Question

DOS Data Recovery?

Asked by: RickInCT

I have an old old 386 running DOS (yes, it's true) that runs a simple program for an attached machine.  Lo and behold the hard drive seems to have finally retired itself.  Is there a simple DOS data recovery utility out there?  Something where I can boot from a diskette, run the utility, and move the recovered data to diskettes?

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Asked On
2003-09-16 at 06:43:01ID20740160
Topic

MS DOS

Participating Experts
6
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Comments
13

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Answers

 

by: K_2KPosted on 2003-09-16 at 07:26:34ID: 9370747

Undelete might help some.

http://users.cybercity.dk/~bse26236/batutil/help/UNDEL_S.HTM

Good Luck,
2K
(\o/)

 

by: K_2KPosted on 2003-09-16 at 07:35:45ID: 9370819

If you don't have a DOS bootable, you can make one from images at
http://www.oldstuff.myagora.net/powerload/bootdisk.htm

Not likely they have undelete on them, but once booted you should find it in your hard drive's DOS directory.  
(Yes, this sounds like using a flashlight to find the batteries for the flashlight,  but those files don't move often so if any of the hard dirve is recoverable, that might still be in tact.)

My Polish uncle made a fortune in the home-land selling solar-powered flashlights,
2K
(\o/)

 

by: dbruntonPosted on 2003-09-16 at 11:21:18ID: 9372343

Might be easier to slave the hard disk concerned to another machine.

You can get converters to adapt laptop hard disks to standard IDE interfaces.

With that in place there's a large number of Windows recovery utils to pull the data off.

 

by: mrdtnPosted on 2003-09-16 at 14:32:25ID: 9373749

Make sure you have a large truck to remove the old drive once you're done.

 

by: linux4every1Posted on 2003-09-16 at 16:48:08ID: 9374425

if the drive is dead .... you can't read the data on it any more ... cause ... it's dead

 

by: linux4every1Posted on 2003-09-16 at 16:59:12ID: 9374475

have you tried taping on the drive motors axis spindle with the machine powered up to coax the drive to spin a last time to get your data back?
( btw this is a hardware question has nothing to do with undelete ) might wanna have it catagorized that way lol)

 

by: linux4every1Posted on 2003-09-17 at 06:13:52ID: 9377874

I suppose ultimatly it's possible to retriv your data but it's expensive cause you would have to have someone dissassemble the drive if it's dead and surface scan the platters with teh drive manufaturers configuration for an appropriate read to retrieve the data. though it sounds easier than what it is. this is an extre4emly sensitive magnetic plate

 

by: linux4every1Posted on 2003-09-17 at 06:14:41ID: 9377882

http://www.datadoctors.com/
they should shed some light on this

 

by: ViRoyPosted on 2003-09-19 at 13:05:45ID: 9396139


what u can do is use a bootdisk with norton ghost on it...
just use the bootdisk to get into DOS and make a image of that thrashed HD (gonna have to run the image to another computer via parallel cable, very simple to do and requires no special setup in ghost)

that way you can just dump the whole HD right over to another computer and disect it from there

 

by: linux4every1Posted on 2003-09-19 at 13:27:52ID: 9396298

if the drive is dead, physically dead, platters will not spin. there is no software bootdisk or otherwise that will read it without scanning the platters like I said this is a hardware issue there is no software resolve. norton ghost can't fix a dead motor in the drive.

 

by: dbruntonPosted on 2003-12-01 at 21:37:57ID: 9855914

There's a whole bunch of possibles here.

PAQ it anyway and either split multi ways or no refund.

 

by: PashaModPosted on 2003-12-07 at 06:09:43ID: 9891891

PAQed - no points refunded (of 250)

PashaMod
Community Support Moderator

20120131-EE-VQP-002

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