# Hard drive not detected. Can I retrieve my data?



## cendrine (Jun 3, 2007)

Hello all,

I recently purchased a Dell Inspiron 6400 (working with Windows Vista) and since yesterday, the hard drive is not detected anymore. I don't understand what happened. I went to a computer store, and someone there told me the hard drive had crashed, and that the data was completely lost. 

However, I did some research on the internet and all the website I found say that data is recoverable. 

My question is: how do i do that?

Thanks in advance for your replies.


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## Old Rich (May 31, 2007)

Easist way is to take the drive out and attach it to a working pc to see if you can slavage the data . . it works best if you attach it to the secondary channel, the one with the CD/DVD drives.


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## cendrine (Jun 3, 2007)

Hi,

thanks for your reply. I am not a pro at all. How do I do that?


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## Girderman (Oct 22, 2006)

Before you do that, download & install the disk utility for the HD from the manufacturer's web-site. Not only will that tell you if the drive is physically bad or not, it will also repair it if it can be repaired.

Further, these companies require you to run this software anyways in order to verify that it is bad and get an error code which is necessary for RMAing.

My point is that data recovery can wait until you know for sure if it is bad.

If you can't find the utilities, post the model & make of the HD here and someone will link the utility to you.

DO NOT use this drive for anything not absolutely necessary. Drives fail slowly sometimes, and the more you use them the faster they die. You want to keep it alive long enough to get the data off, so no gaming, surfing etc...


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## cendrine (Jun 3, 2007)

Girderman said:


> Before you do that, download & install the disk utility for the HD from the manufacturer's web-site. Not only will that tell you if the drive is physically bad or not, it will also repair it if it can be repaired.
> 
> Further, these companies require you to run this software anyways in order to verify that it is bad and get an error code which is necessary for RMAing.
> 
> ...



Thanks! But I am not sure what the disk utility is. I'm not really sure what make and model the HD is, but this is the only info I'm able to get right now:
120GB 5400 RPM Hard Drive. I don't know if it helps...


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## Girderman (Oct 22, 2006)

Nope. Need at least the manufacturer. Model too.


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## cendrine (Jun 3, 2007)

The manufacturer is Dell. The model of the laptop is Inspiron 6400. For the rest, I have no idea...


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## Girderman (Oct 22, 2006)

Search Dell for their Disk Utility program. I assume they will have one and it will not be based on the manufacturer of the HD. Missed that it was a laptop.

EDIT ***

This might be it. They don't explain much about what it does.

You might call Dell tech support to find out for sure what you need.

http://support.dell.com/support/downloads/format.aspx?c=us&l=en&s=gen&deviceid=3841&libid=13&releaseid=R133063&vercnt=3&formatcnt=0&SystemID=INSPIRONI6400/E1505&servicetag=&os=WW1&osl=en&catid=-1&impid=-1


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## cendrine (Jun 3, 2007)

I actually have a CD called Drivers and Utilities that is already installed on the laptop. The contents are Device drivers and Diagnostics and utilities. Should I use this CD?


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## Old Rich (May 31, 2007)

If I valued the data, I would first salvage what I could before using it any more, then run diagnostics


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## Girderman (Oct 22, 2006)

Yeah, I'm partly inclined in this direction also, but the only indication we have that the data is in jeapardy is that one the disk crashed and two someone at a "computer store" said the data was lost.

Which seems silly and hysterical to me, as computer store people are not data recovery experts.

HD crashes happen frequently and most of those do not result in data loss. -AND- if the crash is "hard" the data is lost anyways, unless the OP wants to spend $$$ on professional data recovery.

On a new system, I have to wonder how much data is there and what it is worth.

But the point is well made. Depending on the value of the data, either do the utilities thing first, or get the data off the drive first.


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## cendrine (Jun 3, 2007)

Ok, I get it. But you did not really tell me what I am supposed to do. I know nothing of computers... 

What is salvaging? How do you do it?

Out of curiosity, I went to another computer store, and the guy told me right away there was no need of me to even try to retrieve the data, since the HD was not detected. He also suggested that I should see a data retrieval specialist, but that I had to pay at least 1500 dollars!!!!

I am very frustrated...


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## dai (Jul 2, 2004)

i have moved you to laptops where you should have posted to start with or you will get instructions for a desktop that could make the situation worse
is the computer under warranty,if you bought it with vista it must be and you need to contact dell to fix it
wait for one of the laptop experts to reply


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## Old Rich (May 31, 2007)

cendrine said:


> What is salvaging? How do you do it?
> 
> Out of curiosity, I went to another computer store, and the guy told me right away there was no need of me to even try to retrieve the data, since the HD was not detected. He also suggested that I should see a data retrieval specialist, but that I had to pay at least 1500 dollars!!!!
> 
> I am very frustrated...


To salvage the data, if you can see it copy to the second pc or CD/DVD

The computer store guy may be right or may not . . the only way you will know is to try it.


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## cendrine (Jun 3, 2007)

since my hard drive is not detected, how on earth am I supposed to see the data? That was the whole point of that post. :tongue:


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## PanamaGal (Jun 3, 2006)

As dai said, you really need to contact Dell since it should be under warranty. They will tell you how to run a diagnostic on the drive, if it can be done. If the hard drive has not been removed and attached to another computer, there is no way of telling whether it is the drive itself or something else, like the motherboard. If it turns out the drive is bad, Dell will replace it and give you the opportunity to take or send it somewhere for data recovery. But you should start by calling Dell, regardless of how painful that is.


