Main pc hard drive power failure - RESOLVED

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Posted: Mon Oct 06, 2008 4:00 pm

What a tragedy ?

Lost my main pc and all the files and info it contains - all my genealogy research and all the pics I have taken this year. Sad

To make matters worse, getting my aol connection re-established on this oc has been a nightmare, so I at least have a connection of sorts, if it can keep stable.

I guess I'm going to be caught up trying to get some power back into the old pc, at least enough to retrieve my files. I suppose backing up is a lesson you learn the hard way, but there you go.

What's the worst I can do - electrocute myself ? Laughing

I'll keep in touch but I'm not in the mood to play with scammers at the moment but I imagine I'll get the urge to torture someone as I try to learn some electronic skills. If I can manage to get the files I'll be well chuffed.

Posted: Mon Oct 06, 2008 4:07 pm

Sorry to hear about all your gynaecology research going down the pan. Wink

My PC turned up its toes a few weeks ago. As well as a new PC, I bought something called an ICY BOX

Basically a caddy for your old hard drive with a power supply and usb connection (even though my HD was an IDE one) there are various different ones for different drives.

Although my old HDD was too fubared to boot up a PC, I am now able to use it as an external HD from my new PC, and my own gynaecology research was preserved intact. I got it from http://www.aria.co.uk/

Posted: Mon Oct 06, 2008 4:08 pm

What about taking the old hard drive and plugging it into your new computer? You may be able to copy the files you are after onto your new drive. Do a little bit of research into the jumper configurations on the old drive. Make it the slave. If that does not work, set it to auto.

419Eater is my life Joined: 11 Dec 2004 Posts: 294

Mozy.com or carbonite.com - both are excellent and cheap.

Posted: Mon Oct 06, 2008 4:38 pm

Just because the power went off doesn't mean you lost your files. Take the computer to a shop and ask them to retrieve all of the files in certain folders that you want and put them on a CD or DVD. Even if your hard drive crashed there is hope.

Posted: Mon Oct 06, 2008 4:45 pm

Thanks a lot.

You two could well be right. All I recall is that the last time I opened the back of a hard drive I was drenched in blood before I even got it open, from slicing myself on the edge.

My back up pc is an HP Pavilion with a removable storage thingy - just like the cradle Roy mentioned - so this could yurn out to be a breeze (watch out for hard fall coming).

I'm good at ripping things open, but I'll do that carefully.

If I can pull out the hard drive and just insert it in the docking bay I'll be able to stop sobbing.

Then I need to get a back up for that.

Posted: Mon Oct 06, 2008 5:05 pm

^^ don't open the back of your hard drive. Just open the casing of your PC and take the HD out, and plug it into a USB cradle/ bay so you can copy the gynecology stuff to another PC or external USB drive. While you're at it, I'd like a copy too... Laughing

Posted: Mon Oct 06, 2008 5:40 pm

If it's a faulty hard disk, I'd expect the PC to start booting up, then report it can't find a boot disk.
If this doesn't happen, the odds are that your data is intact.
What exactly happens when you turn on the PC?

Posted: Mon Oct 06, 2008 6:07 pm

Mr Tambourine Man wrote:

I'd expect the PC to start booting up, then report it can't find a boot disk.

That's what did happen with mine. However it was because Windows XP was corrupted. The data however, was fine. When attached to a working PC I could get at it all again. Smile

Posted: Mon Oct 06, 2008 6:09 pm

^^and if that still doesn't work you can use a Linux CD boot disk and that may see it.

Posted: Mon Oct 06, 2008 6:19 pm

In my case - no power - no lights - no noise or anything, so it seems it's pretty safe it's the power supply.

