Help! Need to recover files!

mistermullens · July 25th, 2008, 10:00 PM

My Seagate External Hard Drive is experiencing issues. Something has happened to it and I need to recover the files. My computer can still see the drive, but every time I click the "F:" drive, the computer tells me I need to reformat the drive. If I reformat, I lose everything. I called Seagate and they said the bad news is I need to reformat the drive the good news is I can download their file recovery software for $130. The free trial shows me the files I can recover, but if I opt to recover, it asks for my credit card. I've got a lot of stuff backed up, but its more organized on the drive. I can live with losing some of the music, but its the pics I really want to save. Any cheaper options out there? Thanks!

bassbuster33 · July 25th, 2008, 10:07 PM

Just do a Google search for free data or file recovery software. There are some freebies out there that should do the job for you.

Mark Davis · July 25th, 2008, 10:18 PM

Try this first it sometimes works.

If its a USB drive when your computer is off disconnect it.

Then turn your computer back on and reconnect it.

Sometimes the USB interface gets messed up and gives false reportss.

beep.click · July 25th, 2008, 10:32 PM

There's a program out there called ZAR (Zero Assumption Recovery). It saved a bunch of pictures off a digital camera card for me, and my friend at work had good luck with it on her hard drive.

They usually offer special discounted pricing on weekends (I paid $29.95, I think).

http://www.z-a-recovery.com/

furrfurrfurr · July 25th, 2008, 10:51 PM

worse case scenario: $130 is dirt cheap for data recovery if it works. I just lost my internal hard drive and it would've been thousands to get stuff back.

tc6969 · July 25th, 2008, 10:58 PM

Try a live Linux disc.

I have seen several that will transfer windows files to an external drive.

pengipete · July 25th, 2008, 11:16 PM

The hard drive has a small area set aside where it stores the information that the operatisng system needs to read the drive and another containing the directory - the list of files on the drive.

It sounds as though one or both of these has become corrupted which makes it impossible to read the drive via Windows or Linux. The good news is that the data on the drive will still be readable though you may not be able to recover everything.

The most important thing is that you must not do anything that could write to the drive as this will only make it more difficult to recover the data.

The first thing to do is to remove the cables from the drive - both the data cable and the power cable and then remove the data cable from the motherboard. Now refit the cables ensuring that they are correctly and fully inserted to the drive and the motherboard. If you have a spare data cable lying around try using that instead. The reason for doing this is that a data or power cable that is not correctly connected could cause your problem and computer cables suffer from "creep" caused by the constant hot/cold temperatures inside the PC's case.

Switch on and see if that helps. If so it was just the leads and you should be OK.

If not then you will almost certainly need some recovery software but you shuold not have to pay such a huge amount of money for it. There are freeware programs that can do the job - which one you should use depends in part on your version of Windows but you should be able to find something by going to Download.com and searching for "recovery". Download.com is a very reputable site - it is used by Microsoft themselves - so anything you download should be safe but always scan it for malware before running it just in case.

Better still, see if there is any suitable utility to simply repair the drive - it's actually not that difficult for software to do this if the data is not corrupted. Search on Download.com for "repair" or "drive repair".

Even if you can't find what you want as freeware it should just be a matter of visiting your local computer store and buying the software for a lot less than Seagate want to charge.

RomanS · July 26th, 2008, 05:34 AM

In a very similar case (external HD died) I had very good results with an inexpensive program called "Active File Recovery". http://www.file-recovery.net/

July 25th, 2008, 10:00 PM	#1 (permalink)
mistermullens Friend of Leo's Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Atlanta Age: 31 Posts: 2,373 51 Photos	Help! Need to recover files! My Seagate External Hard Drive is experiencing issues. Something has happened to it and I need to recover the files. My computer can still see the drive, but every time I click the "F:" drive, the computer tells me I need to reformat the drive. If I reformat, I lose everything. I called Seagate and they said the bad news is I need to reformat the drive the good news is I can download their file recovery software for $130. The free trial shows me the files I can recover, but if I opt to recover, it asks for my credit card. I've got a lot of stuff backed up, but its more organized on the drive. I can live with losing some of the music, but its the pics I really want to save. Any cheaper options out there? Thanks! __________________ When the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know peace. - Jimi Hendrix

