Recovering data from a crashed hard drive
Q: I have an external USB hard drive that is no longer showing up as an active volume. What can I do to recover the data from the drive?
A: There are several tools on the market to assist with recovering data from a crashed drive. Listed below are a few of these tools.
A: There are several tools on the market to assist with recovering data from a crashed drive. Listed below are a few of these tools.
- Spinrite from www.grc.com
- Ontrack's tools from www.ontrack.com
- PC Inspector has also received high remarks. This freeware tool is available at http://www.pcinspector.de/file_recovery/UK/welcome.htm
Comments
I have had 2 USB drive enclosures stop working, but the drives was fine and continues to work in another enclosure. I am working with a client that uses name brand USB/Firewire enclosures for image archiving (radiology images), and they have 1-2 drive enclosures die each month, out of 25-30 in use. it appears to be a common problem with these devices, both name brand and off-brand.