off topic, but...

[daav]

Does anyoneknow of a good software that mgiht be able to read data on a drive and sort out a ruined partition(s)?

I've been i the process of rebuilding my DAW.
Mobo (asus), P4 2.53 ghz, 1 GB ram, all working fine, I have a 80 GB drive i set up for OS and porograms, and a 300 GB for data and a share with music across my home network. I used partition magic to set upt he 300 GB drive iwht a 80 ofdd GB partition and the rest in a second partition. THis invilved resizing the first partition but went through with no problems and i used both partitaion for a bit with no problems.
Now i am a technical person, but something really weird happened last night that i wonder if anyone else has ever seen. The 80 GB drive is ready to crash (long story, but it is making loud clicking noises and has some self monitoring software that is telling me it is on it's way out). It can still boot windows XP, but gets really stressed if you try to do any intensive work through it (like copy tons of the files at once to another drive to back them up!).

Anyway, i decided I would take the 300 GB drive and make it the master and put the 80GB in as a slave to see if it might be easier to get the files off it. I switch the drives, switch jumpers (for master/slave) and boot to my xp setup disk- where it tells me there is not a good partition and wants to format the whole drive to install windows. I cancel and get out, switch the drives back and boot to the 80 GB drive again. Now the system sees the 300 GB drive as a bad partition and can't even read it, it just prompts me to format.

I don't really have anything I absolutely need on the 300 GB right now, but there is about 40 GB of music i would prefer not to lose. Literally huindreds of CDs burned to the hard drive that i really don't want to have to put back if i can help it.

I'm sure there is a simple record on the drive somewhere that can put the partitions back, or at least creat new ones wihtout losing the folders that already have data on them, but this is beyond me and I am not about to pay some data recovery place big $$ to grab this mosic for me. ANy ideas?

Thanks,
Dave

 

[zekthedeadcow]

Clicking is very bad....There are a couple things.

I used to use R-Studio for NTFS recovery... I assume it could make an image and then recover off that...(thats the right way)

OR

there is a program called CDcheck:
http://www.elpros.si/CDCheck/

It will read bad sectors multiple times and then guess their value... typically used for scratched CD recovery... If you get CRC errors while copying this will work though them. it takes a long time... a very long time... and the dive will probably be completely toasted when it's done... but it's not like it's salvageable now anyway...

Clicking drives need to be replaced immeadiatly... especially of the clicking occurs with it's initializing... of thats the case don't shut it off again as it might not reinitialize... and that is the _REALLY_ expensive recovery as the platter has to be partially resurfaced by the manufacturer.

If the drive is clicking then it is already damaged so it is possible that music files are already damaged enough to need replacement... especuially if you've been messing with it...

 

[daav]

Thanks. i found somehting like the R-studio stuff and got the files back, but I need to borrow a friends USB hard drive to hold the stuff whil i finshing hte foirmat on the drive that is not ready to give up the ghost.

Good advice!
Dave

 

[timboZ]

I use a porgram at work called badcopypro.

 

[bgavin]

If you live in a metro area, I'm sure there is probably a service tech sharp enough to do what you are asking, without gouging you. I do this for my clients constantly, as part of my computer service business.

Your tech should have his own external drive and data recovery software. If not, find another tech.