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  • Backing up data from an unbootable HDD

Hello fellow geeks,

I am here today seeking for your help with my problem. I have a HDD that has around 300 GB woth of very valuable data on it. Somehow it's not booting up anymore, every time i plug it in a computer, i get the shitty message that i need to format it in order to use the HDD. Now i have tried so many ways of trying to let it boot up, but nothing helped.

So right now i am focusing on backing up my data. I have tried to recover all the files with a feature called 'Unbootable drive data recovery' using the R-Studio software that i found online. It seemed to work and i can see the files. But the big problem is that most of the folder layout is messed up, most of the folders are empty and everything isn't in its place (i have everything organized there before all this happened). This messes up programs that have many files all layered out in a folder and that are required for the installation, but now they are all scattered.

My question is that is this fixable? Did i do something wrong here? Will it work better if i clone the drive? Will cloning the drive also make my new HDD unbootable?

P.S. please take it easy on me and don't go all 'you are stupid' or 'go sell your computer' bullshit, since i don't know everything when it comes to computers and that's why i am posting here.

Any help is appreciated.

EDIT: By the way, i forgot to mention this earlier, it is an external HDD, and to be more precise 'ADATA Classic CH94' if that helps in any way.

Regards,
n0br41ner
Hello, n0br41ner. Is this an external hard drive we're talking about?
Yes i am sorry, forgot to mention that. It is an external HDD, and to be more precise 'ADATA Classic CH94' HDD.
Know how to get to the manage storage in your Windows? Is it available there?
I've always had successful recovery using GetDataBack, when other software failed or messed up.
Usually recorvery is a messy business, you take whatever you can get and you are thankful for it!
So if it's just your folder structure that is messed up...
4 years later
Hey Lebgeekers,

Didn't want to open a new thread, so here is the problem :

after a 60 cm fall, the internal and only 500gb HDD (not partitioned) of a laptop became unbootable, however no weird clicking or unusual spinning sound is emitted.

so i made the assumption that the OS became corrupted with bad luck and minor HDD dommage.

i've created a bootable Ubuntu USB drive, that works flawlessly on any PC, but when plugged into the problematic laptop, it takes ages to load (about 20-30 minutes) and is practically unresponsive, as such, i can "see" the corrupted drive and folders but not access the data.

i also suspect that it's because windows had still some cache within the drive, and without having Admin/root rights, i won't be able to force ubuntu to properly read it.

the problem is that ubuntu's "command prompt" doesn't start, so i can't log as an admin.

i don't understand why ubuntu doesn't behave normally if it's the HDD that is corrupt.

so my plan B is to physically remove the drive from the laptop, and load it as a second drive on a main PC and try to recover data using EaseUS.

am i on the right track or should i try to take other steps to try to recover the data ?

i'm also prepared to pay a small amount (arround 100 usd) any lebgeekers that could pass by help me recover some significant data from the HDD (i live in Beirut).

Thanks for your time !