Windows 10: Retrieving files from harddrive

Hi there,

I'll try and round up my problem quickly basically was running windows10 (upgraded from 7) on my alienware computer then all of a sudden the other day the motherboard went pop!
So as i have files and photos that aren't backed up anywhere i really need to access the HDD to take the files only.

I plugged the HDD(sata) into our other home computer but it just won't recognise it.
However if i plug only this HDD in it boots into windows repair but... all the option fail to work when it loads.

I am in a bad position as have wedding photos on there and other stuff that i really should have backed up.
Thing is the HDD should be fine i just cannot get it to work like a slave drive or whatever to take the files i need.

Thanks for reading

:)

 

Windows 10 upgrade error "Your harddrive is locked. Unlock your harddrive and try again"

After several attempts at installing windows 10 upgrade, it kept freezing at 83% overall and 33% retrieving your files (or something entitled that). My PC will now no longer boot from that harddrive and it will now not accept my recovery discs for windows
8 (the original OS )saying that the recovery system will not support the discs. If I try using a windows !) ISO file install disc after going through the recovery / troubleshoot / keep my files etc it finally comes up with something like " Your harddrive is
locked. Unlock your harddrive and try again" I can access the harddrive programs Etc plugging it in as an external and have found a report created of my attempts to upgrade. I would like to send this report to someone who will understand it and maybe tell
me how to retrieve my harddrive so that I can use the free upgrade and not loose all of my work. The report is just a lot of gobbledegook to me. Is there anyone who can help me with my dilemma please?

 

windows update froze at 53% and now is stuck in loop

have downloaded windows 10 ISO file to USB and found F2 reboot screen to program to upload to USB FDD or HDD? but still nothing works. why would I ever take windows updates again if its going to ruin my laptop, and cost $hundreds to retrieve my harddrive
info, all my family photo's, and home office business files.

 

Hi shinobi61 and welcome to Tenforums.

Sorry to hear this. It doesn't sound good. You could try a data recovery program like Recuva and see if it can read the drive. Sometimes recovery programs will be able to read drives that Windows can not. However, if the MB failure affected the drive somehow, you may be looking at professional services to get your wedding photos back.

Edit: No OneDrive? No Dropbox? No Google Drive? Nothing?

 

Try this

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials...s-dead-os.html

I will be glad to answer further questions.

 

I would just get a hard drive enclosure. A 2 1/2" enclosure can be powered from just the USB port but the 3 1/2" needs an external power source. You can pick one up at Best Buy, Staples, or your local computer shop. You can find them cheaper online but you have to wait for it to arrive.

I have one one of these and it works well. You can find them cheaper on eBay but they don't come with the external power source for 3 1/2" drives.

IDE SATA to USB 2 0 Adapter Converter Cable for 2 5 3 5 inch Hard Drive HD HDD | eBay

I like it because the hard drive always runs cool. They can get hot in an enclosure if you are using it for long periods of time.

 

Hi guys thanks for replys, so i tried recuva, couldn't find the drive in there.
I am just now installing linuxmint to usb and try that i have tried a similar method with Ubuntu USB stick and the drive showed on there
It actually showed the 2 partitions OS & DELLUTILITY however i couldn't open them it said locked or something.
Anyway i will report back after i try mint.

Thanks again!

Edit: ok the drive shows in mint labelled Harddrive: 1TB but cannot open it it just says Unable to mount.. or something similar

Some more info though, now when booting the PC it shows a screen i presume to be this computers Raid utility screen it lists both harddrives like so.

Port Serial Size ______
0 WD................... 935.1GB Non RAID DISK
2 SG..................... 935.1GB SMART EVENT

So smart event i think indicates a bad HDD or whatever but it does show here in this screen also if i press F12 on startup to the boot menu it also shows both hard drives there aswell.

Summary
HDD shows in raid manager on boot
HDD shows in boot menu
HDD does not show in windows at all
HDD shows in linux mint but not able to open

Thanks for reading!

 

Yeah, you've got some serious damage to the drive.
One other free recovery program is EaseUS.

Failing that, you might want to consider Steve Gibson's SpinRite, (assuming this is a "spinner" and not a SSD). It's $89 if you've never purchased it before. This would be an alternative, or a step to try before going to "clean-room" professional recovery services, (example), which charge approximately $1-2,000, depending on the failure mode and amount of data to be recovered.

GRC

Purchase Download

SpinRite - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I've never used it personally, but it does have a good testimonials for data recovery.

Just depends how badly you need your data back. *Wink

 

Ok i have had no luck so far, will using an external housing or cables (USB?) make the drive work any differently?
I figured direct into the motherboard like a normal HDD would be the same?
Thanks

 

Should make no difference, unless for some reason the cable you are using is no good.

 

Ok so before i try and get a professional to try and read the drive i'm gonna grab some cables when i buy the new PC they are cheap enough just incase i have a dodgy cable or something.
To clarify on the motherboard i have here at the moment i got 2 blue SATA ports and 4 black ones.
The blues are numbered 0 & 1 then black 2 to 5.
In which port should i have the working OS from this computer and which port for the presumed broken drive?
Thanks.

 

Working drive would go in SATA 0, broken hard drive in SATA 1. CD/DVD Rom drive(s) in next numbered SATA ports.