I've checked the fuse and I'll try a different lead, but I think it's pretty terminal, and it's the power supply, but the option of just putting the HD in the space I already have on my super dooper pc is one I hadn't realised I could do - but I am a self-admitted techno dumbass - and when it comes to Linux Rodus, I'll see if there's one on 'Big Cat Live'. Laughing

I suffered enough having to deal with aol support, though I own up they are a lot better than I have known them. The problem now is that there connection software is a combination of bizzare and hopeless.

Posted: Mon Oct 06, 2008 8:19 pm

You could find a copy of Knoppix that is a live cd/DVD version and will not need to isntall to see..

But I am willing to bet you only lost your power supply. and plugging in the drive on another pc you could retrive the records.

Posted: Mon Oct 06, 2008 8:24 pm

PSUs don't cost much and aren't hard to fit.

Posted: Mon Oct 06, 2008 8:31 pm

If you are not getting any lights on the system at all then it is probably the power supply to the main PC. These are cheap and easy to replace. Your local computer shop should be able to do this easily. If you want to get a new computer anyway, the drive should still be good and the data could be retrieved.

I just bought a 160 GB external hard drive to back up the home PC it cost me $65.00 USD.

Posted: Mon Oct 06, 2008 10:09 pm

If you do buy a case for your hard drive, or buy an external hard drive, buy one with a fan. A cooked hard drive is not a thing of beauty. Sticking the HD into the new SDC is cheaper.

Posted: Tue Oct 07, 2008 12:34 am

As long as I can retrieve my data I'll be happy to throw the HD in the bin afterwards.

I have an elephant's graveyard of crocked pc's Embarassed

there's no telling what I'll be able to retrieve from them.

Posted: Tue Oct 07, 2008 2:13 am

If you get a USB enclosure (that's the US term anyway), you can transfer the data to the new PC, then wipe the programs to make more space and use the old drive as an external data backup drive. I have a couple of old drives being used that way--good way to recycle instead of adding one more item to a landfill.

Posted: Tue Oct 07, 2008 6:43 am

Gomer

This is probably what you need

2 multipin plugs to your motherboard and a couple of 5 pin molexes to your optical drives and hard disks!!

10 mins work -max!!

Posted: Fri Oct 10, 2008 5:53 pm

I got a cradle but had the same problem as Roy in that the HD was IDE and the cradle was for a SATA drive - not that I had any clue about the difference.

One day, when I get this sorted out, I'll be able to get back to baiting. Sad

I have found this, so I'll do an exchange tomorrow. It looks more promising.

It may not be satisfactory as a permanent external storage, but I only want to get my hands on the data on the old HD. The new PC is pretty big and has its own removable storage (with a separate power supply and fan) anyway.

Wannabe Baiter Joined: 12 Sep 2008 Posts: 90

I replaced my power supply not too long ago, and the sweet machine booted up nice and perfect - no loss of data at all. Even the word document I was working on popped up as a rescued draft.
So worries.

Posted: Fri Oct 10, 2008 6:47 pm

That will do it. It will need a power supply though, which I hope will be included.

Posted: Sat Oct 11, 2008 1:44 am

there is a program to get all of that back. I have done it before on my laptop HD

Posted: Sat Oct 11, 2008 6:20 pm

I had to take the first module I bought back to the shop as it only handled SATA drives (whatever they are) so I did a swap for a gizmo that could handle SATA and IDE ones, and 2.5 inch drives as well as 3.5 inch ones too so I should be able to rescue the data off some old machines now.

I still need to switch some hardware around and reinstall some programmes and I'll be good to go.

I'm not technically gifted with delicate machinery and unless it's robust I'll twist it into mangled junk when I get frustrated, but I am good at electric shocks - for some strange reason I like them, which is just as well as I get quite a few. Very Happy

I'll have a rest now and sit contemplating my own genius. Very Happy

Posted: Sat Oct 11, 2008 9:16 pm

GomerPyle wrote:

SATA drives (whatever they are)

Serial Advanced Technology Attachment. A never and faster bus than IDE for transferring data to and from a hard disk, DVDdrive etc.

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