Software for retrieval of FLAC files from a corrupt HD

[Ranasakawa]

Can anyone recommend Windows software for retrieval of my FLAC files from a corrupt external hard drive?

I did download a few programs the Western Digital website recommended however once the files were found and ready to backup I was asked for money before I could get my files.

I definitely don't trust this.

Any suggestions?

 

[splinter]

I would try Testdisk first. Have not used it for some time, probably a little more "technical" than other programs, but definitely free and I think highly regarded.

https://www.cgsecurity.org/wiki/TestDisk

Remember that it is preferable to make a copy of the drive first and then try recovery from that copy (I think Testdisk supports that approach), because the drive can get even more corrupt with every read attempt if it is physically damaged.

 

[SeeMoreDigital]

Can anyone recommend Windows software for retrieval of my FLAC files from a corrupt external hard drive?

I did download a few programs the Western Digital website recommended however once the files were found and ready to backup I was asked for money before I could get my files.

Is the HDD corrupt or has it actually malfunctioned?
Is the HDD still in your computer or in a caddy of some kind?
Please confirm the HDD's make, size and model number?

 

[jhw59]

Following. I have an external drive that failed.

 

[Ranasakawa]

Is the HDD corrupt or has it actually malfunctioned?
Is the HDD still in your computer or in a caddy of some kind?
Please confirm the HDD's make, size and model number?

I have a few different drives which strangely have the same problem

WD_Black 4TB
WD Elements 3TB
SanDisk Ultra 256 GB

All are not able to read the data but I can see they have the files still there apparently

Regards Adrian

 

[Ranasakawa]

I would try Testdisk first. Have not used it for some time, probably a little more "technical" than other programs, but definitely free and I think highly regarded.

https://www.cgsecurity.org/wiki/TestDisk

Remember that it is preferable to make a copy of the drive first and then try recovery from that copy (I think Testdisk supports that approach), because the drive can get even more corrupt with every read attempt if it is physically damaged.

Thank you for your assistance, very much appreciated mate

How can I make a backup of the drives if my Pc can't read them?

 

[splinter]

How can I make a backup of the drives if my Pc can't read them?

You canclone the whole drive with appropriate software. The software can make a bit-wise image of the drive. You obviously need as much free space somewhere else as the drive has itself to do that. Clonezilla is a free software to do that, although it seems complex to operate. There might be others.

Having said that, as you have an issue with multiple drives, it seems to me your problem is nit a defective drive but something else. Have you tried using a different computer to access the drives, so you can rule out on which side of the cable the problem lies?

 

[SeeMoreDigital]

I have a few different drives which strangely have the same problem

WD_Black 4TB
WD Elements 3TB
SanDisk Ultra 256 GB

I presume you've tried using Windows own 'Error Checking' tool?

 

[Ranasakawa]

I presume you've tried using Windows own 'Error Checking' tool?

View attachment 109979

I tried. Unfortunately it can't read the drive and asks me to format it every time I plug it in

 

[Ranasakawa]

You canclone the whole drive with appropriate software. The software can make a bit-wise image of the drive. You obviously need as much free space somewhere else as the drive has itself to do that. Clonezilla is a free software to do that, although it seems complex to operate. There might be others.

Having said that, as you have an issue with multiple drives, it seems to me your problem is nit a defective drive but something else. Have you tried using a different computer to access the drives, so you can rule out on which side of the cable the problem lies?

Thank you for your help mate

I have tried multiple computers and devices to read the drives. It may be possible that my laptop is corrupting the drives but strangely other drives are working fine. Usually the older ones I have

 

[splinter]

Unfortunately it can't read the drive and asks me to format it every time I plug it in

Then try Testdisk on one of the drives. Sounds like the file system has been messed up. Testdisk should be able to either restore partitions so that Windows can see the files again, or to extract the files (which will require scanning the whole drive for data, might take a couple of hours).

 

[mandrix]

I had the file system get scrambled on a HDD recently. In my case I believe I had a SAS/SATA board controller going bad.
A bad SATA cable can cause problems as well, but if you've tried on multiple pc's then probably not the culprit.

Trying to clone the drive to another and working from the clone as suggested above would be a good approach.
Also I recommend running Malwarebytes or some other good antivirus program on the other drives in the system.

 

[Ranasakawa]

I have installed test disk it is scanning one of the drives

Thank you for your help again

 

[mandrix]

Good luck, Adrian.

 

[Mr. Afternoon]

https://www.roadkil.net/program.php/P29/Unstoppable Copier

I have used this in the past, it just relentlessly tries to get every bit of data it can read off the drive. May be a bit slow, and your hard drive may fail before then. But, it works like nothing else in times of great need.

EDIT: Rereading the thread I'm not sure this is the right tool...this is mainly for getting data off failing drives...

 

[barfle]

I don’t know if the office supply company Staples is in Australia, but they have a pretty good tech department and can scan and recover data from hard drives. I’m not in a particularly big metropolitan area, but there are several computer repair shops in the area that also can recover data from a drive that Window’s won’t read. Checking around for local help won’t hurt much.

 

[Ranasakawa]

I don’t know if the office supply company Staples is in Australia, but they have a pretty good tech department and can scan and recover data from hard drives. I’m not in a particularly big metropolitan area, but there are several computer repair shops in the area that also can recover data from a drive that Window’s won’t read. Checking around for local help won’t hurt much.

OfficeWorks who sold me most of my HDs are very happy to refund me but do not offer any technical assistance.

 

[barfle]

OfficeWorks who sold me most of my HDs are very happy to refund me but do not offer any technical assistance.

I know there’s a lot of Australia that’s outback, but I’ve been to Sydney and Melb’n. It’s been a few decades, but I would be surprised if they didn’t have some sort of data recovery businesses. You can’t be the only one with that problem.

 

[Ranasakawa]

Then try Testdisk on one of the drives. Sounds like the file system has been messed up. Testdisk should be able to either restore partitions so that Windows can see the files again, or to extract the files (which will require scanning the whole drive for data, might take a couple of hours).

I have been trying Testdisk. It isn't easy to use or understand what it is actually doing. I have been reading the very complex information on this software. It has found the files but I don't know how to retrieve them at this stage. It is a DOS based program.