need help recovering data

[InspectahACE]

my good friend's new external hard drive just died.said somehtin bout static got to it or somethin.anyhow, i was hopin for any pointers on how to recover the data off there if possible..

[killswitch83]

well, more than likely when ESD got to it, it popped the controller chip as well, so you won't be able to spin the drive up to recover the data.....there are other ways of getting the data off, like through complex (and expensive) chemical and electrical processes to gather the data off the platters and reassemble them into its former form, but once again, IT'S EXPENSIVE!!! lol

if you know of someone who has extensive electronics knowledge, and can solder another HDD controller onto its PCB, or repair the motor that spins up the drive, then you would be in good company, lol....elsewise the data is gone, all gone

[Kerii]

Well, best case scenario, the controller card was the only thing that fried. In which case, you can try taking out the hard drive and putting it right in the computer or another enclosure. That of course, voids the warranty, so unless the data on there is really important, the option that makes the most sense would be to RMA it and have whatever company send your friend a replacement.

Unfortunately, they usually take no responsibility for lost data.

If you can find a way to remove the HD from the enclosure without breaking some seal though, that would give you a lot of freedom for testing.

[T-Shirt]

my good friend's new external hard drive just died.said somehtin bout static got to it or somethin.anyhow, i was hopin for any pointers on how to recover the data off there if possible..

Most likely it's just the case-USB/ide contorller that died and the drive would work if attatched directly to a computer or in a new external housing.
This does point out how important having a good UPS attached to both your computer AND external components.

BTW what brand/model was the external drive?

[killswitch83]

right, forgot this was an external

in that case, yeah the IDE to USB bridge on the enclosure could be fried, try the HDD directly connected inside the computer.....you can always get an enclosure if you had to (given it works with the drive and it isn't proprietary in any way).

[InspectahACE]

damn lol..i guess we'll have to try somethin..its a maxtor 300 gig..i forget the model though...not even 3-4 months old yet lol..thanks for the help :)