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Old 12-08-2009, 08:02 PM   #1
starseed
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Default Best geeks in the city? Need to recover data.

Hey guys,

I have an older Dell laptop that I took with me on a trip through the south-western USA. I had all of my pictures and videos on there, and was only able to recover some of them after it had died. I put my favourite pictures and videos in a separate file on the desktop, and they were not on the CD that I was given by the computer repair shop in Airdrie two and a half years ago.

I still have it, and I was wondering if there was a possibility of getting someone else to have a crack at it. What is the best group of geeks in the city that I should go to?
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Old 12-08-2009, 08:12 PM   #2
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Memory Express, they saved a ton of data off my g/f's computer when it blew it's MOBO. Pretty sure the HD had bad sectors on it too, was kinda impressed they got anything off it tbh.
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Old 12-08-2009, 08:34 PM   #3
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Thanks for the suggestion! I did not even think about going there. I used them to get my supplies for when I built my first computer. I think that place could qualify as a branch of nerd heaven.
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Old 12-08-2009, 09:00 PM   #4
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Yeah, go to Memory Express...but purchase a 2.5" IDE external chassis for the notebook's hard drive. Remove hard drive from said notebook, install in chassis, then USB into another computer.

The chassis is less than $20. If it doesn't work then the HD is really really eff'd and don't bother spending another dime on it.

Imo.
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Old 12-08-2009, 09:11 PM   #5
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Try Geep Ecosys, right across from the deerfoot mall.
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Old 12-08-2009, 09:42 PM   #6
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The chassis is less than $20. If it doesn't work then the HD is really really eff'd and don't bother spending another dime on it.

Imo.
I'm going to disagree with you on this one. I have seen hard drives that to the layman appear to be dead (or even an average geek like me), but with the right software they can find all the hidden 1's and 0's and get your data back.

Heck- one time they even found a handful of 2's!
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Old 12-09-2009, 09:41 AM   #7
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You could also try buying a 30$ cable set and try doing it yourself.

They arent doing anything magical. Just ripping the HD out of the laptop, plugging it into a USB adapter and then plugging it into a computer. At most they might run some basic HD wellness tools but thats it.
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Old 12-09-2009, 10:54 AM   #8
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There are a few things you can try before taking it in.

If you have a chassis to plug it into another computer, put your harddrive in a plastic bag and then put it in the freezer. Typically harddrives crash because of a physical problem in the harddrive itself (eg: head is touching the platter). The freezing will contract the metal and let you grab your data off.

Leave it in the freezer overnight, try it afterwards and see what you can get.

If that doesn't work, bring it in. Data recovery places have more advanced recovery tools that can be used. They usually give you an estimate depending on how difficult the recovery will be.
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Old 12-09-2009, 11:08 AM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ken0042 View Post
I'm going to disagree with you on this one. I have seen hard drives that to the layman appear to be dead (or even an average geek like me), but with the right software they can find all the hidden 1's and 0's and get your data back.

Heck- one time they even found a handful of 2's!
I agree with you 100%. But the point I was trying to make is that when the consumer finally sees the bottom line cost to get the data back, 99% of the time the data really isn't worth it. This way he's only out $20.
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Old 12-09-2009, 03:55 PM   #10
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I can also loan you a copy of spinrite 6 if you want to go that route...

http://www.grc.com/sr/spinrite.htm
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Old 12-10-2009, 10:50 AM   #11
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I would try some actual data recovery professionals instead of memory express who are a bunch of geeks but aren't actually qualified to do data recovery. I think that Geep Ecosys might be.
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Old 12-12-2009, 08:57 AM   #12
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I would try some actual data recovery professionals instead of memory express who are a bunch of geeks but aren't actually qualified to do data recovery. I think that Geep Ecosys might be.
Yes, Geep Ecosys can recover data no problem. You want to talk to Barry or Mike who are brilliant with computers.
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