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Home > Archive > Cheap Linux Hardware > December 2007 > Help on data recovery from a damaged external hard drive
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Help on data recovery from a damaged external hard drive
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| myemail.an@googlemail.com 2007-12-13, 1:17 pm |
| Hi all,
I am a Linux (OpenSuse) newbie, and could really use your help on
this: I have a western digital 1tb external hard drive, with usb,
firewire and esata interfaces), which I accidentally knocked off the
table. Since then, the light turns on, but Linux no longer recognizes
the drive. I tried both USB and firewire connections, both on my
computer and others, with a number of live distributions as well
(Ubuntu, Kubuntu, Knoppix, Mandriva, Sabayon, Fedora, OpenSuse), but
no system recognized the hard drive. It just doesn't appear among the
devices list anymore. Gparted doesn't show it, either.
Is there anything I could attempt myself to try to recover the data?
Something like, say, an app with low-level access to the usb bus?
Any help would be enormously appreciated!
Thanks!
PS I tried connecting the hard drive to a couple of laptops with
Windows XP, too, but that didn;t work, either - of course! : )
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| Måns Rullgård 2007-12-13, 1:17 pm |
| "myemail.an@googlemail.com" <myemail.an@googlemail.com> writes:
> Hi all,
>
> I am a Linux (OpenSuse) newbie, and could really use your help on
> this: I have a western digital 1tb external hard drive, with usb,
> firewire and esata interfaces), which I accidentally knocked off the
> table. Since then, the light turns on, but Linux no longer recognizes
> the drive. I tried both USB and firewire connections, both on my
> computer and others, with a number of live distributions as well
> (Ubuntu, Kubuntu, Knoppix, Mandriva, Sabayon, Fedora, OpenSuse), but
> no system recognized the hard drive. It just doesn't appear among the
> devices list anymore. Gparted doesn't show it, either.
>
> Is there anything I could attempt myself to try to recover the data?
> Something like, say, an app with low-level access to the usb bus?
Does lsusb list the drive in its output? I'd open the case and check
for loose connections or damaged circuit boards. If it's not simply a
plug in need of reseating, remove the drive from the case and connect
it directly to an SATA (assuming it's an SATA drive) controller. If
it still doesn't work, replace it.
--
Måns Rullgård
mans@mansr.com
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| myemail.an@googlemail.com 2007-12-13, 7:15 pm |
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> Does lsusb list the drive in its output?
No
> I'd open the case and check
> for loose connections or damaged circuit boards.
Nothing worked 
I see...
I'll bring the disk to a data recovery center and see what quote they
come up with. I have a backup of the most sensitive data, but not of
the whole content. After all, the only way to backup a 1 TB hard drive
would be... to buy a second 1 TB hard drive - at least for my budget:
tape backups are too expensive.
Thanks anyway for the clarifications!
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| John Thompson 2007-12-14, 1:21 am |
| On 2007-12-13, myemail.an@googlemail.com <myemail.an@googlemail.com> wrote:
> Nothing worked
>
> I'll bring the disk to a data recovery center and see what quote they
> come up with. I have a backup of the most sensitive data, but not of
> the whole content. After all, the only way to backup a 1 TB hard drive
> would be... to buy a second 1 TB hard drive - at least for my budget:
> tape backups are too expensive.
Alas, having inadequate backups is often just as expensive. :-(
--
John (john@os2.dhs.org)
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