Question Recovering Files from an HDD with Bad Sectors ?

[kaigreenlover2]

I'm not completely tech savvy so I may not make any sense but my hard drive has recently failed and I'm trying to go through all possibilities on saving it.

It's a Seagate 500GB SATA 7200 RPM. Old hard drive; came out of one of my old laptops, was holding up fine until it wasn't. It stopped booting, became unrecognizable, and then all went to hell.

From what I've been able to deduce from all the test I've ran, it seems the hard drive has a lot of bad sectors. It shows on my newer laptop but that's it. Took it to someone, their computer didn't recognize it and they turned me away. The hard drive still has power, and you can feel and hear the disc spinning. Absolutely no clicking or overheating.

The only error I've managed to receive on my own through recovery software was that it contained a lot of bad sectors. So my questions is, if I swap the PCB/BIOS chip onto a same model board would that allow me access to my files or am I still transferring the same bad sectors onto the newer board with my data permanently lost?

P.S. I'm not going to transfer the chip myself, but know of some people who may take the job professionally. Just want to at least be sure on what it is I'm requiring service for.

 

[USAFRet]

The "bad sectors" live on the platter(s), not the PCB.
Changing the PCB does not fix this.

 

[Misgar]

If the data is that important and not backed up, stop experimenting now and send the drive to a professional recovery agency. Expect to pay hundreds of dollars and don't be too disappointed if they can't recover all the corrupted files.

 

[USAFRet]

I think swapping the PCB/BIOS chip on your hard drive may allow you to access your files, but it is not guaranteed. "cause yep, if the bad sectors are on the disk itself, then swapping the PCB/BIOS chip will not help((

Why, specifically, do you think swapping the PCB or BIOS chip would help access the files?

Especially as the problem seems to be bad sectors on the platter.

 

[USAFRet]

I mean the PCB/BIOS chip contains information about the hard drive, including the location of the bad sectors. If the bad sectors are in the PCB/BIOS chip itself, then swapping the PCB/BIOS chip may allow him to access his files. However, if the bad sectors are on the disk itself, then swapping the PCB/BIOS chip will not help.

However, I can't avoid saying even if the PCB/BIOS chip is swapped successfully, there is no guarantee that he will be able to recover all of his data.
Especially, if he has important data on the hard drive...

The PCB and BIOS do not have "sectors".

 

[DSzymborski]

From the behavior given, replacing the PCB would be the equivalent of trying to repair your car's transmission by buying a new set of brakes.

If the data is extremely important, you want to get a lab involved. If not, the best you'll be able to do is software recovery using tools like Recuva or DMDE. Unfortunately, the only dependable way to recover data is to not lose it in the first place; regular backups of important data is a basic task of PC ownership, no different than changed the filter in your furnace or the oil in your car. In the end, it's user negligence that loses data, not hardware failures.