Is it possible to recover data from crashed drive?

[DylanWalker]

So unfortunately, the hard drive on my 2005 G5 crashed, atleast that's my guess. All it does is click when I attempt to turn it on. I'm fairly good with computers, but when it comes to fixing one - I hand it off to someone with a little more knowledge.

I have two hard drives in the computer - one that's got the OS installed (factory 150GB), and another I use for saving videos, pictures, music, etc (750GB). Now, I'm assuming that because the computer doesn't boot up, that the hard drive with the OS is the one that crashed? Is that a safe assumption?

Secondly, is it possible to recover the application files and other data that's been stored on the crashed drive? If so, how much should I expect to pay? Is it something a local 'work from the home' computer tech could do? The reason I ask is because craigslist is full of guys willing to work on the computer for a decent price.

Your advice is appreciated.

 

[C. Alan]

So unfortunately, the hard drive on my 2005 G5 crashed, atleast that's my guess. All it does is click when I attempt to turn it on. I'm fairly good with computers, but when it comes to fixing one - I hand it off to someone with a little more knowledge.

I have two hard drives in the computer - one that's got the OS installed (factory 150GB), and another I use for saving videos, pictures, music, etc (750GB). Now, I'm assuming that because the computer doesn't boot up, that the hard drive with the OS is the one that crashed? Is that a safe assumption?

Secondly, is it possible to recover the application files and other data that's been stored on the crashed drive? If so, how much should I expect to pay? Is it something a local 'work from the home' computer tech could do? The reason I ask is because craigslist is full of guys willing to work on the computer for a decent price.

Your advice is appreciated.

If it is ticking, it sounds like something physically is wrong with the drive, like the drive head is scrapping the platter. Given that it won't boot, it may very well be that the boot drive has given up on you. The easiest way to tell would be to open up the machine and see if you can tell which drive is clicking. I would then test each drive in an external HD enclose, hook it up to another mac, and see if you can read data off either of them.

Data recovery is a big business, and not something I would leave to a 'work from home' computer tech. A friend of mine lost his main drive several years ago, and was given a minimum quote of $650 to do the recoveries, with no guarantees of success. These companies basicly take apart the drive in a clean room and try to rebuild it. In hind sight, a good back up system is cheap insurance.

 

[toxic]

if it's not booting, it's likely the boot drive...but it's not difficult to just open the computer up and check.

if there's a physical problem with the hard drive, the data is essentially unrecoverable. to recover data at that point requires a clean room and special training/equipment.