Hard Drive problems- What's wrong?

[OfficialGenius]

Sorry for those who I haven't PMed back. I've been experiencing problems with my laptop and won't be posting here often until I get it fixed.


Toshiba Satellite L305-S5955


Windows error recovery

Windows failed to start. A recent hardware or software change might be there cause
If windows files have been damaged or configured incorrectly, startup repair can help diagnose and fix the problem. if power was interrupted during startup, choose windows start normally.

Launch Startup repair(recommended)
Start windows normally

Then when I press enter on ''start windows normally'', it shows as loading... but never loads completely to take me to the SIGN IN screen to put my password.




Now, when I press enter on ''Launch Startup repair" it then takes me to this...

Window has encountered a problem communicating with a device connected to your computer.

Then it says,

This error can be cause by unplugging a removeable storage device such as an external usb drive while the device is in use, or by faulty hardware such as hard drive or CD-ROM drive that is failing. Make sure any removeable storage is properly connected and then restart your computer.

If you continue to receive this error message, contact the hardware manufacturer.

Status: 0xc00000e9
Info: An unexpected I/O error has occurred.



***NOTE***: I have located and removed the hard-drive to test it under the same exact laptop and the results are the same.




Is is possible for me to recover valuable data?(All saved on a Notepad)
Is there a solution? I really can't afford to lose it.

Please help.

[Burning]

This place will help you:

How to recover data from a broken hard drive...

3) Hard drive does not get detected:

If the computer does not detect the hard drive, or the computer just does not want to turn on when the hard drive is connected to it, you might have a bad hard drive board. This is the big circuit board located at the bottom of your drive. These easily replaceable boards tend to get damaged over time due to the heat generated by the hard drive itself. I will tell you how to replace this board in the following solution #4; there are a number of places on the web that will sell you these boards. If you can’t find it or you are a cheap ******* you can always resort to eBay and buy a used hard drive with the same model number as yours, remove the board from the newly purchased drive, and use it on broken one. This will probably cost you less than purchasing the board alone. If your hard drive is old it makes more sense to buy another hard drive, on the other hand if the hard drive is new you are better off buying the board. These boards run around $50 each. If you decide to purchase another hard drive or the board alone, make sure you are getting the exact same board! I cannot stress this enough. You can have drives with the same brands and specifications with slight variations on their board and consequently on their firmware, if this is the case the board will not work, so make sure you are getting exactly what you need before pressing that “buy now” button!


4) Hard drive gets detected but still does not work:

If Windows detects the hard drive but it can’t be accessed, won’t give you the option to format it, or its properties. You probably have dirty contacts on your board. Usually when this happens you do not hear the famous “clicking noise of death” noise, but rather a repetitive “rrrrrr rrrrrr” sound, as if the hard drive is reading the same data over and over, or you do not hear any sound at all. It is important to mention that this behavior does involve the computer detecting the drive but DOES NOT involve the “clicking noise of death”. To solve this problem try the following: Remove the main board from the bottom of the hard drive and clean the bottom contacts. That board that you see underneath the drive is actually sitting on top of unsoldered contacts. Many Hard Drives operate at high temperatures, and this tends to melt the circuit board’s coating. When this happens this coating will spill over these contacts, and since they are not soldered their dirty metal surfaces will no longer touch. To solve this, remove the screws from the board and flip it. You will see a row of contacts usually in more than one location. Rub the surface of the contacts with a pencil eraser, just as if you were erasing something you wrote. This will actually clean those contacts better than any other method. Screw the board back in place and try it. (If your hard drive happens to have pin connectors rather than flat ones, disregard this tip and buy a new board.)

[slapped]

Sounds like the Drives Platters Don't Spin as they should anymore, Pain in the A$$ I Know, Age and Heat causes this Mostly. It is possible to save the data I checked the site Burning posted and it is Pretty easy to understand, Some of these sites go OVERBOARD with the computer jargon, Take your time it does not sound like your Drive is completely dead, so it should not be to bad. Sometimes if you slap the drive the platters will line up on the Spindel and spin freely again for a while. A word of advise slapping the drive can make it worse, however if you do slap it and it works, DO NOT SHUT THE COMPUTER DOWN, Get everything off first, becasuse more often than not after Slapping and gettting it to work again, the moment it shuts down chances are that it wont start again

[OfficialGenius]

Yeah, my computer was thrown and I guess it damaged something inside the hard drive. Or maybe something from the PC damaged the hard drive? someway, somehow?
Everything seemed to be working perfectly fine until I turned it off, then when I woke up in the morning and turned it on, It wasn't working.
I guess I will think about giving it a try but I'm kind of nervous since this is my first time doing this and I'm afraid of causing more damage.
I also heard technicians charge 500-2500 to recover information, not sure if there's any truth to that.

[oge]

You better buy a new hard drive & an external hard drive so you are able to transfer all the info you need and then be able to move on with life that's my only suggestion.

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[OfficialGenius]

Thanks oge! I'm really trying to asap.

Everything sounds perfect but what about internet explorer favorites? Does that info save in the hard drive also?

[oge]

Yes you can transfer over anything you want. When you have an external hard drive it's easy to transfer files over quickly. Just transfer the good stuff and everything else you need then if I was you I would take the hammer to the hard drive when you are finish to make sure it's dead. GOOD LUCK!

[oge]

To keep a laptop in tip top condition or if you are a heavy user I would use these 2 things as well it keeps them running like a champ under heat and heavy use.

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