zero bytes found

[amus5]

hi, I'm new here. I was googling around for help when I came across this forum.Not sure if this is the right thread to post my problem.

I have a 500 GB USB  3.0 Seagate external hard disk drive where I have stored my photos (travelogues). I have no other backup. While using it I think I had removed the drive without ejecting it properly. Also I had upgraded my laptop from windows 7 to windows 10. When I tried using my drive it says F: inaccessible and needs to be formatted. I googled and checked almost all recovery softwares I could catch hold of to scan my drive but after scanning almost all softwares cameup with zero bytes data - 0 files found. Certain software are not even able to sense the F: 

I checked Segate site for help and downloaded the trial version of their diagnostic which after running said that it should be checked in-house lab

All the software I downloaded were the trial versions which I was ready to buy if after scanning they are able to say data is there on the hard drive.

the softwares I downloaded were these 

Remo Recover, iCare Data Recovery Pro, EaseUS Data Recovery wizard, ZAR X, Stellar Phoenix Data Recovery Professional , ParetoLogic's Data Recovery Pro

I even bought  PC Scan & Repair by Reimage in the hope that registry cleaning might help. 

Till now I have not been able to recover a single photo or access the hard disk (BTW I did try chkdsk and it said the drive is RAW format) . I want to try out all possible options before I go on to format the drive(which will have to be the last resort) .  

Is there a way I can recover this locked up data.

Thanx 

Amu

 

 

 

[AdvancedSetup]

Hello @amus5 and

Since you say it's a USB drive, I would try unplugging it from your computer and try plugging it into another computer running Windows 7 and see if it works or not. Sometimes connecting to different computers via USB a drive can get a bad connection. It's possible the drive is bad, but I'd try a couple other computers first.

 

[amus5]

thanx for the quick reply. 

But I dont have an alternate one running with Windows 7. Although I did try plugging the drive in another laptop running on Windows 10 and came up with the same problem. I tried changing the USB wire connection too. Is there any other way I could resolve this issue 

thanx 

amu

[AdvancedSetup]

Not really. If the USB is recognizing the drive but thinks it's RAW then chances of recovery are slim to none. If the data is important to you then I'd contact a reputable recovery shop and ship the drive off for recovery. That is typically very expensive but the best means to try to get your data back.

 

[amus5]

If that is the only way to recover my data then I have to ship it for recovery. But my concern is whether they will be able to recover the data or not because it is quite expensive.

If I try reformatting the drive is there a chance I could recover the lost data

 

[AdvancedSetup]

No, if you format you have zero chance of recovering the data. You need to stop and decide what is important. The more you play with the drive the less chance there is to recover the data. Yes, recovery is very expensive and why having multiple good solid backups of your data is important.

You can try using Data Recovery software but typically a drive seen as raw has a low chance of recovery. Whatever you do, do not format, or write to the disk as that will lower your chances of getting data back.

http://www.seagate.com/services-software/recover/

That's just one example - there are other places that do recovery too.

 

[amus5]

ok thanx .Will get the help of a recovery service.

 

[amus5]

Btw does anybody know of a reliable recovery service in INDIA. 

[BrunoPinheiro]

Unfortunately I think that in your case, it does not get to save anything. sorry!.

[David H. Lipman]

I have used the recovery services of Kroll multiple times with a very high recovery rate.  However expect to pay $1,000.⁰⁰ ~ $1,500.⁰⁰ USD for the service. 

NOTE:  The service cost is less if you provide a good hard disk, along with the failed drive, that will used to load the recovered data.

Edited August 9, 2016 by David H. Lipman