How can I do a DYI data recovery?

[Doom Shepherd]

I doubt that works on an SSD, which I believe is the type of device from where the data is being recovered, as it doesn't have any moving parts.

HDD.

 

[Asbo Zaprudder]

Ah, we're talking about spinning metal now. Ok then.

 

[Doom Shepherd]

Ah, we're talking about spinning metal now. Ok then.

Yeah, I guess I didn't make that clear before, sorry. (Didn't know for sure myself until after I made that Pakled post.)

 

[Doom Shepherd]

With a new Windows install all the user information such as uid have changed so attempting to access your old data gives the error you saw.

Normally it's then a mater of changing the folder permissions then you can copy and paste. Forget trying to share.

Only last trick you can try and I've had it work with a dying drive. Put the drive in the fridge for a few hours. The fire it up and start moving the data. You'll probably have to repeat the process a few times till either the data is moved or the drive is totally dead.

I’m in! Quick, how do I change permissions?

Edit: NVM, found that bit online. It’s changing them...very...slowly...and some of them are clearly broken.

 

[Marc]

I’m in! Quick, how do I change permissions?

right click on the folder
go to properties -> Security -> Advanced

up the top is listed the folder owner.

Change it to your current account (in the window that appears start typing in your login name then click check name).

down the bottom check the option to enable inheritance and then replace child permissions.

This will then work down the directory structure and give you full ownership on the folders.

 

[Doom Shepherd]

right click on the folder
go to properties -> Security -> Advanced

up the top is listed the folder owner.

Change it to your current account (in the window that appears start typing in your login name then click check name).

down the bottom check the option to enable inheritance and then replace child permissions.

This will then work down the directory structure and give you full ownership on the folders.

Wow it’s like EVERY file in the Dell Supprt/Assist folder is corrupted and unreadable.

And DAMN are there a LOT of files in there. Fucking hell, do I seriously have to click “continue” for EVERY FILE in this folder? How many thousand IS that???

 

[Doom Shepherd]

I give up. I found I was able to get to the Users folder, and see Julie’s folder, but I needed to open permissions for that, and when I did... I spent 20 minutes rapid-clicking as fast as I could get my hand to twitch (deliberately tweaking a nerve, that’s pretty fast, like 20 times a second) and I couldn’t even get through her “Apps Data” folder. I saw a couple of files that might have been familiar, but they too were corrupted. I have to say I think it’s a total loss. So much work for crap.

 

[Marc]

Yrah it blows budgie balls but at least you know that things are definitely fubar'ed rather than wondering in the future if there was something that could be have been done.

Time to recycle the drive.

Unlikely anyone would be interested in or able to extract any data Crome the drive but I would drill through the to casing a few times before disposal.

 

[Doom Shepherd]

Postscript: Just before I packed it all away I remembered that I had another old HDD lying around. This one was from a computer that died before I bought my current one. Not only had it died, but I'd done my level best to destroy it - basically tore it out of the computer, and ran a fairly powerful magnet (used for finding nails as we drag it around the yard) over it several times. Then left it in a drawer directly above a heat return for three years.

It worked perfectly. I pulled even OLDER itunes files that had been lost.
Friday the 13th, man.

 

[Marc]

Postscript: Just before I packed it all away I remembered that I had another old HDD lying around. This one was from a computer that died before I bought my current one. Not only had it died, but I'd done my level best to destroy it - basically tore it out of the computer, and ran a fairly powerful magnet (used for finding nails as we drag it around the yard) over it several times. Then left it in a drawer directly above a heat return for three years.

It worked perfectly. I pulled even OLDER itunes files that had been lost.
Friday the 13th, man.

So your external drive connector wasn't wasted after all.

Now for the 3-2-1 rule so it doesn't happen again
3 backups
2 different media
1 offsite

 

[Santaman]

I use external drives more to transport data to the backup machines, external drives are okay for backup but also can fall down the stairs or die another horrible death..

