Last week I began to get "delayed write failure" errors on the boot drive of my aging Sony Vaio desktop PC (running Win XP MCE).
The drive could read data without problem, but writing files became problematic. Eventually the drive would not boot due to a corruption in the boot record (or mft?) preventing the OS from loading up. But because existing data could be read without problem prior to that boot attempt, I am confident that most of the data on the drive should be intact.
This 250gb IDE drive has a small partition for OS recovery, and the remaining space is one large partition where the OS was installed along with apps and so on.
I have some of the critical data backed up on data DVD's, but there are some additional files that I very much need to recover (if at all possible).
I plugged the drive into a newer machine (built this spring) running XP Pro. The new machine has 2 sata drives installed, and I plugged the old drive into a parallel IDE cable after moving the drive jumper to 'cable select'.
After booting the new computer, this old drive is found, however its contents cannot be read and the OS is prompting me to reformat the drive (which I do not want to do until I can recover the necessary data).
I know nothing about HD data recovery and any associated applications/software.
I am seeking advice regarding:
(1) Why the drive contents cannot be read in the new computer and what (if anything) I may be able to do to rectify that situation and recover the data.
(2) Whether I may have a better chance of recovery by purchasing a new HD for the old computer, installing an OS, and then plugging the old HD in as a slave in order to recover data.
(3) Whether there is any appropriate software that I may be able to use to recover data on the old drive. Shareware/Freeware would be preferred.
If/when I can recover the old data, should I huck the old HD in the bin, or open it up and destroy the platters (for security/privacy purposes) and then huck it in the bin, or is there a better option (ie recycling or appropriate 'green' disposal)?
The drive could read data without problem, but writing files became problematic. Eventually the drive would not boot due to a corruption in the boot record (or mft?) preventing the OS from loading up. But because existing data could be read without problem prior to that boot attempt, I am confident that most of the data on the drive should be intact.
This 250gb IDE drive has a small partition for OS recovery, and the remaining space is one large partition where the OS was installed along with apps and so on.
I have some of the critical data backed up on data DVD's, but there are some additional files that I very much need to recover (if at all possible).
I plugged the drive into a newer machine (built this spring) running XP Pro. The new machine has 2 sata drives installed, and I plugged the old drive into a parallel IDE cable after moving the drive jumper to 'cable select'.
After booting the new computer, this old drive is found, however its contents cannot be read and the OS is prompting me to reformat the drive (which I do not want to do until I can recover the necessary data).
I know nothing about HD data recovery and any associated applications/software.
I am seeking advice regarding:
(1) Why the drive contents cannot be read in the new computer and what (if anything) I may be able to do to rectify that situation and recover the data.
(2) Whether I may have a better chance of recovery by purchasing a new HD for the old computer, installing an OS, and then plugging the old HD in as a slave in order to recover data.
(3) Whether there is any appropriate software that I may be able to use to recover data on the old drive. Shareware/Freeware would be preferred.
If/when I can recover the old data, should I huck the old HD in the bin, or open it up and destroy the platters (for security/privacy purposes) and then huck it in the bin, or is there a better option (ie recycling or appropriate 'green' disposal)?