Cloning a faulty hard drive

Discussion in 'PC Hardware' started by juanmanuelsanchez, Jun 28, 2018.

  1. juanmanuelsanchez

    juanmanuelsanchez MDL Junior Member

    Aug 21, 2009
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    So one my drives decided to die or almost, I can still access it from time to time and browse the files. As soon as the drive is required to do something it will go offline.

    Im trying to clone it using mini partition tool.

    Sadly the tool gets frozen trying to get the info out of the faulty hard drive.

    Any tips on how to approach the situation? Is there anything that can be done?

    Thanks in advance !
     
  2. lewcass

    lewcass MDL Senior Member

    Mar 10, 2018
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    Dont laugh, its not April 1st, but if what i have heard is correct then you put the hdd into a refrigerator(or freezer?) for a short time then try to clone that sucker. Search online to see what you find. Maybe the gurus here can confirm or deny it works, i have never tried it.
     
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  3. sml156

    sml156 MDL Member

    Sep 8, 2009
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    I think that works only if the drive has the heads stuck due it it being dropped or banged while running but it is worth a try, I tried that on an old laptop drive once but unfortunately it did not work.
     
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  4. lewcass

    lewcass MDL Senior Member

    Mar 10, 2018
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    Im not going mad then. What i would try though is get a fan ontop of the hdd with a good cold air supply on it then try to copy bits at a time, keeping it cool may help, best case scenario you may be able to save some stuff.
     
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  5. Flipp3r

    Flipp3r MDL Expert

    Feb 11, 2009
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    I've had a drive work after getting it cold from the freezer, condensation and all ;).
    I've also had a hdd work after heating it up with a hair dryer (probably a dry joint?).

    I would boot into winpe and run either Symantec Ghost or better yet Terabyte "Image for Windows" (works quicker in UEFI environment).
    Both have options to continue cloning/imaging when errors found...
     
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  6. Raur

    Raur MDL Member

    Oct 11, 2017
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    Thanks for the infos here. I have a failing hardrive with important files to be recovered. A great help for me I guess.
     
  7. Oxygen_IT

    Oxygen_IT MDL Novice

    Aug 23, 2018
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    Ubuntu had a tool called DD built in, their is also DDRescue, each have a optional GUI. Best way to go besides for taking it to someone like DriveSavers, if your in the US anyway.