July 25th, 2008, 10:18 PM	#3 (permalink)
Mark Davis Doctor of Teleocity Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Bakersfield Ca. Age: 58 Posts: 12,840	Try this first it sometimes works. If its a USB drive when your computer is off disconnect it. Then turn your computer back on and reconnect it. Sometimes the USB interface gets messed up and gives false reportss. __________________ I'm so blind my seeing eye dog needs glasses.

July 25th, 2008, 10:32 PM	#4 (permalink)
beep.click Tele-Afflicted Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: California Age: 49 Posts: 1,963	There's a program out there called ZAR (Zero Assumption Recovery). It saved a bunch of pictures off a digital camera card for me, and my friend at work had good luck with it on her hard drive. They usually offer special discounted pricing on weekends (I paid $29.95, I think). http://www.z-a-recovery.com/ __________________ "It looked like a giant green gum drop to me."

July 25th, 2008, 10:51 PM	#5 (permalink)
furrfurrfurr Friend of Leo's Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: South of Heaven Posts: 2,477	worse case scenario: $130 is dirt cheap for data recovery if it works. I just lost my internal hard drive and it would've been thousands to get stuff back. __________________ Hope I'm not too Messianic or a trifle too Satanic. Meow.

July 26th, 2008, 05:34 AM	#8 (permalink)
RomanS Friend of Leo's Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Vienna, Austria Age: 36 Posts: 2,871 14 Photos	In a very similar case (external HD died) I had very good results with an inexpensive program called "Active File Recovery". http://www.file-recovery.net/ __________________ http://www.pbase.com/romans http://www.myspace.com/romans212

July 25th, 2008, 10:07 PM	#2 (permalink)
bassbuster33 Tele-Meister Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Oregon Age: 42 Posts: 168	Just do a Google search for free data or file recovery software. There are some freebies out there that should do the job for you.

July 25th, 2008, 10:58 PM	#6 (permalink)
tc6969 Tele-Meister Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Rockledge Florida Age: 56 Posts: 135	Try a live Linux disc. I have seen several that will transfer windows files to an external drive.

July 25th, 2008, 11:16 PM	#7 (permalink)
pengipete Tele-Afflicted Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Gloucester U.K. Age: 47 Posts: 1,544	The hard drive has a small area set aside where it stores the information that the operatisng system needs to read the drive and another containing the directory - the list of files on the drive. It sounds as though one or both of these has become corrupted which makes it impossible to read the drive via Windows or Linux. The good news is that the data on the drive will still be readable though you may not be able to recover everything. The most important thing is that you must not do anything that could write to the drive as this will only make it more difficult to recover the data. The first thing to do is to remove the cables from the drive - both the data cable and the power cable and then remove the data cable from the motherboard. Now refit the cables ensuring that they are correctly and fully inserted to the drive and the motherboard. If you have a spare data cable lying around try using that instead. The reason for doing this is that a data or power cable that is not correctly connected could cause your problem and computer cables suffer from "creep" caused by the constant hot/cold temperatures inside the PC's case. Switch on and see if that helps. If so it was just the leads and you should be OK. If not then you will almost certainly need some recovery software but you shuold not have to pay such a huge amount of money for it. There are freeware programs that can do the job - which one you should use depends in part on your version of Windows but you should be able to find something by going to Download.com and searching for "recovery". Download.com is a very reputable site - it is used by Microsoft themselves - so anything you download should be safe but always scan it for malware before running it just in case. Better still, see if there is any suitable utility to simply repair the drive - it's actually not that difficult for software to do this if the data is not corrupted. Search on Download.com for "repair" or "drive repair". Even if you can't find what you want as freeware it should just be a matter of visiting your local computer store and buying the software for a lot less than Seagate want to charge.