The hard drive, where all information is stored, is, first of all, a device. Consequently, during long-term operation without breakdowns, failures and everything else, it is sometimes very difficult to manage. If the operating system or hard drive does not boot (as it is commonly called on computer language) failed before you had time to save the data on external media, then we will try to extract them.

If you have a system failure, for example, due to a virus attack, HDD is in working order, but Windows does not boot or a blue screen with inscriptions is displayed on the monitor - we will get information from the hard drive using the boot disk to restore the operating system from ESET.

Let's go to visit friends, turn to the official page "www.esetnod32.ru" via the Internet and download the image of the "LiveCD ESET NOD32" utility. Let's get acquainted with the instructions for working with the "LiveCD" directly on the site.

Create a boot disk or flash drive, boot from the selected media and copy important information, which will become available thanks to the utility, on any external drive. "How to start a computer from a disk" and "How to choose to boot from a USB flash drive" - ​​articles to help.

The second option is to connect your hard drive to another PC using an external adapter. The method is suitable in a situation where an unknown failure occurred inside the system unit, but did not affect the hard drive itself.

We carefully remove the screw from the system unit, connect via an adapter cable and a USB port to a computer, copy the data with information and transfer it to any storage device. If it is found that some of the information from the hard drive has disappeared in an unknown direction, we will try to return it using third-party file recovery software. How to do it - read here.

Important! Information from a hard drive can be lost forever inside, and users are not in vain advised to store backups data on removable media - this must be remembered.

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How to extract information from a damaged hard drive?

Hard drives break in exactly the same way as any other technique. And when this situation happens, then people start to panic. But do not worry ahead of time, we will try to help you in this situation. If you are not confident in yourself and do not want to take risks, then it is better to immediately resort to the help of specialists. In this article, we will look at how to extract information from a damaged hard drive.

So, let's get straight to the point, how to pull files from a damaged hard drive? First you need to pull out the failed hard drive and connect it to another computer as second hard disk. For what purpose are we doing this? Information that is stored on a broken HDD, through software, will be transferred to the working hard drive of the computer to which we connected the broken hard drive. And this means that the working disk should have free place, and enough to fit all the information.

Now let's move on to the programs that are used to extract information from a damaged hard drive. First you need to scan your hard drive to find out which files or partitions are damaged. The following programs can help you with this:

  • O&O UnErase;
  • PC Inspector File Recovery 4.1

After scanning, you will see a list of damaged data, you need to indicate which of them you would like to recover.

  • Zero Assumption Recovery;
  • MBRlool;
  • Easy undelete;
  • R-Stydio undelete;
  • Norton Utilities;
  • Disk Technican Advanced;
  • Mac Gold;
  • Test Disk.

The loss of information is often to blame boot sector Master Bool Record, easy to fix with MBRlool or Active Partition Recovery.

To avoid data loss in the future, it is necessary to create a copy of the hard drive, in other words, clone the data. To do this, use a program that will copy your HDD, such as HDClone. Now let's look at how to pull information from a laptop hard drive. With such laptop models, in which the extraction of the hard drive is not provided, the situation is more complicated. Therefore, it is better to show such a laptop to a specialist. It will remove the hard drive and restore all information.

Let's look at the main ways to extract information from a laptop on our own.

1. Installing a hard drive in a special pocket.

You pull out the hard drive from the laptop and install it in this pocket, which is essentially the case of an external hard drive with USB interface. Using the USB connector, connect it to a working computer. Open the connected external drive and copy your information to your computer's hard drive.

2. Connecting a hard drive to the computer's system unit.

To extract information in this way, you will need an adapter that will connect the laptop's hard drive and motherboard computer. Remove the hard drive from the laptop. Open the computer case and use the adapter to connect the hard drive to the motherboard. The connected hard drive should be automatically recognized by the system. Open it and copy the information.

3. Access to the hard drive using another computer.

In this case, the computer must have an IDE or SATA interface. If the laptop is equipped with a SATA interface, then it is connected to the SATA connector of the computer. Further, everything is very simple, open the laptop hard drive and copy the information to the computer.

www.comp.site

How to extract data from a disk if Windows crashed.

The Windows operating system is considered by most users to be one of the most reliable systems. Most likely it is.

