[PC] HALP - boot HDD not recognized anymore

xsq · Sep 3, 2016

So, I'm having trouble with my Desktop PC. Any help appreciated.

It appears my BIOS does not detect my boot HDD at all...
When I power the system on, I can hear it spin up, feel it vibrate when I touch it - it makes two short clicks, then shuts down.

I noticed that when the drive is connected, it takes a significantly longer time for the BIOS to display anything at all. With the drive disconnected this goes a lot faster. (There are no differences in the displayed text however.)

What I tried so far:
- switched the SATA and power cable with the DVD drive (no change)
- reset the BIOS by removing CMOS battery & power cable for a few minutes (no change)
- booted Knoppix from CD (ran fine, but did not detect the HDD)
- booted SeaTools from CD (no HDD detected)
- plugged in another (blank) HDD with the same cables (it was immediately detected and kept spinning)

Please note that the system used to run fine just yesterday - the drive was not making any unusual noises etc. I had left it on, watched some TV and wanted to shut it down when I went to bed. The logon screen was frozen, I could move the mouse (however it would stutter and halt for a few seconds now and then) but I could not click/select anything. The keyboard was on, but it did not do anything eiter. I did a hard-shutdown by holding the power button on the tower.

hyper · Sep 3, 2016

Purchase a small ssd 128 or 256gb and install the same OS as the og hdd

purchase a SATA to USB 3.0 dock (powered) and stick the HDD in it, if you're lucky the disk isn't dead and you can read it's contents

Don't fuck around and waste time, get the ssd and do a clean install

Karou · Sep 3, 2016

Lemony Vengeance · Sep 3, 2016

This drive is nearly dead. You could always do the freezer trick to get the drive to read one last time.

Put the drive in the freezer for a few hours, then attempt to read it on a PC. Chances are it'll work long enough to get your data off it.

I'm not bullshitting you on this, I've done this before and it works.

madman · Sep 3, 2016

Karou said:

Why are you even in the tech support section around a PC question? Go take your retard act elsewhere.

Karou · Sep 3, 2016

madman said:
Why are you even in the tech support section around a PC question? Go take your retard act elsewhere.

op knows...yes he knows! and he is amused. too bad for you.

hyper · Sep 3, 2016

Lemony Vengeance said:
This drive is nearly dead. You could always do the freezer trick to get the drive to read one last time.

Put the drive in the freezer for a few hours, then attempt to read it on a PC. Chances are it'll work long enough to get your data off it.

I'm not bullshitting you on this, I've done this before and it works.

lol do not stick the drive in the fucking freezer, I'm not going to list the reasons why, just keep it boxed while not in use

you don't know its dead (yet) the mbr could be corrupted or something else

if it is, there's ways to get the data off the magnetic platter but you're not there yet

Lemony Vengeance · Sep 3, 2016

hyper said:
lol do not stick the drive in the fucking freezer, I'm not going to list the reasons why, just keep it boxed while not in use

you don't know its dead (yet) the mbr could be corrupted or something else

if it is, there's ways to get the data off the magnetic platter but you're not there yet

http://lifehacker.com/5515337/save-a-failed-hard-drive-in-your-freezer-redux

Dude, if it's a physical issue with the drive, then it's worth a shot. It's a last ditch effort to get at least SOME of the data back before the drive PERMANENTLY dies, not a way to repair mechanical issues.

Trust me, I was a skeptic when I first heard about it nearly 10 years ago, but it works.

hyper · Sep 3, 2016

uh.. you could also try throwing chicken bones at it or sticking it in the microwave

you're gonna corrode the platter doing that shit, making it cold isn't going to frankenstein the disk back to life

leave that shit be so the platter is intact should u need to really actually do data recovery

Lemony Vengeance · Sep 4, 2016

Shit, if the Drive is physically hosed and you need the data off it, who cares what's done to rescue the data? But what the hell do I know, I only worked for a spinning disk manufacturer for 6 years...

xsq · Sep 4, 2016

Thank you for the tips. I'll try the powered dock route first. If that doesn't yield any results, I can still put it in my freezer ^^

@hyper: any reason why I should purchase a SSD? I got a spare HDD...

As for the data loss: It's not bad, like any sane human being I make periodical backups. What annoys me most is having to set up/customize the OS...

Lemony Vengeance · Sep 4, 2016

xsq said:
Thank you for the tips. I'll try the powered dock route first. If that doesn't yield any results, I can still put it in my freezer ^^

@hyper: any reason why I should purchase a SSD? I got a spare HDD...

As for the data loss: It's not bad, like any sane human being I make periodical backups. What annoys me most is having to set up/customize the OS...

