Question HDD Corrupt?

T1M670

Honorable
Apr 9, 2014
12
0
10,510
Hi,

I'll get straight to the issue - I think my HDD must be corrupt. It shows up in File Explorer fine, however, when you go to access any files from it, it freezes solid (even if I just try to open an image file from the HDD). The issue is, I have important files on there I would like to keep, but I've tried and tried various ways of getting the data off the drive, such as copying to a USB stick, uploading to the Cloud etc. - but every time, it just freezes and won't go any further (or if I'm copying to USB, it sometimes says a particular file is unreadable).
Often when I look in the performance tab in task manager, the HDD is at 100%.

My question is, is there any good way to get the data off the HDD? I just want to try and format it before buying a new one, but either way, I need the data off it.

Thanks.
 

DSzymborski

Curmudgeon Pursuivant
Moderator
You ought to try a software recovery tool like Recuva. Also try a new SATA cable from the hard drive to the motherboard. And in a last resort, put the hard drive in an enclosure and try another PC. If this is your only hard drive and has the OS on it, you definitely want to be going right to recovering it on a different PC; the more you run it, the less likely you'll recover anything.

If you don't get lucky with any of these options, it becomes a bit more expensive. Because at that point, the only real option is professional recovery, which is done in a clean-room environment and can easily go over $1000.

Unfortunately, the only dependable way to recover data is to not lose it in the first place, which is why a proper backup solution for important data is a basic part of PC upkeep, like changing the oil in your car or the air filter in your furnace. Data that isn't backed up should be presumed lost.