HELP: HD unrecognizable...

[asbalyan]

The HDD in question is: WD Caviar Blue 640GB SATA/16Mb cache WD64000AAKS.

My 4-yr Gateway computer primary HD (OS/Bootable) is pretty much dead.
Usually used by my son, I had lot of information on that . Last few days, it was not booting easily (Had to restart few times). And now it stopped totally.
HD was not accessible though the BIOS too.
I took the HD out and connected externally with USB/SATA cable. The cable has no issue as I tested with other HD.
What I am observing is,
The HD powers up, starts spinning and USB connection lights/make beep sound on laptop.
But HD is not recognizable by Laptop, either thru Explorer, Bios or even with other tools (WD diag as well as tried few sahreware).
HD stops spinning after 30sec to 1 min.

I read few issues related to Seagate but not WD. Any hope.... Looking towards gurus here to save and able to pull data.
Opening HD and check head... or change the PCB...

 

[Elixer]

If you haven't made any backups, then, seems like your only choice is pay some big $$$ and go to a recovery service.

Once a HD can't be recognized anymore, then, there really isn't anything else you can do besides that.

Note, you should NEVER open up a HD, if you don't know what you are doing.
A PCB swap is possible, but, you need to find the exact same model/revision, which is hard for the pros, let alone a normal user.

 

[DooKey]

I've heard you can freeze the HD and sometimes it will come back to life for a few minutes. Maybe long enough to get your important data off of it.

 

[asbalyan]

I have put the drive in the freezer...
What about trying to change the PCB...
And how much is charged for the data/information extraction...

 

[ignatzatsonic]

You should at least go to Western Digital web site and download their disc tool package and run it to confirm whether or not the drive is dead.

You might get lucky with a free recovery applications like Recuva, but professional data recovery is quite expensive---prices I see are typically $1000 plus, but I've never personally checked.

 

[mikeymikec]

If the drive isn't recognised by the computer at any level (Device Manager, for example listing the drive), then the problem isn't mechnical, it's electrical. Freezing it is unlikely to help.

Freezing tends to help with mechanical issues, like when the lubricant for the spindle (or say an issue with the bearings in the spindle) has worn out and causing the spindle to generally not do its job correctly.

+1 Elixer's comment.

The last time I checked regarding data recovery firm prices, they tended to be at least £500 UKP (in the last 3 years), which sounds comparable to the poster's estimate before my post.

Learning the hard way that backups are important sucks, I've been there too.

 

[phis6]

You can consult or phone some professional data recovery services such as WeRecoverData .com they provide free evaluation and consultation for you to be guided accordingly with your problem.

 

[Deders]

I have put the drive in the freezer...

Did you wrap it up to make sure no moisture got in?