But let's face it - to bring it out of its normal working state, anything can.

Viruses, Malware, bad software, proprietary updates from Microsoft, drivers, incompatible hardware, and a million other reasons why Windows sometimes “pleases” its users with blue screens.

On NeOshibka.Ru there are solutions to eliminate the most common (so far), blue screens of death.

But it happens that even an experienced person cannot restore Windows to working capacity, for reasons beyond his control.

It’s good if you only play games, and “store all the necessary information on drive D”.

But in practice, everything looks a little different, and it happens that on drive C: there are data that are very significant for a person: photographs, projects, abstracts, theses, databases of various programs, such as 1C Accounting, Taxpayer legal entity, programs Pension Fund etc.

For people unprepared for this, the loss of such data is tantamount to the end of the world.

How to extract data from disk?

In fact, it’s not difficult to pull out data if Windows has crashed. We will consider two ways in which data can be removed, but we will pay more attention to the second.

Method 1. The most obvious.

This method is to remove the hard drive from your computer and connect it to a friend's computer.

The advantages of this method:

  • reliability.
  • quickly copy your data to another hard drive or partition D of your drive.
  • the right tool is a screwdriver.
  • We need another computer.
  • You need to unscrew 6 bolts to remove the hard drive (standard case). Plus 2 cover bolts on a friend's computer.
  • Disconnect the SATA interface cable.
  • After copying, return everything to its place.
  • In the case of a laptop, the process is more complicated.

Method 2. Bootable USB flash drive based on Linux

Let's talk about a method that will also help us pull data from a computer based on a "fallen" Windows.

To be fair, let's also look at the pros and cons. this method.

  • You need a flash drive.
  • You need another computer with an Internet connection.
  • Need time.
  • It takes patience.
  • You do not have to disassemble your and someone else's computer.
  • This decision will allow you to download the full operating system, with which you can access the Internet, burn a CD / DVD - disc, copy files from one partition to another, print a document.
  • Since the solution will take only 1-1.5 GB on the flash drive, you can easily throw something else on it.
  • Having such a flash drive, you can boot from it on any (foreign) computer, work and turn off the computer, while not leaving any of your data on it - browser history, documents, passwords, etc. Everything will remain on the keychain.

As you can see, the pros are quite significant, and the cons, on the contrary, are insignificant.

So, if you chose the second method, we think you did the right thing.

Making a bootable USB flash drive based on Linux Mint

Preparing the *.iso image

In fact, as such, there is no preparation. You just need to download any distribution kit on Linux-based. Unlike Windows, there are a lot of GNU/Linux distributions. You can choose any.

For our purposes, any is also suitable, but we will opt for a more or less similar (something) to Windows, in terms of simplicity, the Linux Mint distribution.

First of all, you need to download it. You can do this on the Linux Mint download page.

Then you can choose one of several versions of this distribution. We will choose a version based on the MATE desktop environment, 32-bit. But you can choose anything - any distribution will work for our purposes.

Next, we will be asked to select a mirror to download based on your location. If you are in Russia, you can choose a Yandex Team mirror, if in another country, select a server that is closer to you.

Download Universal USB Installer

There are many programs that allow you to write an image of a Linux distribution to a USB flash drive. We will use one of them called Universal USB Installer. It is very easy to use, does not require installation, and allows you to select a recording profile for a specific distribution.

The program download page is located at this address.

Try to download from there, otherwise you may get to a fraudulent link and install something completely different from what you expected.

Writing an image to a flash drive

Now run the program you just downloaded - Univeral Usb Installer. In the picture below, we see a window in which we will set up the recording. This window should not be frightened, its complexity is deceptive. Actually, it couldn't be easier.

Let's take a look at its settings.

