Help! Major Hard Disk problem.

[jinxjack]

Hello people. I need your advise. I had a 250 GB Hardisk I had all my data in it. One day I was using it like always but suddenly windows hanged. Then I restarted the windows xp did not load it kept restarting from boot up screen. I had another hardisk in which I Had already installed Windows Vista x64, So I used it, it became slower and slower, And it gave me a warning to backup your fillies and that your hard disk has problem. Don’t start it again until you have repaired it or replaced it.
  So I gave it to one of my friends who work on a computer shop. He opened the hardisk and found that it had three headers broken. The were two ways to fix it
1) To change the hardisk’s Headers (there are six headers and three platters)
2) To take out the platters (the magnetic disks) and put them in another hardisk.
I want to ask you friends that will this work and do you have any other suggestion.

[jinxjack]

Hello people. I need your advise. I had a 250 GB Hardisk I had all my data in it. One day I was using it like always but suddenly windows hanged. Then I restarted the windows xp did not load it kept restarting from boot up screen. I had another hardisk in which I Had already installed Windows Vista x64, So I used it, it became slower and slower, And it gave me a warning to backup your fillies and that your hard disk has problem. Don’t start it again until you have repaired it or replaced it.
  So I gave it to one of my friends who works on a computer shop. He opened the hardisk and found that it had three headers broken. There were two ways to fix it
1) To change the hardisk’s Headers (there are six headers and three platters)
2) To take out the platters (the magnetic disks) and put them in another hardisk.
I want to ask you friends that will this work and do you have any other suggestion.

[street1 (RIP)]

This link shows you how to make a clock--->http://www.modhotspot.com/HDclock.php

There is a lot of good information at the below link.

http://repair4harddisk.org/disassembly_hard_drive.html

If you were trying to save anything you would need to go to
a recovery specialty company. The cost is high.

[quaxo]

Wow, I sure hope he had the proper environment to open a hard drive in. Most drives are manufactured in 'clean rooms' and the platters are created under vacuum pressure.

This is one of the reasons it's so expensive to have a data recovery agency retrieve information off a "dead" drive. Not everyone has the facilities to do this properly.

I'd just have him change the headers in the current drive. Provided it works, back up all your information and get a new drive.

If it doesn't work, follow Street1's clock link...

[patio]

He has about a 94% chance of failing at this operation...

[brett74]

jinxjack the best thing to do is just replace the hdd just like everyone said

[quaxo]

He has about a 94% chance of failing at this operation...

No arguments here. Just think it's much better, IF ANYTHING, that he just replace the heads and not handle the platters at all. I'd say a 94.87% chance to be exact. 

There's also a chance he could be completely wrong in his diagnosis as well, in which this will have a 100% chance of failure. 

[patio]

Have you ever tried to replace the heads without touching the platters ? ?

 

[quaxo]

Have you ever tried to replace the heads without touching the platters ? ?

Heck, I've never tried replacing heads. I just tell them to get a new drive. If their data is extremely important and they want to shell out the money, there's a hard drive repair/data recovery company called Save My Drive in downtown Bangkok we refer them to.

[jinxjack]

thanks people for the comments, but i will still go forward with changing the heads.If the operation succeds good for me. But on the other hand i will buy some more hardisks, my plan is to buy two hard disks 160 gb, 160 gb because this time i dont want do lose everthing at once. So what do you geniuses thinks is this plan.

[patio]

All hard drives fail eventually no matter their size, style or features.
It's time to implement a backup strategy and stick to it.
I use and recommend Acronis True Image.

[jinxjack]

thanks for all the help people. Now i have bought two hard disks 250 gb, 250 gb.
There is no news of the older hard disk. and once more thanks for all the advise.

[TheEmperor]

You might want to consider getting a third 250gb drive and a RAID card and setting up a RAID 5 array if your data is VERY important to you.