How to Diagnose a Computer Hard Disk Drive

Step-by-Step Guide

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   Step 1: Before doing anything to your drive

   You can remove the drive by taking the cover off of the side of your computer (or the drive bay of your laptop) and using a screwdriver to disconnect the drive from its mounting bracket.
   
   Disconnect the cables from the back of the drive and store it in a cardboard box or an antistatic bag.
   
   You can fix this mechanical problem yourself if you are brave.
   
   Otherwise, do a Google search for computer repair or data recovery specialists in your area.
   
   This process is expensive, but can be worth it if your files are very important. , If your computer boots into Windows, the C drive is just fine and will make repairing your secondary drive or partition much easier.
   
   If your Windows drive appears as an unformatted drive in your computer's BIOS, remove it (following the removal instructions in Step 3) and mount it in a working Windows PC.
   
   This could be a friend's computer or an old 2000 or XP machine that you have kept after an upgrade. , You may need to do this anyway, depending on the age of the computer you are using to fix the drive.
   
   Older computers may not support drives from newer computers.
   
   Check your drives or the computer's user's manual to be sure. ,, Just browse to the files in Windows Explorer and burn them to a DVD or CD for later replacement. , This will reformat the drive and any information still on it will be erased. ,, Get it at http://www.cgsecurity.org/wiki/TestDisk_Download and unzip and run the program. ,,
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   Step 2: read the Warnings section below.

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   Step 3: Determine if the drive is inaccessible because of a mechanical failure or a software problem.

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   Step 4: If the drive is making strange rattling or clicking noises

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   Step 5: turn off the computer immediately.

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   Step 6: If the drive seems to be working normally but appears as unformatted in your computer's BIOS or Windows

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   Step 7: you may be able to fix it yourself.

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   Step 8: If you need to attach a laptop drive to a desktop machine or vice versa

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   Step 9: you may have to purchase an external drive enclosure that converts your drive interface from PATA

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    Step 10: or SCSI to USB or FireWire.

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    Step 11: Once you have the problem drive mounted in a computer with a working Windows drive

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    Step 12: ensure that you never write data or format the broken drive

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    Step 13: as this can cause permanent data loss.

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    Step 14: If you have only damaged or erased essential operating system files from your Windows drive

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    Step 15: the disk can still be read from your repair PC and you can easily recover data from My Documents

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    Step 16: Move the drive back to its native computer and reinstall Windows on it.

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    Step 17: Once you have a fresh

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    Step 18: and fully functional copy of Windows

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    Step 19: you can put your files back in their rightful places and get on with the lengthy task of reinstalling all of your programs.

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    Step 20: If the drive in question is a data drive or a Windows drive that appears as unformatted

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    Step 21: you will have to use data recovery software

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    Step 22: the best example of which is TestDisk

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    Step 23: a free utility that will analyze your drive and recover your data.

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    Step 24: Follow the instructions in the program or go to http://www.cgsecurity.org for more help.

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    Step 25: Once TestDisk has made your drive accessible again

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    Step 26: move it back to your own computer (if you had to move it in the first place) and enjoy your recovered files!

Detailed Guide

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