How to retrieve files from external hard drive with input output errors

[Guest]

Hi i have an Freecom external hard drive that were made by (Hitachi) when i recently tried to connect via USB to my PC it tries to load up but then after a while comes up with an error message on screen saying :

The specified I/O operation on \device\harddisk3\DR13was not completed before the time-out period expired. ALSO:


I:\ is not accessable.

The request could not be performed because of an I/O device error.



It would seem that there is a problem with input output devices or similar coul;d you shed any light on this as there are lots of important files/folders on this HDD and i would appreciate any help in sorting this problem if possible?

The HDD is running and the lights that come on when files are being tranferd/loaded onto my PC are working ok

Any help would greatly appreciated. Are there any tools/software like Noton Diagnostics or similar that i can buy to try to retrieve my data/files

regards

Craig

at 18-10-2011

 

[jsmakkar]

How about trying this free tool
http://www.piriform.com/recuva
Hope that helps and your problem is fixed!!!

 

[fzabkar]

Clone your drive sector-by-sector using a tool that knows how to work around bad sectors, and then use data recovery software on the clone.

Some freeware cloning tools are ...

dd_rescue: http://www.garloff.de/kurt/linux/ddrescue/
ddrescue: http://www.gnu.org/software/ddrescue/ddrescue.html

Comparison between ddrescue and dd_rescue:
http://www.forensicswiki.org/wiki/Ddrescue

Ddrescue can perform multipass cloning. It clones the easy sectors on the first pass, and attempts the more difficult ones on subsequent passes. It can also clone your drive in reverse, thereby disabling lookahead caching. It keeps a log, allowing it to resume after an interruption.

The following thread discusses various freeware and commercial cloning tools:
http://forum.hddguru.com/the-best-disk-cloning-hardware-software-t10396.html