  1. Step 1: Select a Linux Distribution from the dropdown to put in your USB flash drive. - This item prompts us to choose which "family" of Linux our image belongs to. We downloaded Linux Mint, so we choose it accordingly. If you have downloaded, say, Ubuntu, then in this drop-down menu you should select it. Otherwise, the program will not "see" the image file.
  2. Step 2: Select your linuxmint*.iso - This step prompts us to select the image file itself by clicking on the button. It says linuxmint*.iso. Therefore, the program will search for an image by this mask. If Ubuntu had been selected in the first step, the mask would have been ubuntu*desktop*.iso. Just go to the folder where you downloaded the image and select it.
  3. Step 3: Select your USB Flash Drive Letter Only - here we are asked to select our flash drive. If for some reason, the flash drive is not on the list, try ticking the box on the right. Here you should also check the box for formatting the flash drive (make sure that you don’t have anything important on it).
  4. Step 4: Set a Persistent file size for storing changes is quite an interesting point. It allows you to make a disk image "changeable" - install additional programs, save documents to the Desktop and folders, Russify Mint, etc. We recommend setting the slider to at least 1 Gigabyte (approximately). This will make your flash drive more convenient.
  5. Cherished button - will start to create.

That's all the freezes. You can drink coffee again. The process will take some time. It all depends on the flash drive speed hard disk, and a friend's computer as a whole.

Now there is just a little left - it will boot from this very flash drive. If you have succeeded in all of the above, most likely this will not be a problem for you.

Working in Linux Mint or how to extract data from a laptop hard drive.

After a couple of minutes of loading, you will receive a fully functional system with which you can transfer data from one of your disks to another. To do this, you just need to open file manager, find your disks in its left part and open them (mount). And then everything is the same as in Windows - + and + or simply “Copy” - “Paste”.

Epilogue

Nobody said that the second method would be simple. On the contrary, there are ways easier and more comfortable. There are a lot of alternative options. There are also ready-made assemblies based on Windows itself.

This method is not a panacea. It's just one of the ways.

But, as mentioned above, in addition to what everything was started for, this system has everything for comfortable work. Browser, mail client, image and video viewers, photos. Also have office suite Libre Office (good replacement Microsoft office) and much more.

When checking this method, NeOshibka.Ru had problems with rights. Files created in Linux Mint (for example, screenshots) did not want to open in Windows 8, which for some reason cursed at the length of the name and, understandably, write protection. Most likely the author forgot to mention this.

In order for everything to be fine, immediately after the first boot of Linux Mint, you need to open a terminal, and enter the following commands in turn:

sudo adduser neoshibka //where neoshibka is your username

Then answer a couple of system questions and set a password.

sudo adduser neoshibka sudo //where neoshibka is your username

After that, you need to end the session and log in as your user with the password that you entered a little earlier.

neoshibka.ru

For most users, the data stored on the HDD is more valuable than the component itself. Therefore, if the device was damaged or accidentally formatted, the owner often worries about the lost information, and not the drive itself. However, do not panic, because extracting information from a faulty hard drive using special software is quite simple.

How not to lose data from a non-working hard drive?

If the hard drive is broken, it is impossible to extract files from it, or the information is completely lost, in no case do unnecessary fraud. No need to try to reinstall the OS or try to run a wide variety of programs of unknown origin. There is a list of rules, following which, at least you will not aggravate an already difficult situation:

  1. Flatten HDD usage to a minimum.
  2. Do not try to run antiviruses, diagnostic programs, or other utilities.
  3. If it is possible to get the remaining files from the hard drive, then do it and move them to another medium.

The best option in this situation is to turn off the PC and boot the system exclusively from an external drive.

If you have another computer, then you can create rescue media to boot from it for backup or connect to it bad drive as an extra.

If the drive contains important data, then it is useful to initially write programs to the USB flash drive that will help in such cases to download information from the hard drive of a broken computer or laptop.

To avoid such breakdowns, it is necessary to at least occasionally check the HDD for errors.

Corruption of user data

Easy enough to pull out deleted files if the hard drive was simply formatted, and after that nothing was written to it. If, when connecting the drive to another PC, it is detected by the system, then there should be no difficulties.

To extract the data we need special application ZAR (Zero Assumption Recovery). This utility is one of the best software of its kind.

The only thing to remember is that the program should be installed in the HDD partition from which copying will not be carried out.

Otherwise, the likelihood that you will be able to remove information will decrease dramatically. It is best not to touch the broken hard drive at all and boot from another hard drive, or connect the damaged component to another computer.

