Cant initialise disk

The laptop doesn't boot.  I'll give those programs a try.

newmath - plse explain how you cure a head crash by putting in a fridge?

Hi Nobus. There are tons of threads about this method. Sometimes the servo that controls the rocker arm for the head heats up and doesn't function correctly and falls on to one of the platters. Cooling it down sometimes solves that problem. Again, it's a long shot - and I would be remiss if I didn't mention that the method is perhaps heatedly debated, but it doesn't take much effort to try.

you shouldn't need to explain yourself .... you offered a suggestion, as asked by the OP.

with that aside, I always heard to put it in the freezer...guess it serves (no pun intended) the same purpose.

Definitely one of the cooler suggestions :)

When I've put hard drives into the freezer I've always put them in an air-tight ZipLock bag to keep condenstation from forming on the drive while in the freezer.

Also I've had some success with gently tapping the drive with the handle of a screwdriver while the drive is spinning up.

The physics behind cooling the drive are contracing the metal so that the heads can move again.  The tapping can sometimes break loose a stuck gear.

None of these are "fixes" just a band-aid to try to get data back.

Yes, the gentle tapping also works on occasion too. Good suggestion.

i agree with Scottcha - but that has nothing to do with a head crash -  what is why i asked
but you're not obliged to answer, but if we can agree on something, it is always nice for the asker
and note an opinion has no value for me, unless backed up with some evidence (threads on the net are fine, but many are wrong too)

iknow th clicking sound comes from heads that can't read track and sectoring info - thus they move till the Head stop (the click) ..and then resume to do the same thing...

so i still stand by my comment : no software will help

First of all check if the problem is not in caddy you put the drive in. Is the caddy powered via additional wallset power supply?

No luck getting the data back.  Have written it off.  I'll keep the drive as I might want to pay to have it fix in the future.

Thanks

You could also try starting the drive in different orientations to see if it starts.  I have one laptop drive that will boot if the circuit board side is facing down flat on the table, but will click and be unrecognizable in other orientations.

Keeping the drive a while might possibly help too.  I was able to recover files from another drive that I kept around for over a year when it eventually became readable.

Those are just 2 suggestions that happen to work in 2 cases that I've had.  There's a bunch of seemingly illogical weirdness that can happen with drives.  Certain drives from the late 90's would stick and I used to have to turn them sideways and bang them against the edge of a table to loosen the arms to make them work again.  People looked at me funny whenever I did that, but I (and many others) have "fixed" numerous drives that way.

i always put the garden gnome on it, and hope it bewitches it