Die Steve Jobs. You too Michael Dell. I am serious... [Archive]

edyzmedieval

01-18-2008, 19:01

I really am.

So the story is this, but in case you want to find out the answer first, here is it: my lovely DELL XPS M1710 is without a HDD after a mechanical defection of it sent it directly to the repair man.

Continuing, die Apple and your software division. iTunes just erased my entire collection on my iPod because it couldnt find it on the computer, and because of this stupidity, I hit my computer (I know, i'm a big idiot...I admit :shame: ) but exactly over the HDD. It wasn't hit with great power, but based on what I heard from the repair guy I drew the following conclusion:

The HDD on a very expensive laptop had a mechanical problem and the hit triggered the failure. :shocked2: :no:

That has to be the stupidest thing ever in my life. And second, guess what? 80GB of data, including my Fall of Constantinople - almost completely edited - I added 10000 words and 15 pages!!! - ARE LOST FOREVER.

I'm speechless.

Bijo

01-18-2008, 20:27

Die Steve Jobs. You too Michael Dell. I am serious...
-evil voice- Good, gooood. Let it flow through you, the anger. Summon your anger to increase your power, then destroy them. One swift stroke!

Lemur

01-18-2008, 20:47

Yup, unless you have a 3rd-party utility (http://www.ipodhacks.com/modules.php?file=index&name=Downloads&op=modload), the iPod will sync to whatever it thinks is on your PC. That's why backing data up on an iPod can be risky.

I'm sorry for your loss, edzy.

Gregoshi

01-18-2008, 21:07

edyz's post summarized:

I P.O.-D

Vladimir

01-18-2008, 22:00

edyz's post summarized:

I want to be a part of whatever mailing list you're on! :angry:

edyzmedieval

01-18-2008, 22:46

Well, not everything is lost. I sent the disk to the service so they can save my data, hopefully. What are the chances of saving my data?

Gregoshi, i needed that pun. Especially when writing from a digital iPod keyboard!!

Lemur

01-18-2008, 22:54

If you're willing to pay the price -- and it can be high -- HDD recovery is very good. Expect to have all of your files back.

Husar

01-18-2008, 23:40

An advice for the future: backups

Some modding communities are quite big on that but if you don't have tons of big files, maybe just back them up to some USB stick or so just in case, otherwise you can use DVDs for example.

Evil_Maniac From Mars

01-19-2008, 06:10

edyzmedieval

01-19-2008, 16:33

@Husar

Yeah, I took a step toward that by buying an external hard drive and an 8GB memory stick to store my small stuff like my book and my Flight Simulator logbook.

@Lemur and Evil Maniac

I'm really desperate. Never in my 10 year computer life I experienced mechanical failure of a component, never ever. Not even a problem with the power or something. NOTHING. So I think I will pay, because I want my data. It's not about like you can do it again and stuff. I can, but the massive amount spent on that book (yeah, I do believe I can do something with it) and more than 2 days spent on perfecting my Flight Simulator skills because I want to take my PPL...Even those things matter to me.

Evil_Maniac From Mars

01-19-2008, 16:43

@Lemur and Evil Maniac

I'm really desperate. Never in my 10 year computer life I experienced mechanical failure of a component, never ever. Not even a problem with the power or something. NOTHING. So I think I will pay, because I want my data. It's not about like you can do it again and stuff. I can, but the massive amount spent on that book (yeah, I do believe I can do something with it) and more than 2 days spent on perfecting my Flight Simulator skills because I want to take my PPL...Even those things matter to me.

My quoted bill was about seven hundred Euro, AND I tried to bargain down. It got me to about five hundred, and that was if I put my HD on last priority and chose the slowest shipping. Just thought you might want to know.

I can understand the book recovery, and if you've had the data on the HD for a long time. Mine was relatively new (a month or so, I just got one from a bad batch), so I could recreate most data within the next few weeks. It's obviously very different for you, and I hope you can get the money.

Remember, even if you pay, they won't always be able to recover everything. Usually they'll do the recovery, and if they don't get what you want, you don't pay. But some companies may work differently, so always read their policies.

edyzmedieval

01-19-2008, 19:17

Evil_Maniac From Mars

01-19-2008, 21:25

Oh my god...Seven hundred euros for data recovery!!! Yours was quite early, mine neared 5 months of work and creation. Plus, I have lots and lots of photos from home and other stuff related to home which are quite necessary when you are 2000kms away.
Maybe you'll be able to find someone who can do it cheaper. It really comes down to what exactly is wrong, but for complete physical failure, it's going to be high.