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## Old Rich (May 31, 2007)

cendrine said:


> since my hard drive is not detected, how on earth am I supposed to see the data? That was the whole point of that post. :tongue:


The fact that the drive is not seen in the pc that is trying to boot from it, does not necessarily mean it will not be seen when attached as a non-boot drive in another pc. . . and it may not, but is your best shot right now at saving your data.


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## dai (Jul 2, 2004)

contact dell
if you start pulling it apart you will most likely void the warranty and if it is not the hard drive and the motherboard,then you would be valueing the data above the value of the laptop


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## Dell_CA (Mar 27, 2007)

Hello,

My name is Mike, I’m a Technical Analyst located at Dell corporate headquarters in Round Rock, TX. I’m part of an internet outreach team developed to interact with the online community regarding technical questions and issues that customers face with Dell products. I read your question and wanted to offer some help. 

You can run a pre boot diagnostic from your system by holding down the <Fn> key and then pressing the power button. Release both buttons and the PSA diagnostic should begin. Just follow the on-screen instructions and record the sequence of beeps and make note of any error codes that appear. If your system doesn’t run the test then go into the system BIOS (F2 at boot) and see if the system recognizes the hard drive. If so, the data should be fairly easy to recover, if not then you may be looking at a physical hard drive failure (broken heads or failed platter bearings) which would require a data recovery service to get the data back. Either way, lets look at some ways to try and rescue the information. 

In order to see if the data is recoverable you would need to find an external hard drive carrier for a notebook hard drive (2.5"). You can usually find these at any local computer shop fairly cheap. You basically put the hard drive in the carrier which can then be connected to any other computer via USB. This bypasses the need for the OS to be loaded and you should be able to go in to the drives files just like a USB key. It will be an added drive in the “My Computer” options of the host computer (the computer you hook the hard drive carrier to.) If it doesn’t automatically find the drive, once connected via USB, you may have to go into disk management (right click on “My Computer” and choose “Manage” and then “Disk Management”), locate the drive and then right click and choose “Explore.” This should bring up a window that will allow you to see the data on the hard drive in which case you can simply drag and drop the information to another folder on the host computer or you can burn a CD or DVD with whatever data you need off of it. 

If the drive didn’t show up in the BIOS, and you can’t see it after connecting it to the host computer and going through Disk Management, then the drive itself may be physically bad and you would have to take it to a data recovery center to get the information off. This can be a VERY expensive process so you may want to weigh the value of the data VS the cost of retrieving it. You can get an idea of the cost by searching the web for “Data Recovery Services” and see if it’s something you’re interested in. Before you do that you may want to look at some software options like Get Data Back, Recover my files, or any other data recovery software programs you can find. I can’t officially comment on their functionality, but I’ve had customers tell me about the software working well for them so it’s at least worth reading about and considering as an option. 

As for the hard drive itself, if the system is still under warranty we can certainly replace it for you, but data backup and recovery are areas that our technical teams don’t touch. At most they can recommend some services, but for the most part we can’t do anything about recovering your information. 

They say hindsight is 20/20 so this next statement is a bit on the obvious side, but it’s a good reminder. It’s always recommended that you make regular back up’s of your information because as you, and I’m sure many others in this forum, have seen first hand a hard drive can go at any time and usually without warning. I hope this information is helpful and I wish you luck!

Thank you,

Mike 
Dell customer advocate


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## Girderman (Oct 22, 2006)

Mike,

I assume from your post that you are here not as a "normal" volunteer (like all the rest of us) but rather in your official, paid and professional capacity, and so this post is "aimed" in this regard.

We frequently get numerous requests from Dell Computer owners, which in and of itself says something.

As you are part of some sort of "customer outreach" effort, and this forum is dedicated to helping computer users solve their computer problems -and- the proprietary nature of Dell components and systems (in addition to the additional difficulties involved with laptops) make helping Dell (and other "pre-built") customers more difficult, it seems to me that "solidifying" a relationship here between Dell customers and TSF Members might be benefical for all concerned.

I am thinking of the possiblity of dedicating a section of TSF to deal with Dell customers, their computers and their problems. "Focusing" these customers in a defined area that is regularly (as in continuously) monitored by Dell Customer Servicepeople (such as yourself) will not only speed-up and increase the quality of service to those Dell customers, it will also free-up volunteer resources to assist other Members that have not paid for customer technical service as part of the "package" of their computer purchase.


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## Dell_CA (Mar 27, 2007)

Girderman,

Thank you for the information and the ideas, they are very much appreciated. You are correct, I am not here as “normal” volunteer, but I am here to help in whatever capacity possible. Being a user of a wide spectrum of PC manufactures, including self built systems, I can honestly say that frustration doesn’t carry a brand logo, it’s an impartial fact of IT life (or any life for that matter.) Although we (there is a team of us) tend to focus on Dell specific customers and problems, we often find ourselves offering help, suggestions, and troubleshooting on any computer system, regardless of manufacturer. 

One of the things that I’ve always respected and admired about communities like this one is that frustration is constantly met with technical persistence and know-how. Moreover, the fact that people in these forums take their own time to help others not only fix, but understand the technology that drives our businesses and that our friends and family rely on is an impressive display of global fellowship, and I’m privileged to be a part of it. 

I look forward to being able to help in any way I can and I hope that our presence here relieves some of the strain on the already overwhelmed arena of technical chaos and random error codes, be it Dell specific or not. If you have any other ideas that you would like to share or discuss, please feel free to send me a PM and we can talk about them offline. 

Thank you,

Mike
Dell customer advocate


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