# Another computer question re: dead hard drive **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 1, 2003, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-computer-question-re-dead-hard-drive/205001 "2003-10-01T22:04:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Lady\_Venom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9fc348/32.png) [@Lady\_Venom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lady_Venom)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2003, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-computer-question-re-dead-hard-drive/205001/1 "2003-10-01T22:04:45Z")
Last month our speedy P90 finally died. It won’t boot at all, saying something like C: not found. My question is this. Is there a way to recover some files from the HD? There are some pictures we took of our dog before he died on there and I would reaaaaaaaally like to get them off so I can burn them to a CD. Even if I take it in to a Computer store and have to pay to have it done…I just want the pictures. Any hope? ---
**Author:** ![Ringo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/779978/32.png) [@Ringo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ringo)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2003, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-computer-question-re-dead-hard-drive/205001/2 "2003-10-01T22:17:24Z")
Sure. Have you checked your P90’s battery? Can you boot it from a floppy? If it really is a dead computer for whatever reeason, you could try installing the hard drive as a slave drive in another computer. ---
**Author:** ![Nanoda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Nanoda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nanoda)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2003, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-computer-question-re-dead-hard-drive/205001/3 "2003-10-01T22:26:13Z")
Try what **Ringo** sez. If it really is reaaaaaaaally important, you’ll want to check around for data recovery places. Almost all “Computer stores” that actually do this kind of thing just send it to a real data recovery place. P.S. - Data recovery is _not_ cheap - you’ll want to exhaust the other possibilities first. ---
**Author:** ![Lady\_Venom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9fc348/32.png) [@Lady\_Venom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lady_Venom)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2003, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-computer-question-re-dead-hard-drive/205001/4 "2003-10-01T22:29:36Z")
**Ringo** I haven’t checked the battery. This all happened without warning during _The Great Blackout of 2003_ I have a brand new computer and I don’t want to risk installing the HD as a slave on this one. **Nanoda** It’s really only a couple of files. I don’t want everything, just a few files. It is really important to me, and my fiance to have the pictures of our doggie. Like I said, I’d pay. OR! If anyone around Ottawa could help out…lol ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2003, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-computer-question-re-dead-hard-drive/205001/5 "2003-10-01T22:36:19Z")
From the sound of things, it might very well be a CMOS memory problem. You’ll need to enter the CMOS setup and check to see if your hard drive parameters are correctly set. Pentium 1 class mainboards didn’t always have an autodetect option for drive settings. If yours does, be sure it’s set to that. If not, and you don’t know the correct settings for your drive, post the drive make and model number and i’ll see if I can pull it up for you. ---
**Author:** ![Lady\_Venom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9fc348/32.png) [@Lady\_Venom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lady_Venom)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2003, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-computer-question-re-dead-hard-drive/205001/6 "2003-10-01T22:50:25Z")
**Q.E.D** I’ll try to do that tomorrow. Check back here tomorrow night and if I haven’t found someone at work to take a look at it, I’ll post the info here. Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2003, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-computer-question-re-dead-hard-drive/205001/7 "2003-10-01T23:56:56Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Lady Venom \* > \*\ ***Ringo** > > I haven’t checked the battery. This all happened without warning during _The Great Blackout of 2003_ > > I have a brand new computer and I don’t want to risk installing the HD as a slave on this one. > > \*\* Umm… I think the idea was to temporarily install the possibly defective P-90 hard drive as a slave to the good new hard drive. Unless there is a virus issue (and it doesn’t sound like it) this should not present any “risk” to the new drive. The working system will either see it or it won’t. The easiest thing to do (in my experience ) is simply to disconnect the new CD drive temporarily and use that connector. ---
**Author:** ![Ringo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/779978/32.png) [@Ringo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ringo)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2003, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-computer-question-re-dead-hard-drive/205001/8 "2003-10-02T01:17:50Z")
**Astro** said what I meant to say. Just hook it up as a slave, boot and see if it’s there, and then copy what’s readable to your good computer’s C: drive. ---
**Author:** ![Bob55](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e9c0ed/32.png) [@Bob55](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bob55)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2003, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-computer-question-re-dead-hard-drive/205001/9 "2003-10-02T04:39:27Z")
I know there’s companies that can recover data from hard drives that have even been dropped in water. But, you’re going to be paying ~$800 or more from what I’ve heard. CD-R backups every few months are a lot cheaper! ---
**Author:** ![Lady\_Venom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9fc348/32.png) [@Lady\_Venom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lady_Venom)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2003, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-computer-question-re-dead-hard-drive/205001/10 "2003-10-02T12:28:59Z")
Bob55… This computer was VERY old, had a 4x CD-ROM, 16 meg ram and a 2 gig HD…It didn’t have a CD-RW, or I would have done that. As for setting it up as a slave…I’m not that technically inclined. That was my ex-husbands job. I will however get a friend to hook it up as a slave to our new computer and see if we can just copy the stuff we need. ---
**Author:** ![handy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5a626/32.png) [@handy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handy)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2003, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-computer-question-re-dead-hard-drive/205001/11 "2003-10-02T15:00:26Z")
You can try [download.com](http://download.com) & search for ‘recovery’ there might be some programs you can try. Other odd methods involve putting the hd in the ice box (freezer) overnight or banging it lightly or getting a circuit board from a matching HD & putting it on & trying that.