Spinning disk is slow, and anything mechanical is prone to failure. SSDs are fast (REALLY fast if your Motherboard has an M.2 socket on it), affordable, and easy to use. You're not going to wear out the NAND for a WHILE especially since most modern drives have Garbage Collection built into them, but if you're concerned you can always use an SSD for the boot drive, and a standard spinning disk for the scratch/program drive.

hyper · Sep 4, 2016

ssd is extremely fast, uses less power and runs closer to room temperature

the data is still on the platter even if it wont spin, you don't want to expose it to moisture

hyper · Sep 4, 2016

load knoppix with original & new hdd attached of same size or larger

$ sudo sh ## root shell, base belong 2 us
# fdisk -l ## see which is which /dev/sda [#fukt#], /dev/sdb [#gud#]
# fdisk /dev/sdb ## fux w gud
fdisk > p ## wuts rlly gud?
fdisk > d ## delete partions
fdisk > 1 ## part1 get got
fdisk > 2 ## part2 get got.. etc.. etc you're deleting partitions by number here
fdisk > w ## write to disk. disk now ded (clean)
fdisk > exit ## FOH
#cat /dev/sda > /dev/sdb ##blind dump fukt 2 gud.... sip espresso, sniff dust, enter coma... 1-12 hrs later...
# ##

;_;

#shutdown -p now #profit

hyper · Sep 4, 2016

fdisk quit command is "quit"

xsq · Sep 4, 2016

hyper said:
$ sudo sh ## root shell, base belong 2 us
# fdisk -l ## see which is which /dev/sda [#fukt#], /dev/sdb [#gud#]
# fdisk /dev/sdb ## fux w gud
fdisk > p ## wuts rlly gud?
fdisk > d ## delete partions
fdisk > 1 ## part1 get got
fdisk > 2 ## part2 get got.. etc.. etc you're deleting partitions by number here
fdisk > w ## write to disk. disk now ded (clean)
fdisk > exit ## FOH
#cat /dev/sda > /dev/sdb ##blind dump fukt 2 gud.... sip espresso, sniff dust, enter coma... 1-12 hrs later...
# ## ;_;
#shutdown -p now #profit

ok, since I am fucking dumbo when it comes to Linux: What you're saying is: first delete everything from the new/good disk (until "FOH") then try to get ("blind dump") whatever is left to get from the old/fucked HDD over to the new/good, right?

But doesn't this imply that Knoppix detects the old/damaged HDD? Because the BIOS still doesn't even say there's something connected to SATA, why/how would Knoppix find it?

P.S.: SSD+Dock ordered.

hyper · Sep 4, 2016

hmm, if the bios isn't detecting the drive then the drives controller PCB is failed possibly

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hard_disk_drive_failure
http://lifehacker.com/5982339/diy-data-recovery-tricks-for-when-your-hard-drive-goes-belly-up (so many pop-up ads)

hyper · Sep 4, 2016

lets see what happens when u boot up clean install and then switch on the docked/usb'd hard disk..

1) hit 'windows key' to open "run" prompt

2) type "diskmgmt.msc" hit enter

3) switch on docked hdd

hyper · Sep 4, 2016

#cat /dev/sda > /dev/sdb

writes the bit-to-bit contents from device/disk1 to device/disk2

disk2 has to be blank/unformatted/nofilesystem

Tripredacus · Sep 6, 2016

Lemony Vengeance said:
Dude, if it's a physical issue with the drive, then it's worth a shot. It's a last ditch effort to get at least SOME of the data back before the drive PERMANENTLY dies, not a way to repair mechanical issues.

Trust me, I was a skeptic when I first heard about it nearly 10 years ago, but it works.

Specifically relating to freezers:
http://www.msfn.org/board/topic/153...xtor-stm3500320as-please-help/#comment-977795

However, it is NOT recommended to do any sort of "jump to conclusion" type troubleshooting. It may well be better for him to put the drive in an oven or drop it on the floor. Certainly, doing any of those three things would be a last resort, not a first step.

@xsq, if you still need help, you can make a post in that forum I linked, in the hard drive section and perhaps get a more informed opinion or things to try before taking the disk out of your computer and putting it in non-computery situations.

Lemony Vengeance · Sep 6, 2016

Not arguing with you on the "last resort" bit at all.

if there's clicking, there's a very strong possibility that it's a physical issue and any amount of time spent in gparted or fdisk wont yield any fruit.

I'm in agreement with you all: Run all the tests you can, and only freeze it if you have nothing else you can do to even ATTEMPT to get SOME of the data back. Then never use a spinning disk again.

hyper · Sep 6, 2016

just fyi

if the data residing on the magnetic platter must absolutely be recovered professional clean-room recovery will cost somewhere between $1000-$1500

Lemony Vengeance · Sep 6, 2016

hyper said:
just fyi

if the data residing on the magnetic platter must absolutely be recovered professional clean-room recovery will cost somewhere between $1000-$1500

Yup. Data recovery ain't cheap.

xsq · Sep 7, 2016

thank you all for the additional input (esp. Tripredacus for the link).

I am currently still waiting for the Dock/SSD and will report back once those come in.

[PC] HALP - boot HDD not recognized anymore

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