Dead HDD Data Recovery

Huntsman · May 21, 2013

I have a Western Digital 80GB PATA hard disk which has died. It will not mount and will periodically produce a clicking sound. I have unplugged it and is now wrapped in anti-static bag. Note that this has happened very long ago and only now I dug it out intending to recover the data. This is an old drive from my first pc.

My problem is that the hard disk contains data of great value(old pictures of my dad before he pass away) and I would very much want it back at any cost. Really, money is not a very big issue unless you're asking for a million dollars. So, can you guys recommend who to go to? Preferably somewhere in Asia because I am from Malaysia.

Specs of the drive:

WD800JB-00JJC0

Manufactured on 25 October 2007

I know there are alot of tricks out there in the internet but I am not willing to risk it. I want everything to be recovered safely. Money is not a very big problem unless it's utterly ridiculous and extreme. Help guys?

CouchSloth · May 21, 2013

I cannot recommend a service in Malaysia, but a Google search bring up a few possibilities.

http://www.adrc.net/malaysia/data-recovery-malaysia.htm

http://www.darecoorigin.com/

http://www.datarecoveryservices.com.my/

BoomLiam · May 22, 2013

You will have to send it off somewhere, one of the links that CouchSloth provided should be ok. I'm not too sure how data recovery works exactly, but I would assume that if a drive dies, it is either to do with a burnt out motor which causes the plates to stop spinning, or a broken actuator arm. Either way it should be possible to remove the plates from the drive and recover it that way, but if you find a good company, then the principle behind the recovery of data seems simple enough, it's just if the company executes it correctly. I would check with any reviews if you can before giving the drive off to the company.