Click of Death

[blunce]

When the power came back on after a windstorm knocked it out last week, my pc had the error message "Disk boot error: insert system disk and press enter". Also getting the "click of death noise from the hard drive. When using the Windows Vista disk to use their "fixing options" my hard drive is nowhere to be found.

My question is, can Knoppix help recover the files (some or all) on my hard drive in this type of situation? Prior to the power outtage, the hard drive was working just fine, so the damage was definately from the power outtage and not a wear-n-tear type of situation. I don't care about the drive itself, I just want to get the files from it.

[Harry Kuhman]

...Also getting the "click of death noise from the hard drive.....
If the drive has physically failed then Knoppix can't do much to recover data, but we don't know that yet.

If the drive is readable but just can't boot then Knoppix can recover the files (unless you encrypted the drive or compressed it, which is unlikely).

I suggerst making a CD and seeing if Knoppix can see files on the hard disk. I also suggest using a 5.x version copy rather than a 6.x version if you can still get a 5.x copy (I think you can).

Download the ISO according to the instructions in the downloading FAQ (see the documentation link near the top of this page), confirm the md5 sum, and burn the ISO as an image at slow speed.

If Koppix can see the files then you can transfer them to another computer across a network, copy them to a flash drive, or (with a few tricks) burn them to disc. I prefer moving them to another computer across a network.

If you can't see the drive it has likely failed, but before giving up completely I would try putting it in a different computer. Knoppix might be able to see it there if the failure is on the current motherboard. Of course, in that case you might not need Knoppix at all, you might be able to see it as a second (or third) drive under a Windows system.

[blunce]

Thanks Harry. I already downloaded the 6.2 version, but I did read that the 5.x versions have more "stuff" still with them. So I'll go ahead and dl that vsn. I was unable to find steps on how to confirm the md5 file. I did see the file numbers from the mirror site I downloaded from though. Just not sure how to use it. Any tips? I take it the confirm step is done prior to the burn and not after?

[blunce]

never mind (on the FAQ/md5?), I was looking in the wrong spot.

[Harry Kuhman]

The checking of the md5 should be documented in the downloading FAQ (it was when I wrote the documentation, but since a wiki can be edited by others I'm not certain that someone didn't "change" it. I could look up the FAQ but it would be much more productive if you did.)

If it isn't in the wiki than just doing a Google search on md5 should turn up plenty of tools. And since you indicated that you used a mirror rather than the more reliable torrents I would absolutely stress the importance of doing the test.

If you check it after burning the disc you may well have just burnt a bad download to disc. Checking first prevents the creation of a coaster when the download was bad.

[blunce]

I ended up getting a copy of 6.2 from Bittorrent because the first copy I got didnt get a match on the md5 file. Was able to get a usable disc, and get to the desktop screen of Knoppix, but nothing other than the Knoppix stuff was visible in the file browser.

From a link I found in the FAQ's here, I was directed to a HD Rescue how-to article that specifically said if your hd stopped working from a power outtage to NOT use Knoppix or any other file recovery programs and just send the HD to the professionals. So, that's my next step. Thanks for the help in getting a bootable CD, just wish it would've done what I needed it to! Oh well, time to start saving $$ for the file recovery : (

[Harry Kuhman]

My experience with the mirrors has also been pretty bad. I'll bet that be bad ISO was slightly larger than the good one too. Now that it is available, I only use BitTorrent for Knoppix downloads.

If Knoppix 5.x can't see the hard drive then I expect that it has died, particularly if you have used Knoppix to see the drives on other systems and so know what you are looking at. I would still try to see the disk on a different motherboard though.

The claim to not use Knoppix and send the drive off to a "professional" sounds rather self serving. Knoppix will not write to a hard drive by accident, so I know of no good reason not to try Knoppix first. On the other hand, I've seen some terror stories of such "professionals" who, once they have your hard drive, announce that the recovery was "more complex than expected" and hold your data hostage for additional charges beyond what was paid up front. I doubt that I would ever use such a recovery service, but if I decided to I would do extensive checking to be sure I had a legitimate one. And one or two supposed favorable reviews written by total strangers does not qualify as proof of legitimacy, any scammer is going to write himself some good reviews.

[blunce]

Well not sure how "self serving" it really is considering the source:
http://www.shockfamily.net/cedric/knoppix/

That link was reached from the following Knoppix FAQ page:
http://www.knoppix.net/wiki/Rescue_FAQ

From what I've been reading, the more you "use" the hard drive to recover files or fix it, the more the chance of damaging the platters further. For fear of losing years of family photo's including my first child's photos from birth (now 2yrs old), I'm perfectly willing to not mess with it any more. I plan to do my due diligence on a data recovery company. I too have heard a few horror stories mostly about costs involved. The way I see it, they've got you right where they want you considering the customer want's their data, and they're the only (most cases) option to get it back.

Oh, I followed the link in the shockfamily article to Hard Drive Recovery Group and hae sent a quote request from them, but plan to do much more research before settling on a data recovery company.