Zero Assumption Recovery

To extract information from a laptop hard drive using the ZAR program, you should follow the following algorithm:


ZAR is a powerful yet easy-to-learn program that will help you recover most of your lost data. The main difference between this utility and similar software is that it retains the same file structure.

If the computer does not work and the system does not start

If the hard drive has been completely formatted or it is completely out of order and windows does not boot, then in this situation we will need another method - booting from an emergency drive. To do this, you must first create a boot disk.

The best solution in this situation is Hiren's BootCD - this is a free ISO image containing whole line programs with which you can restore the system and the necessary files. For a 500MB image, you can use CD or DVD media, flash drives or external hard drives to extract data from a broken hard drive on them.

To deploy the image, we need the incredibly popular UltraISO application. It is known in narrow circles due to the fact that it can function perfectly with both optical and any other drives (flash drives, HDD).

To create Hiren's BootCD we need:


In just a couple of minutes, the flash drive and bootable Hiren's BootCD will be successfully created.

We save all important information (documents, videos, photos)

Since Windows is not able to boot on its own, we boot from Hiren's BootCD flash drive. But first you need to change the BIOS settings or select the appropriate option at startup.

You will be presented with two download options:


The second option is considered the most convenient, so select the line Mini Windows XP.

Create an image of a damaged hard drive

After the OS is loaded from the USB flash drive, the Hiren's BootCD window will open. Next, you need to create an image of the covered drive so that it is safe to work with it, otherwise there will be a risk of data corruption spreading:


After the image of the damaged device is created, you can remove the data using one of the recovery utilities: Partition Recovey, Recuva, PhotoRescue, etc. Data recovery with their help is no different from the example of working with the ZAR utility, which was described earlier.

Now you know how to extract information from a damaged laptop or computer hard drive, and you can restore all lost files yourself without any difficulties.

Another way is covered in this video.

Recovering information from a damaged hard drive

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How to recover data from a damaged hard drive

For some users, files from a non-working HDD are much more valuable than the device itself. Therefore, if the drive was accidentally formatted, it was covered and there is no way to back up files in the usual way, you have to resort to using third-party applications to extract data.

What to do in order not to lose information on a faulty drive

If the hard drive is covered, important information is not read from it or completely disappeared, there is no need to panic, try to reinstall the system or thoughtlessly run useful and not very programs. Remember the following rules that will help you at the first stage, at least not aggravate the situation:

  1. Minimize all access to the HDD - do not run any diagnostic programs, antiviruses, defragmenters, etc.
  2. If possible, try to copy the remaining important data.

If there is another computer at home, then it will not be difficult for you to create an emergency flash drive or disk on it in order to boot from this drive for backup or connect the failed disk to it as an additional one. In any case, if your device contains unique data, it is useful to write down in advance just in case bootable flash drive with utilities for resuscitation of data from a damaged hard drive in case of unforeseen failures.

If user data is corrupted

It is quite easy to recover files if the hard disk partition has been formatted and has not been written to since. When it is possible to connect a failed hard drive to another computer and the device is detected by the system, there should be no serious problems.

To do this, you can use the Zero Assumption Recovery application (ZAR for short), which is one of the best in its class.

It must be installed in an HDD partition other than the one from which the copy will be made.

Otherwise, the chances of "pulling out" important documents from the carrier, which is covered, are drastically reduced. Better yet, don't use the hard drive at all by booting from another device or connecting it to another PC.

Working with Zero Assumption Recovery:

Disable the antivirus so that the process does not drag out. ZAR will inform you about this in the start window of the program, click Close.

In the main window, click the "Restore Windows Data” (photo and multimedia recovery is a separate mode that is activated when the topmost button is pressed).

ZAR will detect every drive on your computer, including flash drives. If the drive is identified by the program, then you just need to select it and click "Next".

The scanning process will start, after which the utility will show directories and files. This information can be restored.

Highlight photos and whatever needs to be recovered. Click "Save", after specifying the directory in which it should be placed.

Zero Assumption Recovery reliably restores all data that can still be retrieved from the hard drive, completely preserving the previous directory structure, which distinguishes the program from similar applications.

When the system won't boot

If the hard drive was completely formatted or it just completely covered up and the computer does not boot, you will have to restore files in another way by booting from a rescue disk or flash drive. To do this, in advance or at the first sign of incorrect operation of the HDD, create a boot drive.

