Computer crashed ... Is there anyway to recover the data in the hard drive? Really need to recover data!!!?

Answer 1

You can try to put the drive in another computer and if the drive is still functional you will be able to transfer files from the drive.

Answer 2

Depends on WHY the drive crashed. If you PC still recognizes that the drive is there, but is just not booting Windows, you may be able to recover the dataq by placing it into another computer as a second drive. Boot Windows from the first hard drive, and hopefully you will be able to see and copy the files from the second "crashed" drive.

If the PC recognizes the drive is there, but does not boot from it at all, you can try the second drive trick, only you would have to run a file recovery software to see the files (Check http://download.com for some free ones).

If the PC will not even recognize that the drive is there, you have a mechnical problem within the drive. You would need to have a professional recovery service look at the drive. Plan to spend $2000-2500 to have the data recovered.

Answer 3

Only maybe. There are all kinds of disk crash problems. I've used chkdsk to recover a drive that was still accessible but if you can't use the drive at all, you need to take more drastic action. If possible mount the drive in a USB carrier and put it in the freezer (in a plastic bag). I've been able to recover data off a frozen drive for about 5 minutes (until it warms up) which was enough time to extract my most critical information. No, it might not work at all for you--I'm just saying it worked for me. Do this at your own risk.

If the drive is accessible but has errors you might try to use one of the partition recovery packages (www.partitionsupport.com).

The only other serious approach is to try to use one of the disk recovery services--these are generally very expensive.

Answer 4

That all depends on tha nature of the crash. If it was a head crash then the harddrive is pretty much gone so there's almost nothing you can do to retreieve anything. Maybe there's some business out there that could recover it, but it probably wouldnt' be cheap. However, if it's a problem with any other componet crashing and your hard drive is intact, then you should be able to simply remove the hard drive, insert it in another computer, and all your stuff should still be there.

Answer 5

If the drive crashed there are recovery companies that will try to get the data back. It's not cheap, and it's not fast.

If it's the motherboard, you can buy an enclosure from circuit city that is a free standing hard drive case. You can then access it from any computer, and it's much easier than trying to install the drive in another computer.

The one I have is a MadDog, and I used it successfully to salvage my wifes projects for engineering school. It took longer to go to the store than it did to salvage the data.

You just browse the drive , which will install as the next drive in your chain via the USB port.

If you know the file format (.doc, .pdf, etc) you can search the drive for all files of that type by using *.pdf, *.doc or whatever and copy them to disc.

Answer 6

Like many of us, you too violated the first of the ten commandments for computer users! Thou shalt back up thy data!

Well, yes, there are programs to recover data from crashed hard disks but they are expensive. Look in the net and or locate a physical party near you. Best wishes.

Answer 7

I would suggest the very first thing you do is remove the drive, and take it to a computer store. If you don't feel comfortable digging around inside, just take the entire thing. They can tell you exactly whats wrong, and how to fix it, and most of them have fairly reasonable prices.

like the one guy said, if the drive itself failed mechanically, you're screwed. It's very nearly impossible to recover data in that situation.

on the other hand, if something in your OS, or another peice of hardware failed, you're data is likely still there, and can be removed using software that most computer repair shops have. Or you can install it into another PC.

good luck, and back-up your data from now on, on a separate drive.

Answer 8

In most of the computer crash's cases the hard drive is still operational, i should recomend to take it out and connect it to another computer. This way you would be able to pull the files and folders from the crashed operating system.
Then format it and reinstall windows and all your software.
If you dont have another desktop pc or you dont want to open a perfectly working computer, there is accesories that connects ide and sata hardrives to any usb port like a regular pendrive.

Answer 9

Yes, you can, so long as your HD hasn't given up the ghost. There are Linux rescue disks that you can readily download from the Internet. These are "Live" CD's that allow you to run them from your CD/DVD drive without any installation. Some of these handle NTFS support if you are using XP or Vista, so you can copy and recover them. Some of these CD's come with programs such as Krusader or Midnight Commander. The only thing you have to do to run any Linux version from your CD/DVD is to make sure your BIOS's Boot Sequence is set so that your PC looks at the CD/DVD drives first during booting. The BIOS is usually accessed by using the F2 key during the boot up. When the BIOS screen appears, look for the Boot Sequence and follow the instructions on how to set your CD/DVD drive as the first drive to be accessed.
The following link can help you look for a version of Linux to help you. http://distrowatch.com/

Answer 10

Take it to a local independent computer store, they usually have a tool (cd) that can see if the files are still there and recoverable. Usual charge for a data transfer from dead hard drive to a external drive or cd is about $50.00 usd.

After that consider an external hdd for data storage.