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I'm wondering if anyone here has experience with a data recovery service for hopefully extracting data from a failed hard drive. The drive is a 1 TB spinner that is probably around 30% used and failed a few days ago. By failed, I mean all it will do is click for several seconds (I'm assuming it's the heads hitting the stops) after power-on...then nothing.
The drive was the main data drive in my home/office server and has stuff that I can probably live without, but would rather not if it can be retrieved affordably.
Thanks for any input! 
"Go forth into the source" - Neal Morse
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Have you tried the disk's manufacturer / distributor? They may have suggestions. Best of luck!
Get me coffee and no one gets hurt!
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I did this a few years ago & they were able to restore whatever I needed - the drive electronics had failed.
My understanding is they replaced them and copied the data off.
It was expensive - literally paid for each file
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My company had to pay $2,500 to recover data from one of the manager's failed drive.
Not to worry though, being a proper, technically cautious, CP'er, you had a recent backup... didn't you? 
- I would love to change the world, but they won’t give me the source code.
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I have backups of the most important stuff. There were however many, many folders on the drive that weren't included in the backups. I admit to becoming lackadaisical with backups regarding making sure everything was included. One important thing that has come up missing was a sql database used by the business...the last found backup is 10 months old. I thought it was safe as it's data file (mdf) was on the OS drive, however, it's log file (and backups) were on the drive that failed. I've been able to get the most important stuff back so far...that I know of now. Lesson learned. 
"Go forth into the source" - Neal Morse
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I have had (limited) success in getting data off a failed drive by first putting it in the freezer for a few minutes.
OTOH, If you are going to pay someone to do the job, I would probably not try that first.
OTOH, she wore a glove.
Arguing with a woman is like reading the Software License Agreement. In the end, you ignore everything and click "I agree".
Anonymous
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theoldfool wrote: putting it in the freezer for a few minutes
That was one of my initial thoughts, but then I read warning against it. I've handed it off to my business partner. We're sending it in to a lab to see what the expense will be. It's been a long week so far recovering, but finally everything seems to be working.
"Go forth into the source" - Neal Morse
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This always works for me:
1. Buy a new identical model drive.
2. Take the circuit board off the new drive and replace the bricked circuit board with it.
3. Read all your data.
4. Put the good circuit board back onto the new drive, and voila!
The difficult we do right away...
...the impossible takes slightly longer.
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That only works if the electronics failed. It won't do anything about WTF caused the hardware in kmoorevs drive to get misaligned so that the read heads are hitting the platters.
Did you ever see history portrayed as an old man with a wise brow and pulseless heart, waging all things in the balance of reason?
Is not rather the genius of history like an eternal, imploring maiden, full of fire, with a burning heart and flaming soul, humanly warm and humanly beautiful?
--Zachris Topelius
Training a telescope on one’s own belly button will only reveal lint. You like that? You go right on staring at it. I prefer looking at galaxies.
-- Sarah Hoyt
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You're assuming that the heads hitting the stops is necessarily NOT caused by failed electronics, which is a false assumption.
The difficult we do right away...
...the impossible takes slightly longer.
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Yep, I watched a few videos of people doing this. None of my old drives would work and apparently this was an overpriced drive. It's getting sent to the lab.
"Go forth into the source" - Neal Morse
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There are youtube videos on this. Largely, If you don't have backups it's going to cost you.
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Ron Anders wrote: If you don't have backups it's going to cost you
Lesson learned...keep better backups!
"Go forth into the source" - Neal Morse
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Had a friend who lost a *very* important external drive. Basically, their entire business was on it. Contacted a few local data recovery services - picked one - handed them the bad drive and a brand new one. They recovered 99% of the data. I want to say they spent close to $1,000 for the work, but it was worth every penny.
Charlie Gilley
<italic>Stuck in a dysfunctional matrix from which I must escape...
"Where liberty dwells, there is my country." B. Franklin, 1783
“They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.” BF, 1759
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The equipment to do various types of recovery is a little over that amount, plus the training to know how to use it.
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Well, sure. But time is $$, and there are times when you point at the vendor and say "Make it so."
Sort of like when your septic tank backs up on a holiday weekend.
Charlie Gilley
<italic>Stuck in a dysfunctional matrix from which I must escape...
"Where liberty dwells, there is my country." B. Franklin, 1783
“They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.” BF, 1759
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If it is a holiday weekend, if you can find someone, it will defiantly take lots of money.
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Thanks for the encouragement! That's about the limit of what I'm willing to spend. If I can get 99% back, it will be worth it.
"Go forth into the source" - Neal Morse
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It is also possible that the harddrive controller went bad or glitched.
I recently had a WD drive fail but happened to buy 2 at the same time with the same Board and firmware installed. it was just a simple matter of swapping the board.
Clicking is not always the heads, it may just not be able to find the data on disk because of the firmware.
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Try posting a question in QA. I'm sure the "recovery tools" spammers will quickly turn up to post lots of spam links to their dodgy wares. 
"These people looked deep within my soul and assigned me a number based on the order in which I joined."
- Homer
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When you own an Audi and go to register it, isn't that Audi Duty Time?
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Ah, the one company that has put me off more than even Mickeysoft.
The language is JavaScript. that of Mordor, which I will not utter here
This is Javascript. If you put big wheels and a racing stripe on a golf cart, it's still a f***ing golf cart.
"I don't know, extraterrestrial?"
"You mean like from space?"
"No, from Canada."
If software development were a circus, we would all be the clowns.
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I conclude you infer the govt in this instance... Or, does that now make it "the two entities..."? 
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I mean this[^] maker of low quality cars.
The language is JavaScript. that of Mordor, which I will not utter here
This is Javascript. If you put big wheels and a racing stripe on a golf cart, it's still a f***ing golf cart.
"I don't know, extraterrestrial?"
"You mean like from space?"
"No, from Canada."
If software development were a circus, we would all be the clowns.
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I have owned several Audi (and VW) vehicles over the years and have found them solid, reliable and well made. To what do you owe your poor view of them?
- I would love to change the world, but they won’t give me the source code.
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