How to create a bootable USB flash drive or disk to recover lost files

One of best solutions to create bootable media - Hiren's BootCD. This is a free redistributable ISO image containing great amount utilities that help restore the system and files from disks. The distribution kit in the form of a zip-archive can be picked up at the office. application site.

The image size is about 500 MB, so you can use CD, DVD optical media, as well as a USB flash drive or external hard disk to make a backup of the information extracted from the damaged hard disk.

We will deploy the downloaded image on the media using the most popular UltraISO application. It is widely known for its ability to work with both optical media and any other drives, including flash drives, which is indispensable when working with netbooks and other laptops.

Create a bootable Hiren's BootCD:


All that remains is to press the button that allows recording, and in a few minutes a bootable Hiren's BootCD or flash drive will be created.

Rescue photos, videos and documents from a damaged HDD

Since the system is unable to boot on its own, we boot from Hiren's BootCD flash drive, after changing BIOS settings or by selecting the appropriate laptop boot option. When reading data from a flash drive, you will be prompted to boot in DOS mode or in graphical mode. Last option for most users it is more convenient, so select the first line Mini Windows XP.

Create an image of a broken hard drive

After loading Windows environments XP from a flash drive, Hiren's BootCD main window will open. Let's create an image of the disk that has been covered, so that in the future you can work with it without the risk of spreading file corruption:


After creating an image of a damaged media, you can start extracting data from it using any of the recovery programs - Recuva, Partition Recovey, PhotoRescue and the like. File recovery in this case is no different from the example of working with the Zero Assumption Recovery application described above.

You will need

  • - damaged hard drive; - Personal Computer; - special utilities; - Internet; - computer skills.

Instruction

First of all, carefully remove the hard drive from the system unit. Do not throw it in the trash if it is physically damaged, because even in this state of the disk, lost files can be recovered. Connect the ejected drive to another computer or insert it into an external USB case.

Next, use special utilities that can be free or shareware. Utilities such as O&O UnErasc, PC Inspector File Recovery 4.1 and Zero Assumption Recovery (or simply ZAR.) have proven themselves well. Use O&O UnErasc and PC Inspector File Recovery 4.1 to scan the disk and select the necessary files from the list of lost data. Files, when using these utilities, can be completely restored if, when they were deleted, no information was written to the hard disk. With the Zero Assumption Recovery utility, you can recover files even on a formatted hard drive.

Damage to the sector tables in the Master Bool Record is often to blame for the loss of files, i.e. main boot record. To restore them, download from the Internet free simple programs, which efficiently reconstruct the MBR using file structures. Programs such as: Active Partition Recovery or MBRlool 2.3.1 easily damaged sectors.

To avoid permanent loss of files, create an exact copy of the hard drive. To do this, purchase special program, for example, HDClone 3.2., which will copy the hard drive sector by sector.

note

Be careful when purchasing any programs, especially on the Internet, as some of them can pose a real threat to your computer.

Useful advice

Some utilities (shareware) restore files in several passes, therefore, for quick recovery, purchase license key, for a fee.

Related article

Sources:

  • Active Partition Recovery
  • how to recover files from a damaged hard drive

Scratched CD/DVD disk, and the drive refuses to read it. Painfully familiar situation, isn't it? Do not rush to throw away the disc, unless you absolutely need the information contained in it. It is possible to save data.

You will need

  • toothpaste, Nero Drive Speed ​​utility, AnyReader utility

Instruction

To begin with, try to clean the dental disc by slightly wetting it. Use a tissue or gauze for cleaning. Move slowly and be sure to move from the center to the edge along the radius of the disk, and vice versa. Rinse off your toothpaste, wipe the disc dry and try to open it.

Now slow down the read speed of data from the disk by the drive. If you use the well-known Nero software package, then its distribution kit usually includes a utility called Nero Drive Speed. Or download from the Internet and install a program like CDslow. An important and necessary part of the interface of such programs is intuitive.

Run the program. A wizard window will open in front of you, which will guide you through the required steps according to your data corruption case. You need to recover data from laser disc, and therefore, at the first step, select item 2 - “Copying information from damaged CD / DVD / Blu-ray / HDDVD / Audio CD / Audio DVD”.

