BleepingComputer.com: Dead External HD questions

Hmmm, that does not seem to be working.

Per your instructions, I first connected, then powered on the Seagate External (heard a few clicks from that drive) then powered up the desktop and it's stuck at the BIOS info screen (?) I think.

Some of the information there is the:

Primary IDE Master: Sony DVD RW
Primary IDE Slave: LTN526S YSON

and below that it shows:

Detecting IDE drive.... <<< which is where it's been for about 10 minutes now.


At the bottom of the screen are the options:

Press F1 or DEL to enter Setup

And here I was thinking I had the patience of Job. Ha!


So, after several more minutes (I wasn't there when the Puppy launched) I came back and there was the Puppy desktop.

Ran the fdisk command and here's what came up:




Doesn't look much different I'm afraid.


I'm going to head off to bed as I'm up very early tomorrow so I'll check in as soon as the coffee's made and, perhaps, just before you're retiring for the day.

onward,

Winterland

That is not a good sign. Puppy is not detecting/reporting the hard drive as present.

With the problematic hard drive connected and powered on, start the computer and enter the BIOS Setup Menu. You should see the main hard drive reported there. Do you see the problematic hard drive reported there also ... or not?

If the problematic hard drive is not detected and reported correctly in BIOS, then all is in vain. Things you can try in that case ....

• Check and double-check all connections.
  
• Disconnect the main hard drive and use the power and data cables from that to connect the problematic hard drive.

And then getting even more desperate ...

• freezing the hard drive overnight
  
• slapping (the edges of) the hard drive (not while powered though)
  
• professional data recovery for mega$$$

(Although you may need to use a different key, tapping the <DELETE> key after pressing the ON button is often the means to access the BIOS Setup Menu: You will most likely see a message on screen to "Press _ key to enter Setup" or something similar.)

This post has been edited by AustrAlien: 31 January 2012 - 05:45 AM

Delete key leads me to the CMOS window.


Noob question - is that the same as the BIOS?


Also tried F2 to reach another screen but was unsuccessful, I had taken the Puppy CD out so it booted to the old XP desktop, which loaded without a problem but did not magically see the problematic drive. Rats.


Desktop is an older Medion - did some looking around and the Delete key was recommended several times.


I'm running out of time this morning - have to be at work earlier than usual but once I've got some time (probably tomorrow morning) I will start investigating the other methods you outlined (disconnecting main HD and using the power/data cables to see if I can 'see' the problematic drive, freezer, etc.)


Another quick question: let's just say that one of the methods you outlined gets me to that lucky moment when I can actually see/access the problematic HDD, what would be the quickest/fastest way to save/recover the information there? Plug in (via a USB cord) another external HDD and do the old drag & drop?



So, I'm off to start the day but will continue to tackle this in earnest and cannot tell you how wonderful and great you've been to walk me through all this.


I'll post updates if/when I get them and in the meantime, please know that you have my gratitude.


Onward,

Winterland

Winterland, on 31 January 2012 - 06:24 AM, said:

Yes: For our purpose, CMOS = BIOS.

What is the difference between BIOS and CMOS?

BIOS CMOS Memory

Edit to add: Freezer trick ... make sure you seal it airtight in a couple of ziplock plastic bags.

You asked: "let's just say that one of the methods you outlined gets me to that lucky moment when I can actually see/access the problematic HDD, what would be the quickest/fastest way to save/recover the information there?"
Use the setup you currently have: Use Puppy to copy files to the internal hard drive. That's always going to be quicker and more reliable than transferring data via a USB connection.

This post has been edited by AustrAlien: 31 January 2012 - 01:42 PM

Thought I'd wrap this up and let everyone know that I believe the External HD is dead.


Tried just about everything listed here but it's still a no go. Once powered up, the External HD clicks 4 - 6 times and then is quiet.

I've rebooted (several times) with the Puppy to try to 'see' it (the External HD) but alas, it seems to have shed this mortal coil.


Louis - thanks for your help.

Chase - thanks for the help as well.

AustrAlien, thank you, thank you for the time and instructions and patience.


The up side to all of this is that I learned quite a bit (esp. about backing up one's back up) and also stumbled upon a cute little Puppy that I'll be using on the old XP machine ~ talk about fast!

I've heard people say it makes old machines faster, but yikes! it really does.

Onward gentlemen, we'll see you in the Forums,

Winterland

Too bad about the HDD: You gave it a good shot, and that's about all you can do. At least you got a learning experience out of it, and discovered how good/useful Linux is ... to boot!

Puppy is good! No doubt about it. I am particularly pleased to see that you will have a continued use for Puppy. If you continue to have an interest in using a Linux version, then I can also recommend Mint for any user familiar with Windows. It requires a little more grunt in the hardware department than does Puppy, but again, it makes Windows look a little seedy.

I look forward to learning of your options as far as professional data recovery goes: Professional Data Recovery