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Background: I have 3 year old sata desktop hard disk (w10 upgraded from w7, then reformatted w10 after it crashed) (a Seagate ST1000DM003 1TB in a Dell 8500). After reformatting, while accessing some folders in partition E:, windows asked to click for full permissions (can't remember exact message). After that PC froze for a while. Restarted and was greeted with \bcd error. Inserted a w10 usb to repair, but that also showed a \bcd error. Bios saw the hard drive. After another restart, bios could no longer detect hard disk. (FWIW, the CPU was placed in a poorly ventilated location after being moved)

Tried other cables (didn't work), now booting from an ssd (using the same power/sata cables), and the hard drive still cannot be detected by bios or windows. Hdd is spinning, but seems too quiet for there to be any head activity.

I would like to recover the data (photos... yes will do proper back ups after this...). Would like to try DIY repair first before going to the data recovery services.

Advice needed: 1. how to troubleshoot cause of problem? 2. Is it a PCB issue, and how to verify? (no burnt smell, but have not taken PCB out to check) - if yes might try getting replacement pcb. 3. will be ordering a usb enclosure to test (will that help?)

Thanks!

sparky
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  • Sounds like a hard crash; there are data recovery services that might have success, what they end up, entirely depends on specifics you can't provide – Ramhound Nov 09 '16 at 23:31
  • "will be ordering a usb enclosure to test (will that help?)". If it's not working when connected by SATA it won't work connected to SATA through USB – Ramhound Nov 09 '16 at 23:33
  • Will probably scrap trying USB in that case. hard crash -> head crash? Could that happen if there was no impact/sudden motion? – sparky Nov 10 '16 at 01:21
  • Hard crash -> any mechanical issue that can happen with a hdd that involves a clean room to solve – Ramhound Nov 10 '16 at 01:31
  • thx. But if the PCB is fine, why isn't the hard drive detected? – sparky Nov 10 '16 at 03:48
  • I'd recommend you check how the HDD would appear through the SATA-to-USB enclosure, @sparky (Since it's a 3.5" HDD, make sure that the enclosure comes with an AC adapter as the USB alone won't be enough to power up the drive). If you haven't tried this already, make sure you swap the SATA cable & port on the mobo and see how the HDD would get recognized then. Another alternative would be to plug it to another PC and see how it pops up there. I'd also advise you to backup any important data when u gain access & run an HDD diagnostic tool to determine the health and SMART stats. Keep us posted. – SuperSoph_WD Nov 10 '16 at 10:46
  • Tried, no joy when swapping cables. Could see the sad though. No spare PC to test on. Will try on an enclosure with power when I get it. – sparky Nov 10 '16 at 19:23
  • Tried on a USB enclosure. First attempt was no good, drives visible on second attempt, but disappeared while trying to read. Is there anything (non-risky) I can try to recover data (repair etc)? – sparky Nov 24 '16 at 04:22
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    Possible duplicate of [How do I recover lost/inaccessible data from my storage device?](http://superuser.com/questions/241817/how-do-i-recover-lost-inaccessible-data-from-my-storage-device) – DavidPostill Nov 27 '16 at 10:10

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