Select the files in the tree that you want to restore from damaged disk, mark them with checkboxes, and then click on the "Next" button.

At the 3rd step, select a folder for saving files on your computer, check the "Keep folder structure" checkbox in order to ensure the order of the files in their desired location relative to each other. In the list of copy settings profiles, select the recommended one (Quality Data Recovery).

At the 4th step, the program will copy the files you have selected. Wait until the process completes. And step 5 is the completion of copying.

Related videos

Sources:

  • Source in 2018

Removable storage media have long become an integral part of the process of full-fledged work with computer system. How to find all connected removable hard drives?

Instruction

Call up the main menu of the operating room Microsoft systems Windows by pressing the "Start" button and go to "My Computer" to perform the operation of determining all removable hard drives on the local computer.

call context menu click element right button mouse and select "Properties".

Select the "Device Manager" tab of the dialog box that opens and determine which removable media.

Make sure that the "USB Controllers" section does not contain yellow exclamation points. The presence of such icons may signal the need to update the drivers for these devices. To perform this operation, call the context menu of the element to be updated by clicking the right mouse button and select the "Update driver" command. Select the "Automatic" option and press the OK button to confirm the execution of the command.

Return to the main Start menu for an alternative procedure to identify all removable drives and fix possible problems and go to Control Panel.

Select the "Storage Devices" group in the left pane of the disk window and select the "Disk Management" command.

Identify all removable drives used by the system and make sure that each of them is assigned the appropriate label - the letter of the drive name.

Call the context menu of the drive to be repaired by right-clicking the mouse and select the command "Change drive letter or drive path" in the drop-down list.

Click the "Add" button in the dialog box that opens and select the desired value for the drive letter in the drop-down directory of the new dialog box.

Confirm your choice by pressing the OK button and wait for the autorun window to open.

Sources:

  • What to do
  • The computer does not see the hard drive

Tip 4: How to recover files from a damaged hard drive

There are many programs for recovering deleted data from a hard drive. When working with damaged hard drives, you must use highly specialized applications.

You will need

  • - PC Inspector;
  • - Dr. Web LiveUSB.

Instruction

When you're dealing with damaged hard drive, which is the operating system, you must use special utilities. In this case, you will need to start the computer in DOS mode. Download the PC Inspector from http://www.pcinspector.de/default.htm. It is distributed, so you will not have difficulty activating it.

Create a boot disk or USB drive to be able to run the program before entering the operating system. You can use a ready-made utility, such as Dr. Web LiveUSB by adding the program you need to it. Insert the created DVD into the drive or connect the flash drive to USB port. Turn on the computer and hold the F8 button.

Select the desired device in the opened boot menu. Launch PC Inspector. Select the item you want from the menu that opens quick launch. Given the fact that you are working with a damaged hard drive, it is better to use the Find Logical Drive option, which is located in the Find Lost Drive section. This will get you out of the lost disk partition.

Wait for the hard drive scan to complete. Select the section you need. In this case, you need to focus on the size of previously existing volumes. After the partition is restored, you can start the operating Windows system and continue working with the hard drive.

If you need to recover lost files, then open the Select Local Drive menu located in the Recover deleted files column. Select desired section drive and click the Scan Drive button. After a while, you will be presented with a list of files that can be successfully restored. Save them using a different partition on your hard drive.

This is an illustrated step-by-step instruction on data recovery on a non-working laptop, which can be useful if your computer is not working, and the information recorded on its hard drive is urgently needed. All the described actions should be performed only by a specialist, since careless handling can irreversibly damage the laptop components, and they can no longer be restored.

Most mobile computers allow you to get to the hard drive only from above, and some modern models have a special panel on the bottom of the laptop through which you can easily access the hard drive. On old Dell laptops there is side panel, which allows you to get to the hard drive by simply unscrewing a few screws.

The laptop we worked with is an older Compaq model with the most complex design where the drive can only be accessed from the top.

To get to the drive from the side of the top panel, you need to unscrew a few screws from the back side at the bottom of the laptop. After unscrewing the screws, put them so that after the procedure you can find them. Sometimes it's hard to tell where the screws are, so look carefully, such as under the stickers. Some laptops are fastened with latches.

