Help with laptop please!!!

[Nicos]

OK- so my daughter phoned this morning, really upset.
Her Hard drive on her lap top has packed in.
She's been told it would cost about £300 to retrieve any info

Are they having her on -or is this about right for a laptop- I thought it was more like £50???

Yes she had 5 years info and photos and Uni stuff backed up on her memory stick ( which she now can't find)

Any advice would be wonderful oh IT gurus!!!
Ta xx

[TEB]

It all depends on what they mean by packed up, a client had a Raid 1 (2 disks) go down about a year ago and this is what they were quoted then:

 Express* Diagnosis turn time is 2 to 3 days including Saturdays
£350 + VAT For the diagnosis and £1500 - £3500 + VAT for the actual recovery

 Standard* Diagnosis turn time is 5 working days
£150 + VAT For the diagnosis and £700 - £1800 + VAT for the actual recovery.

Data recovery can be a very time consuming business especially if they have to do a raw sector by sector recovery

[Capsid]

Any idea what the specific problem with the hard disc is? I was able to recover information by removing the hard disc and then inserting it on a reader that connects to another PC via USB and was able to read the disc. They are cheap to buy.

S-ATA 3.5 / 2.5 Hard Drive Combo Docking Station With Card Reader - SVP

[broadway]

Any idea what the specific problem with the hard disc is? I was able to recover information by removing the hard disc and then inserting it on a reader that connects to another PC via USB and was able to read the disc. They are cheap to buy.

S-ATA 3.5 / 2.5 Hard Drive Combo Docking Station With Card Reader - SVP

I'll 2nd this

[Pumpy]

I'll 3rd that, plug HD into a USB caddy first.

But yes, Data Recovery is VERY expensive as it's a highly skilled and complicated job.

Where is she located Nicos?

P

[bobleponge]

4thed by me.
Just had to do exactly that, cost me very little, but got my pix etc back.

[TEB]

As stated it all depends on whats packed up, if its a mechanical problem i.e. the platters aren't spinning then it will be a specialist recovery.

[nerdgas]

If she's need to get one quickly then she should be able to pick one up in Maplins (although not as cheap as that one online):

SATA Hard Drive USB Docking Station : 2.5inch Hard Drive Enclosures : Maplin

[broadway]

As stated it all depends on whats packed up, if its a mechanical problem i.e. the platters aren't spinning then it will be a specialist recovery.

Agreed but worth trying the other option first

[OllieMartin]

5thded

I've never done it, but it's what I'd try first.

[nerdgas]

If she's need to get one quickly then she should be able to pick one up in Maplins (although not as cheap as that one online):

SATA Hard Drive USB Docking Station : 2.5inch Hard Drive Enclosures : Maplin

Oh BTW the way before getting a caddy she'll probably need to make sure it's compatible with the type of HDD she has in the laptop.

The unit on the link at Maplins doesn't work on IDE drives just SATA.

[broadway]

Oh BTW the way before getting a caddy she'll probably need to make sure it's compatible with the type of HDD she has in the laptop.

The unit on the link at Maplins doesn't work on IDE drives just SATA.

The one I got from Ebay came with IDE and SATA connectors

[nerdgas]

The one I got from Ebay came with IDE and SATA connectors

Another option.....

[oldie]

If the laptop will boot from the cd/dvd drive and I don't know of any that don't, you can use a Linux disk like Knoppix or Ubuntu to power it up and then copy your files onto external drives or memory sticks. It is not difficult and I can talk you through the process. (PM me). These Linux disks don't need a hard drive to run a computer.

[Pumpy]

These Linux disks don't need a hard drive to run a computer

Another option.

Without getting into a MS Vs Open Source, in your experience Oldie, would you say that the average Open Source user would already know how to deal with a faulty HD?

Just asking.

P