I have a recommendation, but it is in the US.
http://www.diskdoctors.com/

Google "UK data recovery". I found this. Might be a good start.

Good luck.

[Chanlin]

It's a software you would need to purchase, but I have had great success with Spinrite in the past.

AFAIK you can purchase it from the UK though all of their prices are in US Dollars. In any case it is a do it yourself option if you can't find a good recovery service.

http://www.grc.com/sr/spinrite.htm

This of course assumes you can plug the drive in and it will be recognized.

[edit]
Quick google search turned this up: I would encourage you to ask around first, but they seem to have decent reviews from independent sites. At the very least their website offers free no obligation price quotes.
http://www.dataclinic.co.uk/data-rec...manchester.htm

[crashhelmet]

You can also try OnTrack to recover the data. It's expensive software, but you might be able to find a local shop that has it available to use or a *Cough*torrent*Cough*

[emax4]

Has this happened before? If so and if you can afford it, I recommend a solid state drive (SSD) if you plan to upgrade.

[Der Cute]

Does the disk even spin up? Can you hear it? (if the computer doesn't see it, so what, I'm asking about physical part)
If you CAN'T and and it DOESN'T spin up, it's TOTALLY TOAST.
If it does spin up and you can hear it, does it click/knock? If so, it's 95% dead.

But is the data worth the $$ to get it off the disk? What's on the disk that's important?

[ender]

Since it's an external drive, try first taking it out of the case, and connect it directly to your computer - if you're lucky, it will be recognized. If it's not recognized, you'll have to seek data recovery, but be aware that this is a very expensive service (expect something between 300 and 2000€, depending on the size of the drive and complexity - the data recovery firms I have experience with will usually take the drive, and do a diagnostic for around 30€, after which they'll tell you how much it will cost to do actual recovery; this fee is then refunded if you decide to go through).

If the drive is recognized by the computer, at first try copying off the data normally - if that doesn't work, there's several programs that can be used to try to recover data anyway, but they're either expensive, or require familiarity with command line.

[Geek King]

It's a software you would need to purchase, but I have had great success with Spinrite in the past.

Unfortunately, if this was caused by a drop, a software recovery probably isn't possible, as the mechanical part of the drive is probably kaput. There are companies that maybe can recover data, but it will cost serious money, like in the $750-1500 range, and they can not promise how much they can get back. Unless it is seriously important, you're probably better off taking this as a lesson on backing data up on multiple drives.

[emax4]

Something else to consider before dropping all the money on recovery...

With the data that was on there, is the same data located elsewhere on the internet, such as photos on Facebook? Are we talking personal memoirs that are entirely private and not published in a cloud-based service, like Dropbox? Doe she listen to any music that has been downloaded from iTunes or another service? I think that iTunes lets you re-download music to the same computer (someone correct me on this if I'm mistaken), and photos that are on facebook are safe there, so they can be downloaded again (by right-click --> Save As). If there are photos NOT on Facebook that may have been lost, are the photos already backed up to CD-ROM or still remaining on the camera's media (Sony MemoryStick, SD Card, Compact Flash, etc)?

If she has computer programs on there, with any luck they should be able to be re-downloaded from the manufacturers, but specific files for those programs may be gone. She may need to evaluate what was lost vs. the cost of getting those files back, and if the price is worth it.

[Cazzi]

If the disk does spin up I'm another advocate for spinrite, even if it just fixes the disk long enough to get data off. And yes indeedy it can be purchased in the UK!
I use my copy regularly to keep my drives in good shape

I personally don't know of any data recovery tools, but I will say for the future.. its best to have three copies of your data!
The disk you are using, a backup disk onsite and a backup off site or in the cloud (something like jungledisk.com or similar). Offsite backup services are pretty cheap these days and are worth it for the peace of mind

[shadowpanda]

Thanks for all your advice guys, I appreciate you taking the time to research and answer this x