Papewaio

01-22-2008, 23:39

It was in the thousands a couple of years ago for mechanical recovery.

When we have finished with server HD's we pass a gauss wand over them and then throw them from the ground at about desk height. Impact is a pretty good way to destroy a HD. So you did the correct thing if you wish to wipe out your data. :cry:

Take it as an (expensive) learning experience and create backups in the future. Better still with the photo's burn them to disk or save them to a USB key. Check the data and then either send them back to your parents or keep them in a safety deposit box. Essentially all the unique data should have a backup and if it is really important keep it offsite.

Omanes Alexandrapolites

01-23-2008, 08:22

Husar

01-23-2008, 08:51

Pape, have you ever tried putting one into a microwave oven?
Not that I have, I just think it could be fun. ~D

pevergreen

01-23-2008, 11:49

Putting a heavily scratched DVD game disc in the freezer, put it in the drive, and it worked. :laugh4:

caravel

01-23-2008, 13:22

I did read somewhere a while ago (see here (http://www.pcpro.co.uk/features/125775/3-freezing-failed-hard-drives.html)) that placing a dead hard drive in a freezer (in something to protect it from moisture) may allow it to work just long enough for you to extract the data. It won't work on failed heads though, only on dodgy bearings.

I've never tried it myself though, and those cheap DIY computer tricks aren't very reliable, and often conclude in making things worse than they already were.

Sorry about your data loss BTW ~:)
You were probably reading about overheating drives such as the old IBM Deskstars there was a massive thread somewhere about those in which that bit of advice became infamous. For other types of failures the freezer method won't help. I've never heard of that method working for dodgy bearings either.

edyzmedieval

01-23-2008, 14:10

Tomorrow I'll get some news about my data recovery, hopefully it's good.

Pape, I take it as a experience, a stingy experience. I hope from now on I don't have to face these problems again, or at least face them, but have my data safe.

Papewaio

01-23-2008, 22:28

Professionals backup like crazy.

Computers break, there is a whole economy that comes from Information Technolgoy Support.

Bijo

01-25-2008, 17:58

Yeah, I backup all the time. Don't want the effort done go to waste.

Whacker

01-25-2008, 18:12

Putting a heavily scratched DVD game disc in the freezer, put it in the drive, and it worked. :laugh4:

I'm calling shenanigans here, that won't work at all for DVDs. It SOMETIMES works for HDDs, but rarely.

If you have a heavily scratched DVD, use some car polish and a non-linting rag, or one of those cd/dvd scratch remover tools. There are professional services that'll do this too.

edyzmedieval

01-26-2008, 08:22

How often can external hard drives break down on me?

Evil_Maniac From Mars

01-26-2008, 17:52

How often can external hard drives break down on me?
Depends on the drive, really, but the chances of having an external and internal drive break down at the same time are almost nil.

edyzmedieval

02-01-2008, 17:06

sapi

02-02-2008, 09:38

So, I got a report. They can't recover anything from my hard disk drive. I don't believe any word of it. So I'm sending it back home to some real specialists (I have real doubts that the school IT guys are specialists... I had some interesting experiences with them). Let's hope it works this time.
Good luck - I think you're right in saying that the school IT guys wouldn't have any particular aptitude for data recovery, so with a bit of luck you can still get some stuff back...

Evil_Maniac From Mars

02-02-2008, 18:39

Good luck - I think you're right in saying that the school IT guys wouldn't have any particular aptitude for data recovery, so with a bit of luck you can still get some stuff back...

Yes, very true. Send it back to the company you got it from if they offer a data recovery service, like Seagate.

Lehesu

02-02-2008, 22:35

For future reference, you can avoid iTunes auto-syncing altogether through options. I don't use iTunes because I hate the software (and the player) but it is certainly possible to prevent songs being added/removed without your permission.

mcv

02-05-2008, 12:46

True. I think I have iTunes set to manual, which means it doesn't add or erase stuff on its own.

Also: backup! If there is anything at all of even the slightest value of your harddisk, make sure you have a backup solution. A second harddisk for backup (note: raid-1 is not a backup!) is a decent precaution against this kind of harddisk failure, but keep in mind that laptops can also be stolen, and then even the most expensive data recovery service won't save your data. In other words: make sure you also have a external backup.

