Trying to recover data from crashed hard drive

Okay not really very good at this but my laptop stopped working so I took hd out and connected it to anotherlaptop through usb lead it appears in my disk management (although it shows up grey instead of black or blue if that makes sense to anyone) but it wont show in my computer I have a load od family photos on this drive and would really love some help and will send out good karma to all who try to help me many thanks in advance:)
 
Hi techmichellenot. When you say it stopped working,is there anything on the screen when you power up, or any indication that the system passed it's POST procedure (Power On Self Test), usually indicated by a beep before Windows itself tries to boot up?. Any error messages seen?. Sounds like you put the drive in an external case that can connect via USB. If there is indeed a problem with the disk drive and it's not a physical problem with the drive (maybe a corrupted Windows boot file,etc),your system may have a Recovery procedure that will reinstall your OS without erasing your data files (called a non destructive OS reinstall) as opposed to a destructive which erases everything and reinstalls the OS. I would check your documentation to see if your laptop has such a procedure.
 
On the second system where you moved the drive, use the
Control Panel->Admin Tools->Disk Manager to see the device
The partition(s) should show up as Healthy; anything else says you're in trouble.

*maybe* you can recover the partition or use one of the file recovery services (but they are expensive).
 
Hey! what are you waiting for? your hard drive got crashed so, dear immediately consult a professional data recovery company. They will bring back your lost data.
 
Is there a drive letter assigned to the drive on the other laptop? It should show a drive letter in disk manager
 
I'm new to this board, but not new to a pc tech board, and if there's one thing I have learned from years on another board ,many years in the field with Xerox,and fixing people's pc's since the mid 90's is that you have to ask questions, especially when the description of a problem is not crystal clear.So many times what someone told me over the phone is not accurate or missing important details because they were not pc literate. Not saying that this poster isn't pc literate, but it would be nice to know some more basics of what is or is not happening. Whatever the resolution, I do hope that the valuable data can be recovered and saved, and then burned to something more permanent like a good quality DVD.
 
^ Amen brother!

So many times I come across a problem here but don't reply because the details are so vague. Many years ago I wrote up a guide on how to post here (its in my sig) but very few people read it (I've been around forums long enough to know people don't read posts like that, especially when they just want to register to ask a question).

If I was really motivated and had the time and desire I would post all the things I think would help us provide help, but that is a lot of work.
 
^ Amen brother!

So many times I come across a problem here but don't reply because the details are so vague. Many years ago I wrote up a guide on how to post here (its in my sig) but very few people read it (I've been around forums long enough to know people don't read posts like that, especially when they just want to register to ask a question).

If I was really motivated and had the time and desire I would post all the things I think would help us provide help, but that is a lot of work.


I know exactly what you mean as I've been down that road myself. That would help the people who don't understand the basics of pc operations so they don't see how it ties together.All you can do is try, because despite the frustration, I know it gives us both pleasure when you help someone who isn't pc literate and they are so relieved after suffering with a problem that you or I could fix in our sleep, especially when I do it personally and can see their reaction. All the best to you in your efforts.
 
If the hdd has crashed,then recuva won't be of much help.It's simply for recovering deleted files(provided that file hasn't been overwritten).
I agree.

For a non-free option that may work in this situation, EaseUS makes a recovery software that runs from a WinPE environment. It is somewhat pricey, especially when comparing to the free suggestions we often find here. But, if the data is incredibly valuable, or invaluable, it is way cheaper than a professional data recovery solution. If it doesn't work, then you've really only spent about 1-5% more than you would have in the end with a professional recovery service. (Point is, if you are going to spend a couple thousand or more on a professional service, spending $60 to take a chance you don't have to spend thousands is worth it).
 
If the hdd has crashed,then recuva won't be of much help.It's simply for recovering deleted files(provided that file hasn't been overwritten).
Thank you. At another forum I used to post at, they swore by it, saying it would. Glad to be here with more knowledgeable people.(y)
 
Hey! what are you waiting for? your hard drive got crashed so, dear immediately consult a professional data recovery company. They will bring back your lost data.
Not necessary to do that when you have professionals here at TS that help for free.:)
 
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