 

[Gary7]

Postscript: Just before I packed it all away I remembered that I had another old HDD lying around. This one was from a computer that died before I bought my current one. Not only had it died, but I'd done my level best to destroy it - basically tore it out of the computer, and ran a fairly powerful magnet (used for finding nails as we drag it around the yard) over it several times. Then left it in a drawer directly above a heat return for three years.

It worked perfectly. I pulled even OLDER itunes files that had been lost.
Friday the 13th, man.

If you want to destroy the data on a hard drive, you can try wiping the drive, reformatting, etc. But it's always going to leave something behind. I don't know why people don't mention this more often... but OVERWRITE (replace) is the best security. Start with a huge file. Maybe 10Gb. Copy it over again and again on a "wiped" drive. I can't see why this wouldn't work. Now you don't have to worry about destructive magnetism or physical damage (e.g. sledgehammer).

 

[Marc]

If you want to destroy the data on a hard drive, you can try wiping the drive, reformatting, etc. But it's always going to leave something behind. I don't know why people don't mention this more often... but OVERWRITE (replace) is the best security. Start with a huge file. Maybe 10Gb. Copy it over again and again on a "wiped" drive. I can't see why this wouldn't work. Now you don't have to worry about destructive magnetism or physical damage (e.g. sledgehammer).

or you simply get a program like DBAN which will nuke the drive nicely.

Though if you're deadly serious about it, there's a degaussing unit that so's strong it will be pull the tracking off the platters.

 

[Gary7]

or you simply get a program like DBAN which will nuke the drive nicely. Though if you're deadly serious about it, there's a degaussing unit that so's strong it will be pull the tracking off the platters.

Heh, that reminds me of the mega junk yard magnet that Walter White and his crew use in Breaking Bad, to destroy a laptop held in evidence at a fortified police station.
Thanks for the tip about DBAN. I hadn't heard of it before. Makes total sense to have a Linux utility like this, essentially accomplishing that erasure by overwriting concept.

 

[Asbo Zaprudder]

or you simply get a program like DBAN which will nuke the drive nicely.

Though if you're deadly serious about it, there's a degaussing unit that so's strong it will pull the tracking off the platters.

..or use the UK Ministry of Defence technique of employing a hefty guy to smash the drive into small pieces with a sledge hammer. Nobody was getting any data off that disk ever again.

 

[XCV330]

or you simply get a program like DBAN which will nuke the drive nicely.

Though if you're deadly serious about it, there's a degaussing unit that so's strong it will be pull the tracking off the platters.

I used to use a large degausser for decomissioning drives. It was impressive how the drives would shake and start to heat up. I have a defibrilator installed on my heart now, so I can't really come near an active dagausser now. now if i don't want to reboot myself but they were interesting.

You can also download a bootable linux image for ShredOS, burn it to bootable media and use that. Shred by default is a 3 pass DoD wipe ,but you can increase that to whatever number. 7 is secure.

 

[Marc]

I used to use a large degausser for decomissioning drives. It was impressive how the drives would shake and start to heat up. I have a defibrilator installed on my heart now, so I can't really come near an active dagausser now. now if i don't want to reboot myself but they were interesting.

You can also download a bootable linux image for ShredOS, burn it to bootable media and use that. Shred by default is a 3 pass DoD wipe ,but you can increase that to whatever number. 7 is secure.

Pfft who burns to media these days?

Ventoy and a SSD based thumb (paid $CA56 for one) drive and you're off to the races.

 

[Marc]

I understand that you want to recover those files from your hard drive yourself, but it isn't very easy and could worsen the situation. You could try to do it on your own because there are a lot of tutorials on YouTube, but if I were you, I wouldn't have tried. Better to pay for the services of a company that makes hard drive data recovery than to buy an external reader. That's what I did when I lost all my hard drive information. I found a company in my city, I asked for help, and the information was restored on my computer in a few hours. So, think twice before you start doing all this on your own.

@AmeliaJones you realise this thread is 4 years old and the issue is long sorted?

 

[Kor]

@AmeliaJones you realise this thread is 4 years old and the issue is long sorted?

It's always, um... interesting, when somebody shows up out of the blue with an ostensibly helpful comment that has a link to a commercial service buried somewhere in the middle of the text.

Kor