[mooseantlers]

I should learn to practice what I preach.

I have 3 different drives in my system. The other day, when I fired this up the computer, I heard a 'clunking' sound (not good obviously). To cut to the chase, i've found that the drive that held all my pictures has 'gone south'.

Any chances of recovery? The drive is no longer showing up in the control panel.

I know . . that's what I get for not having back-ups.

Thanks for any advice!

[augie]

Ouch! Do you have a food vacumn sealer? If not then put it in a Ziplock freezer bag and suck as much air out of the bag as you can with a straw, you want to minimize condensation. You can then put it in the freezer for a day and if it's a SATA then prepare beforehand, like have your OS running etc. and then see in 'computer' if it's recognized and get the stuff off ASAP. If it's an IDE, then you'll have to install the drive first, then boot and less chance because it will be spinning up ATT and exacerbate the problem but at this point you've got nothing to lose unless the pics are important enough for you to send it to a lab, figure a good $1,000. The technique has sort of worked but don't expect too much. Good luck mooseantlers.

[mooseantlers]

augie;

Tks for the tip on freezing the drive!! I do recall reading something about that a long time ago. I do have a Food Saver (vac seal) & it is a SATA drive. I'll give it a try!!

Thanks a million!!

[augie]

Oh ya man, a Food Saver is ideal as those ziplock freezer bags really suck big time. I've got a V2240, it's a good machine, I never thought I'd ever say that for a plastic body but it really has a positively good solid feel to it. I'm digressing here , good luck! I just hope it's not a head crash as that destroys the platter(s).