Need local suggestions for data recovery....

I have a hard drive that won't boot - all is get is a loud "clicking" so I don't know if it's the internal controller or what.
Unfortunately, this drive contains about 120gb of family pics and music so I need to see what can be recovered.
Looking for someone local that's got a good reputation and is fairly priced.
Local would be IC, CR, etc...
Thanks!
-Eric

 

Thanks Mary!
With the drive clicking there is a failure, either mechanical or electrical, causing the head to not be able to read the data and swinging back and forth inside the enclosure trying to find something.
The repair methods would be swapping the main board (which I'll try as a second option), or paying someone to either swap the platters into a working hard drive or swap the heads from a working hard drive - all outside the reach of what I would give the Geek Squad credit for.
I do appreciate the response, though!
-Eric

 

Thanks Jeremy!
I did read about this earlier - apparently it can work (rather well) in some instances allowing you to retrieve data until the drive heats up again.
I have the "click of death" so I don't believe software will work at this time /DesktopModules/ActiveForums/themes/_default/emoticons/sad.gif.
I am going to try the freezer method and if that doesn't work I have an identical drive that I'll swap the main boards and hope that's it (not likely).
If nothing else works I'm thinking it'll be in the $250-$350 range to get it repaired - I've heard of outrageous quotes online and I'll shop around.
Last month I was telling my wife I needed to back everything up so this wouldn't happen now I feel like an arse...
-Eric

 

Thanks Fawn!
I'll call both @ lunch today!
-Eric

 

I have an identical drive and I'll switch the boards before sending it for repair.
Most likely about 1% chance that's the problem, but you never know!
-Eric

 

Thanks JB.
This certainly isn't the worst thing that can happen in life but it does suck.
So I have a 1TB internal drive on order from NewEgg along with a 1TB external for back up.
This morning another internal drive is taking a crap but I'm s-l-o-w-l-y getting data from it.  It is coincidental, but all of the affected drives are old (6-8 yrs) and I was rolling the dice.  Second drive is recognized and is acting corrupt obviously leading to the possibility of a MBR infection of some sort which I'll address as soon as I get whatever data I can from it.
Not the best of luck this week!  There's more going on outside of the data issues as well...
-Eric

 

Posted By Kungpaoshizi on 06/17/2010 03:32 PM
Get uhh, this
http://www.sysint.no/nedlasting/mbrfix.htm
Just be sure to do a backup AND THEN try the repair. Even if it's fubar after an attempted repair, your data will still be there, but then you can just reapply the backup.
I've never had it fail though except with Windows 7 because they have a different offset for mbr data because of the 100MB system partition.
But you can get around that if you're running 7 with the 100MB sys partition by just using a program to copy the non 100MB paritition (actual 7 install partition) to another drive, or readjust stuff on the fly using Partition Magic and also the Windows Disk Management.
If ya need help just call me 3194318997, if you need programs or extra drives, got all that too.. my apartment looks like a lab. /DesktopModules/ActiveForums/themes/_default//emoticons/smile.gif
http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash1/hs241.ash1/16876_443127760045_704735045_10733579_802341_n.jpg
I've got so much hardware I don't know what to do with it, so it's all "backup" equipment lol Thanks for the info!
Second drive quit transferring data after about 20 minutes & disappeared from Windows - upon re-boot isn't recognized by the BIOS and is clicking as well.
So - 2 drives that physically died in 3 days - what are the odds?
I did swap boards on the first drive to no avail.
Hmm...
-Eric

 

Yeah I've been thinking about that...
Last fall I removed the side cover and didn't put it back on...I always used to run computers without all of their covers as I was always "tinkering"...granted they were usually in cooler environments.
So...without the side cover I may not be getting proper ventilation through the system and allowing it to overheat...
-Eric

 

I've added the side panel again and all of the fans (3) seem to be functioning properly.
I do remember when I felt the first drive it was very hot - second drive that failed was mounted directly above it absorbing all of the excess heat.
Excess heat plus old drives/weak components most likely equaled failure...
Still trying to determine whether we'll spend $400-$500 to recover data from the first drive.
Pretty much keeping the system off until replacement drives arrive Monday...call me paranoid!
-Eric

 

Thanks AJ!
My wife doesn't like my tendency to collect "treasures" so all of my old machines are history.
I ordered 2 drives:
Samsung internal 1tb from NewEgg
Samsung external 1tb backup drive from NewEgg
The external has software to perform scheduled and real time back ups as files are created/changed.  I'm hoping it'll work with Linux as I'm considering taking that route next week and as such will leave it FAT32.
I used to run Seagate, Maxtor & Western Digital drives but haven't shopped for a drive since 2005.  My current PC (2008) shipped with a Seagate so it was part of the deal - I used to build my own PC's but it isn't really worth it anymore unless you're looking for something exotic or powerful for gaming/video editing/serving/etc.
I'm very surprised at the reputation of Samsung drives and probably wouldn't have considered them.  Apparently they're known for bulletproof reliability which is a good thing.  They have class leading throughput with is perfect for storage and although they aren't the best for gaming or business applications I'm looking to not have a repeat of this last week.
From what I've heard most people only have a significant data loss once then learn their lesson...
-Eric