When all the screws are out, very carefully lift top panel without pulling the cable that connects the touch panel.

Disconnect this cable to separate the front panel from the laptop. To disconnect this cable, I had to lift the white plastic plate. If you don't disassemble laptops every day, it's best to write down what and how you disconnect so that there are no problems with the assembly process.

This laptop required a specific set of screwdriver bits. It is shown in the illustration below. These attachments are used with many laptops, so be prepared for the fact that you will need something similar.

Unscrew the plate that covers the hard drive.

Lifting this plate, you will see the hard drive.

Now you can get it and disconnect the cable.

To connect a laptop hard drive to a desktop computer, you will need a special adapter called a hard drive converter or IDE converter 44 to 40 pins or a 2.5-inch drive to 3.5-inch converter.

Now you need to prepare the laptop hard drive for connecting to a desktop computer by setting the jumper correctly.

The illustration shows the jumper settings for different ways connections. If the desktop hard drive is set as Cable Select, set the jumper on the laptop hard drive in the same way.

Plug your desktop computer's IDE cable into the converter so that the red stripe on the cable is on the same side as the converter's power cord. Be careful, as excessive force can deform the contacts on the converter or hard drive.

Restoring data

There are many ways to recover data and copy it to a desktop hard drive. It all depends on the extent of their damage.

The easiest way is to copy information from one drive to another after booting the operating system on a desktop PC. This process is not worth a separate description, since it consists in the usual copying, for example, from the C:\ drive to the D:\ drive.

The situation takes a more complicated turn if the data on the laptop is corrupted, unreadable or protected. In this case, it will not be possible to simply copy them. If the data is simply corrupted, then to copy it without stopping, you can use special utilities, such as Unstoppable Copier, to copy information without worrying about crashes. If any part of the file cannot be copied, the file will be skipped and the copy process will continue.

Our laptop's hard drive was badly damaged after being dropped and Windows didn't want to detect it. I used Ultimate program Boot CD for Windows to copy all data from this drive. First, I made sure I could view all the data with the program's Explorer XP viewer.

Once we were sure that the data on the laptop's disk could be read, we used the Unstoppable Copier program, which is also on the Ultimate Boot CD for Windows.

As the source drive, I chose the C:\ drive (in this case, it is a laptop drive), and as target disk- E:\ (desktop drive).

After copying data to desktop computer, you can install a new hard drive on a laptop instead of a damaged one, install an operating system with all the necessary applications and copy the recovered information to it.

We screw the protective panel back and install the hard drive.

Now you need to carefully connect the cable touch panel, close the front panel and fasten it with the screws set aside at the beginning.

Once again, we would like to draw your attention to the fact that all equipment repair operations must be carried out by specialists, and if you do not consider yourself a specialist, it is better to contact a service center.

After scanning, you will see a list of damaged data, you need to indicate which of them you would like to recover.

  • Zero Assumption Recovery;
  • MBRlool;
  • Easy undelete;
  • R-Stydio undelete;
  • Norton Utilities;
  • Disk Technican Advanced;
  • Mac Gold;
  • Test Disk.

The Master Bool Record boot sector is very often to blame for the loss of information, it can be easily repaired using MBRlool or Active Partition Recovery.

To avoid data loss in the future, it is necessary to create a copy of the hard drive, in other words, clone the data. To do this, use a program that will copy your HDD, such as HDClone.
Now let's look at how to pull information from a laptop hard drive. With such laptop models, in which the extraction of the hard drive is not provided, the situation is more complicated. Therefore, it is better to show such a laptop to a specialist. It will remove the hard drive and restore all information.

Let's look at the main ways to extract information from a laptop on our own.

1. Installing a hard drive in a special pocket.

You pull out the hard drive from the laptop and install it in this pocket, which is essentially the case of an external hard drive with a USB interface. Using the USB connector, connect it to a working computer. Open the connected external drive and copy your information to your computer's hard drive.

2. Connecting a hard drive to the computer's system unit.

To extract information in this way, you will need an adapter that will connect the laptop hard drive and the computer motherboard. Remove the hard drive from the laptop. Open the computer case and use the adapter to connect the hard drive to the motherboard. The connected hard drive should be automatically recognized by the system. Open it and copy the information.

