Corrupted and unreadable??

[cornemuse]

My computer just shut down a few days ago. Restarted it & after a few minutes it did it again. Swapped drives (swappable drive trays) Now it worked. Attempted 'properties/tools/error checking' of the subject drive, computer shut down again, during error check. Opened the case & found the connector from 'power on' switch to the front panel header barely connected, actually it fell off in moving wires to make sure everything was connected. Now subject drive boots & has screen 'failed to start last time', <- words to that effect, all options 'normal - safe - safe w/whatever' I choose, it immediately reboots & same over & over. The second 'swapped' drive works fine. Subject drive shows up in device manager, computer management, & my computer, just cant read it.

There is some stuff that was not backed up, vast majority is/was.

Is there some program that can read and/or recognize data (bmp, mpg, etc) I could then copy to another drive? Data is replaceable but a pita to do. Drive is about 2 years old WD 500 gig blue desktop. Want to attempt recovery before format etc to see if hdd is junk.

-cornemuse-

[gonca]

Try IsoBuster

[aedipuss]

if the drive is hooked up and recognized use the windows search function. type *.jpg in the search box and let it go until done. then you can copy/paste all the files where ever you want on another drive. start in the root of the drive if you want it to search all directories. do the same for *.mpg etc.

[Cornucopia]

Isolate the drive issue from the os boot/recognize issue: try the drive(s) as standard internal (2nd) drives in a different known good bootable system. Recover what data you can & back it up again. Then wipe & low level format & check the drive so you are confident of a clean, workable raw base.
Then work on seeing if your mobo is still viable. Use a live/pe boot volume (either disc or usb). Check all hardware connections and then run the mobo through its paces, taking note of uninterrupted uptime.
Only THEN should you consider trying them together again.

Scott

[cornemuse]

Jiggled connectors inside & found some 'loose'/bad connections. Subject drive would still not boot, but 2nd one did. Got out my old 'DOS' manual and tried running 'chkdsk' with subject as (in my case) 'F' drive. At first I thought the computer was hung up, but walked away, after about an hour it was done, as in OK. Re-booted subject drv as 'C' & it booted ok but went through basically the same disk checking/fixing. took about 2 hours, but the drive is like it was before. All is well, whew.

The sata cables, even with locking/latching ends still lose some contact, at the mobo connection end, I have tried using those 'twist ties' to hold them in a more secure manner.

Anyway, I'm good for now.

[Nelson37]

Consumer-grade swappable drive bays always end up with connector issues on the swappable part. Data corruption is the result.

Twist ties have a conductive metal core which will eventually poke thru the plastic coating. Not good.