Two storage drives die at the same time... Need my files !!

Discussion in 'PC Hardware' started by tnx, Jul 15, 2016.

  1. tnx

    tnx MDL Expert

    Sep 2, 2008
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    Hi guys.
    Just turned on my PC and both of my storage drives desktop shortcuts had question marks next to them..Odd..
    tried to get Windows to see them again, no luck...
    Tried them on my test rig running windows 10, no luck.
    Installed hackintosh just to see if it was a Windows thing, MAC could not see them either.

    NO NO NO NO.....There are sh1t loads of important files on these drives.

    If no OS can even see the drives am I screwed ?

    What would cause two drives to die at the exact same time ? The drive running the OS is still fine.

    Any tips on what I can do

    :rip:

    :weep: :weep:
     
  2. Mr.X

    Mr.X MDL Guru

    Jul 14, 2013
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    #2 Mr.X, Jul 15, 2016
    Last edited: Jul 15, 2016
    It's very strange an unlikely two HDDs dying at the same time. What a bad luck if you are correct they actually died.
    Do they still spin?
    Making strange noises?
    Maybe malware hid the partitions or files.
     
  3. kaljukass

    kaljukass MDL Guru

    Nov 26, 2012
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    The reason must be something else. It is not possible that two simultaneously. And that malware is there built up something - it is even less likely. Probably is some other reason, and it seems to be a kind of very primitive. Find out properly before you start to do something more serious.
     
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  4. dhjohns

    dhjohns MDL Guru

    Sep 5, 2013
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    This is why I back up all my very important stuff to the cloud.
     
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  5. MrMagic

    MrMagic MDL Guru

    Feb 13, 2012
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    SATA Controller on the board died?

    Try them in different SATA ports that you know are working
     
  6. tnx

    tnx MDL Expert

    Sep 2, 2008
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    Right....

    So both do infact spin up.

    Both can not be seen on both of my PC's.

    Gunna try connecting them via a SATA to USB and external power supply.

    Can malware write files to drives to stop them working, and to stop them working on any PC ?
     
  7. Mr.X

    Mr.X MDL Guru

    Jul 14, 2013
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    Yes they can.
     
  8. tnx

    tnx MDL Expert

    Sep 2, 2008
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    connecting one of the drives via SATA to USB, the PC "pinged, installed driver software"

    Drives not showing in "My PC"

    I ran command prompt as admin and ran DISKPART.. List DISK...

    The drive shows up....

    WHAT THE **** has happened ?

    I'm INVECTED !!!!
     
  9. Mr.X

    Mr.X MDL Guru

    Jul 14, 2013
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    For me, seems you have a malware infection on both drives which caused to hide partitions or files.
     
  10. tnx

    tnx MDL Expert

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    So what do I do next to fix this...
     
  11. R29k

    R29k MDL GLaDOS

    Feb 13, 2011
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    If you go into disk management, do the partitions show up, can you assign drive letters ? You will need the drives mounted to scan them or recover data!
     
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  12. Mr.X

    Mr.X MDL Guru

    Jul 14, 2013
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    Use a data recovery program. I like Minitool Data Recovery (paid) but others like Recuva (I've never tried this) and many others.
    There's also GetDataBack which is a great program, a lil bit more difficult to use though.
     
  13. tnx

    tnx MDL Expert

    Sep 2, 2008
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    The do show up but show as " Unallocated".

    Not seen that before, gunna have to read up on that.
     
  14. R29k

    R29k MDL GLaDOS

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  15. tnx

    tnx MDL Expert

    Sep 2, 2008
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    It gets worse..

    I was on my main PC, the one where these two drives live. My PC suddenly switched off and would not boot up..No MBR to be found....

    On my other machine now while installing a fresh Win 7 onto another spare HDD I have...

    Not formatting any of these three drives, just yet..
     
  16. LatinMcG

    LatinMcG Bios Borker

    Feb 27, 2011
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    use hirens boot cd.. use findandmount.. have usb hdd ready to copy. i have a .reg for pro version to make it fast copy.. u can have in priv :p

    MFT corrupted.
     
  17. R29k

    R29k MDL GLaDOS

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  18. John Sutherland

    John Sutherland MDL Addicted

    Oct 15, 2014
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    Hello tnx - Usually when a partition is shown as being "unallocated", it means one of three things:

    1.) The partition was created but wasn't formatted.

    2.) The partition was formatted, but the filesystem isn't recognized by the disk partitioning software currently being used. Keep in mind that Windows Disk Management only recognizes NTFS, FAT32, or exFAT filesystems.

    3.) The partition has been encrypted.

    When I read your first post, I was thinking along the same lines as MrMagic - there's a problem with the board's SATA controller. But if you've connected both of these disks to a second machine and their partitions are still being seen as "unallocated", then maybe it's a corrupted filesystem or a problem with the MFT. But I find it very strange that both disks would have the exact same problem at exactly the same time. Question: You're not using these two disks in a RAID1 setup, are you? Where one disk is mirrored from the other? That might explain why both are experiencing the same problem at the same time.
     
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  19. Michaela Joy

    Michaela Joy MDL Crazy Lady

    Jul 26, 2012
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    @John: My thoughts exactly.

    @tnx: If it's not a raid system, then try pulling one of the drives out of its' enclosure and installing it in a different system than the one that's giving you problems.
    That will narrow the fault down to the system and not the drive(S).
     
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