How far you want to go is up to you: if you want protection against fires and meteor strikes, you need off-site backup. Preferably is a safe location in a diifferent city. (Note that this will only protect your data; your house is still gone.)

Papewaio

02-12-2008, 00:26

So, I got a report. They can't recover anything from my hard disk drive. I don't believe any word of it. So I'm sending it back home to some real specialists (I have real doubts that the school IT guys are specialists... I had some interesting experiences with them). Let's hope it works this time.

Considering data recovery is a specialist field, I doubt a school IT guy is going to be qualified in that area. School IT guys are generally at the start of their career or worse as high as they ever get they are generally 1st level desktop techs. Data recovery is probably more equivalent to Tier 2 server/platform engineers.

edyzmedieval

04-18-2008, 21:52

Lemur, what do I choose from the iPod Hacks? I want a utility which is quite the same as iTunes that can sync my music, photos, videos from my computer without erasing any existent data.

Lemur

04-19-2008, 00:26

Hey edzy, it's been a while since I used an iPod hack, but the key thing was that you continue to use iTunes, but the hack short-circuits the auto-formatting that happens when you plug in an iPod. The program I used to use was called Escape Pod, and I don't know if it's still out, or whether it works on Windows.

You have the link (http://www.ipodhacks.com/). You have Google (http://www.google.com/). I have faith you can make an informed choice.

Quirinus

04-19-2008, 05:43

School IT guys are generally at the start of their career or worse as high as they ever get they are generally 1st level desktop techs. Data recovery is probably more equivalent to Tier 2 server/platform engineers.
Ugh, tell me about it. They are cranky and unreliable on top of that, and know they can get away with it because they know that students are either not tech-savvy enough, rich enough, or both.

For future reference, you can avoid iTunes auto-syncing altogether through options. I don't use iTunes because I hate the software (and the player) but it is certainly possible to prevent songs being added/removed without your permission.
Same here, it's pretty much a neccesity on my ancient, 40GB HDD. You can imagine my dismay when I lost my first batch of albums through the sync function. It assumes that everyone has a gigantic HDD. :shame:

Uriel

05-07-2008, 17:59

When I tried it, Itunes on the PC was one of the nastiest, least flexible. buggiest pieces of outright malware I've ever encountered. Anyone would think that the people that wrote it were trying to make PCs look bad.

Oh hang on...

Omanes Alexandrapolites

05-11-2008, 16:57

For those that despise iTunes, there's is an alternative - Songbird (http://www.songbirdnest.com/) with the iPod Device Support (http://addons.songbirdnest.com/extensions/detail/12) Add-on. It's still in the early BETA stages (although is quite stable) and isn't really particularly beautiful (although it is skinable (http://addons.songbirdnest.com/feathers/list?max_version=0_5)), but otherwise it works like a dream.

~:)

LeftEyeNine

05-12-2008, 03:01

That Songbird is what so-called "revolutionary" Qtrax uses.

Lemur

05-12-2008, 03:04

I feel like I've been waiting for Songbird for years. Oh, that's because I have been. It was announced in '06 and it sounded muy bueno then. I'd be so very happy if they could just hurry up and get it to .8 or .9 before the year is out.

pevergreen

05-12-2008, 03:22

I'm calling shenanigans here, that won't work at all for DVDs. It SOMETIMES works for HDDs, but rarely.

If you have a heavily scratched DVD, use some car polish and a non-linting rag, or one of those cd/dvd scratch remover tools. There are professional services that'll do this too.
Nope, I didnt believe the owner of the disc either. I put it in the freezer for 20 minutes, it had a nice layer of cold over it, threw it in the dvd drive and it installed perfectly (UT2004)

I laughed.

naut

05-12-2008, 03:25

I usually upload anything of importance onto Box.net, just incase.

I tried Songbird once, it's very nice, but all my song data didn't seem to carry over from iTunes, and I couldn't be bothered writing that stuff out again.

Papewaio

05-14-2008, 00:19

Nope, I didnt believe the owner of the disc either. I put it in the freezer for 20 minutes, it had a nice layer of cold over it, threw it in the dvd drive and it installed perfectly (UT2004)

I laughed.

The layer of dew will smooth out cracks and cuts and increase transparency. This is essentially what the polish will do.