3. Access to the hard drive using another computer.

In this case, the computer must have an IDE or SATA interface. If the laptop is equipped with a SATA interface, then it is connected to the SATA connector of the computer. Further, everything is very simple, open the laptop hard drive and copy the information to the computer.

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The hard drive is one of the main components of a PC, because it stores all the information and files of the operating system that ensure its launch.

Sometimes the HDD may fail, which can make the data stored on it inaccessible. In this case, it is too early to despair - it is often still possible to restore them. In this article, we will look at the causes of mechanical and logical problems with hard drives and the process of repairing them.

Mechanical problems

Mechanical or physical problems with the HDD are caused by damage or failure of some of its components. Let's consider some of them.

Photo: personal computer hard drive

The appearance of bad sectors of the hard drive

This is one of the common problems that occurs due to the appearance of "broken" sectors.

  • errors that appear when working with some files;
  • increase in HDD loading time;
  • the appearance of a rattle during disk operation.

This issue is not critical. Its solution uses specialized utilities, for example: HDDScan - to determine the presence of bad sectors, HDD Regenerator - to restore their performance. If data errors remain after applying them, you can try to restore them using special software. In this case, any data recovery program is suitable - Recuva, R-studio and others.

PCB failure

This problem occurs when there is a power problem with the drive. It is quite simple to determine it - the hard drive either does not start, or gives out characteristic tapping. Such failure can be caused wrong connection HDD to PC.

In this situation, you need:

  • check the correctness of the connection;
  • replace the board;
  • repair it.

Important! For replacement or repair printed circuit board You will most likely need professional help.

Problems with the block of magnetic heads

This problem is quite serious.

Its "symptoms" are:

  • unstable operation of the hard drive;
  • the appearance of characteristic knocks and clicks.

A BMG malfunction can lead to data loss, so repairs to this component must be done with particular care. The solution to the problem is to replace the block, which is desirable to entrust to professionals.

Logic problems

The second group of malfunctions are software failures that lead to certain errors. More about the most common of them below.

Formatting a disk drive

One of the most common problems of this kind. If formatting is accidental or caused by a failure, all previously recorded data will be lost from the HDD. You can return them using special software.

Important! After formatting, it is necessary to ensure complete isolation of the hard drive. When writing new data to it, previous files will be completely lost.

Hard drive boot block failure

In this case, it becomes impossible to start the installed operating system. The error occurs during serious OS failures, as well as as a result of viruses. This problem is not very serious and the data can be recovered.

Video: Failed hard drive

Preparing to recover data from a damaged hard drive

In the event of logical (software) failures, when the files on the hard drive remain in a recoverable state, you can begin the process of their “treatment” and saving. Before using the programs designed for this, you need to prepare the hard drive for connecting to another PC, because you won’t be able to install and use them on a damaged device.

Using the External Hard Drive Pocket

Hard drive pocket special device, allowing you to connect it and run it using another PC.

Note! Pockets are available for different models HDD, so before buying, make sure it is fully compatible with your device.

The process of connecting a hard drive will look like this:


Connecting a hard drive to a computer system unit

You can start data recovery from a damaged hard drive by connecting it directly to system unit working computer. If you use a hard drive from a laptop, you will need a special adapter, which can be purchased at specialized stores.


  • we go into the BIOS by holding down the "Del" key at system startup (may differ for different models);
  • find the section "Standard CMOS Settings" or "IDE Config";
  • in setting up disks in "master" and "slave" modes, set all options to the "auto-detection" position;
  • save the changes and reboot the system.
  1. after restarting, go to "My Computer", where a new device should be determined;
  2. view, copy or restore files.

R-Studio software

When the problematic hard drive is connected and identified by another computer, you can start restoring data on it.

We will consider this process using the R-Studio utility as an example:


After the data becomes available again and saved, the failed disk can either be formatted and installed on it with a new operating system, or (if there are serious problems) handed over for repair.

Now you know that in case of problems with the hard drive and the inaccessibility of files on it, it is too early to sound the alarm. Depending on the severity of the problem, the data can be saved by yourself or with the help of a professional.