Fedora 14 Hard Drive Failed

[gaf.linux-Re5JQEeQqe8AvxtiuMwx3w at public.gmane.org (Jerry Feldman)]

On 06/09/2011 09:31 PM, Hsuan-Yeh Chang wrote:
> Hi All,
>
> The hard drive in my Fedora 14 laptop is officially dead today...  I took out my HD and booted my laptop using Ubuntu Live CD.  I also used an SATA to USB adapter in an attempt to access data, but with no luck.  I hope I can get my data back.  Any suggestions?  Thanks in advance!
Yes. There are some do-it-yourself programs, such as spinright. There
are also some companies that will recover your data for you. I had a
head crash on one of my drives 3 years ago and sent it out to Chicago.
There are a couple of places around here:
Disk Doctors is in our building in Newton.
http://www.diskdoctors.com/massachusetts-lab.asp
ESS Data Recovery http://www.datarecovery.com/. I used ESS. First I sent
my drive to Aero for a free evaluation. They were unable to fix it, but
sent the drive over to ESS (free shipping and a discount). ESS was able
to recover my data (which was my home directory).

There are some additional ones. One that has a particularly bad
reputation is Tech Fusion http://www.techfusion.com/

before you make any commitments here are some of the things I have learned.
1. Some data recovery companies charge you a hefty fee even if they
can't recover your data (eg TechFusion)
2. Some will give you a free evaluation along with an estimate.
3. Most will recover the data to a USB drive. Most will be able to
handle all drive formats such as Unix, Linux, Mac and Windows.
4. Some have multiple levels of service. If you are willing to wait a
few weeks then you can get the lower prices.
5. Some of the smaller do-it-yourself places can actually ruin a damaged
drive.

The most important thing of all is do some research on the companies. In
my case, with Aero/ESS my drive was analyzed and I had a good estimate
before I authorized it. It could cost you up to $1000.



-- 
Jerry Feldman <gaf-8C+XqryPoUQy59fyxEkMB2D2FQJk+8+b at public.gmane.org>
Treasurer, Boston User Groups, Inc.
http://www.bostonusergroups.com/
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