dual G4 HD gone bad

[marcus]

The HD of my dual g4 powermac died the other day, any way, replaced it with a new 80 gig HD and it's now up and running, problem is my files in the bad HD. How can i retrieve those files, our IT guy in the office tried in vain to retrieve my files. Is there a place or someone who can retrieve files from a bad/dead HD? Please help...

[Henjie]

Originally posted by marcus
The HD of my dual g4 powermac died the other day, any way, replaced it with a new 80 gig HD and it's now up and running, problem is my files in the bad HD. How can i retrieve those files, our IT guy in the office tried in vain to retrieve my files. Is there a place or someone who can retrieve files from a bad/dead HD? Please help...

Ouch. That sucks.

I don't think there's any company specializing in data recovery here. A local DriveSavers would have been the answer to your current needs.

Dunno if this'll work but I was once able to revive a dead drive by gently tapping it against a wall. Not a permanent solution but it "lived" long enough for me to retrieve most of the files residing in it. If you're sure that the drive's already dead, then it might be worth a try. Nothing to lose. :-)

Good luck!


~Henjie

[marvinp]

If the hard disk still mounts, you can try salvaging your files with a combination of Data Rescue X and DiskWarrior X. These two utilities have saved my @ss a number of times in recovering crashed hard disks. Good luck!

[marcus]

it won't mount either, the G4 wont know that the drive is there. Good thing i backed up most of my photos during the holy week, was about to back up my files and this happens! it really sucks! Is there any way you'll know when your hard drive is about to die on you? One lesson learned for me is to BACK UP!

[Henjie]

Originally posted by marcus
Is there any way you'll know when your hard drive is about to die on you?

If your hard drive is S.M.A.R.T.-capable (S.M.A.R.T. = Self-Monitoring, Analysis and Reporting Technology), you can use Micromat's TechTool Pro 4 to "query" the hard drive and be forewarned if your drive's "sick". Almost all current hard drives are S.M.A.R.T.-capable.

Word is that the technology can detect up to 70% of all hard drive hardware errors. I guess that means it's not the end-all and be-all of data protection, and certainly not a substitute for a regular backup regimen. ;-)

Seagate's got a knowledge base page explaining S.M.A.R.T. Check it out here.


~Henjie

[marvinp]

OS X's own Disk Utility can also be used to check the S.M.A.R.T. status of hard disks.

From Apple Support:

Replacing a disk before it fails

Most disk drives include S.M.A.R.T. (Self-Monitoring Analysis and Reporting Technology) hardware developed by IBM that allows hard disks to test themselves for potential problems. You can check the health of your hard disk in Disk Utility, located in Applications/Utilities.

If you've been having some problems with your computer, it's a good idea to check the status of the hard disk.

To check the status of a disk:

Open Disk Utility, located in Applications/Utilities, and select the disk in the left column. Look at the bottom of the window to see the S.M.A.R.T. status.

If your disk is "verified," it's a valid disk with nothing wrong at this time. If you see "About to Fail" in red letters, back up your disk immediately and have the disk replaced. It will fail.

[Henjie]

Originally posted by marvinp
OS X's own Disk Utility can also be used to check the S.M.A.R.T. status of hard disks.

Whoa! Talk about a surprise. Thanks for the tip! :-)


~Henjie