October 12, 2008 02:24pm pdt

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9.0

Zones: Computer Hard Drives, Hard Drives & Storage, Backup & Restore Software

Tags: Hitachi, Travelstar, Dell Laptop, dead laptop hard drive

I own a <2yr old Dell Laptop that has recently ceased to recognize my hard drive, which is a Hitachi Travelstar. I have taken the drive out and attempted to read it in another computer, as well as through a USB reader interface, with no luck. I also took it to Best Buy's "Geek Squad," who advised me that the data was probably okay but the "motor inside the drive" was no longer working.

I have only a one year warranty through Dell, who will no longer help me, and when I attempted to contact Toshiba, they told me that only Dell could offer me support because it was not a retail hard drive purchase.

Here are my questions:

1) Can Toshiba really not offer me any help because I bought the PC through Dell? Can Dell really offer me no help because I declined to extend my warranty beyond 1 year? I don't operate my PC in any kind of rough conditions. How can they refuse to stand behind hardware that can't even last a year and a half?

2) As described above, I have had no success at reading the drive through any other system. Are there other options available? I have heard that Linux might be able to read it. Is this true, even if Windows-based PCs can't recognize it? What about swapping out the circuit board on the drive? Would this fix the "bad motor," as described by Best Buy?

3) As a last resort, I would like to send this drive in to a data recovery service. I have been shopping around, and have seen prices range from $350 to $4000. Can anyone make a recommendation for a specific company? I am looking for the cheapest available, but still a reputable vendor. I am looking for a serious recommendation based on experience or word of mouth.

Thank you.

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