Hi guys,
Big problem...
I had an 8gb compact flash photo hard drive in my Sony dscr1.
Long story short, it died and it contains all our wedding photos.
I've tried it in a card reader, tried freezing it in hopes it would spin up, no dice.
I wouldn't be concerned, but once again, it's our wedding photos.
Does anyone work in data recovery? Anyone who can rebuild a micro hard drive? Any ideas on what the heck I can do?
We're in big trouble here.

Here's what we're looking at.
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I guess getting married again is out of the question? :-)
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Sorry to hear that Scott.

I've sent disks to Ontrack in the past and had good results, but I've never had to send a CF microdrive in though, so I have no idea what they can do or what it would cost.
http://www.ontrackdatarecovery.com/
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:-)
I have done this as well with Hard Drives, but not with a CF. I would highly recommend them and suggest you give them a shot.

They are pricey, but they do get it done!
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If you want to try it yourself, there are some programs available. I haven't used them, so research it first.

http://www.digitalmedia-recovery.com...ash-drive.html

http://www.sharewareconnection.com/u...e-recovery.htm

and I am sure there are others. I just did a google search. I'll see if any of my friends that know about computers have any recommendations.

That being said, the link posted above is probably the safest, albeit most expensive bet.
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Can you guys give me an idea of how bad I'm likely to get reamed?
I've looked at the data crash companies, and I used to do data recovery myself. I can rebuild a hard drive and recover missing files on all sorts of stuff, but I don't have my hands anymore, and I'd never be able to transfer the platter to another micro drive.
I'm really hoping against hope that one of the brothers here does this sort of thing. The money issue aside, I'd far rather trust one of my brothers than a perfect stranger who isn't invested in the outcome, ya know?
If it can't be recovered, it can't be recovered, but I'd much rather hear it from a friend.
I'm upset about it, but Lisa is really torn. I'd like to get the problem fixed for her.
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I have lots of recovery software, I can do that myself. The platter won't spin up. If it won't spin, ya just can't recover anything. I wish it would, I'd be ecstatic. :-)
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Man, that's rough...I'm sorry to hear about the (highly critical!!) data loss. I haven't had any luck recovering data from solid state sources, though, so I'm watching closely to see if you find a solution. Good luck!
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While I wouldn't call the past charges for recovery services on hard disks from them cheap, I wouldn't call them outrageous either.

I simply have no basis to even attempt a guess of a what CF microdrive recovery costs are.

You can get a quote here:
http://www.ontrackdatarecovery.com/data-recovery-quote/
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This little goober isn't solid-state flash, it's a true hard drive. It's mechanical.
Solid state usually just gets corrupted and you can retrieve all or most of the data. Not so with this tiny bastage.
When I create a disaster, it's generally pretty huge. :-)
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You can contact OnTrack and try to get an estimate...

Contact Information

24/7 Data Recovery Help Toll Free: 1 800 872 2599
24/7 Data Recovery Help: 1 952 937 5161

General Inquiries (7AM-5PM CST): 1 952 937 5161Fax:1 952 937 5815
Software Questions (8AM-6PM CST): 1 800 645 3649
Service Questions (7AM-7PM CST): 1 800 872 2599
Technical Support (8AM-7PM CST): 1 952 937 2121

Technical Support Email: techsupport@ontrackdatarecovery.com
Customer Service Email: customerservice@ontrackdatarecovery.com
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Thanks Adam and Michael. I'll give them a call a bit later when Lisa gets home.
I'm gonna keep on bumping in hopes on of our brothers does this sort ofvstuff, and if that doesn't work, we'll definitely go with the guys you suggested.
Thank you again!!! :-)
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http://www.photo-saver.com/recover/?pu=false

They claim a money back guarantee

for 16.95 it aint much to risk

edit: ok, thought it was just a plain ol CF card
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Major pain in the ass, right Kelly? Grrr :-)
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hi,

Connect the device to the computer using card reader then you can recover lost photos from damaged compact flash card using efficient photo recovery software. All famous picture formats, including the raw image formats can be retrieved using the software.
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I tried freezing the little bugger, no dice. Lisa has talked to two data recovery outfits. One says we can ship it, they'll see what they can do, and if they can't do anything, they'll ship it back for free.
Ontrack quoted us $500-$900 to get it done. I had guessed 5 or 6 hundred from them, so prices have gone up. I'm sure they don't do a lot of microdrives either.
Lisa is going to try the first place and see what they can do. After that, we'll reconsider Ontrack.
As it sits, we pretty much decided we're not going to pay 900 bucks. There were tons of family members there taking pics, I'm sure we can gather lots up. We already have some, we'll just go from there.
Thanks for all the help, guys!!!
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You could also try going to the mall to one of those Mall Picture Places. They all have different names but you know what they are...I think some are called "Picture People" or something like that.

They have little kiosks in them that you can use to view pics on cards. I found a CF card in the mall once and took it to them, they popped it in to see if they could ID the people in the pictures.

They may have some data recovery functions, who knows? It's worth a shot, at least before you drop hundreds on something else.


Good Luck
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I sent a drive out for data recovery once and it was $400. They were able to get all the info off of it too.
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Ontrack gave you that quote but usually the price comes in lower AND you don't have to pay the price upfront.
Pay the initial cost (I think $100) then they will send you a file with a listing of what was found and you can decide from that.

There are also software programs that you can use:

'Smart Recovery 4.5' and 'Recover Files' are two that we've used with some success.

If they are that important...go with Ontrack.
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This is a microdrive that won't spin up. It's a mechanical issue, not a lost file issue or corruption issue, so software is useless. I can recover deleted stuff from hard drives all day, it's not a big deal. It's very simple, really.
Ya can't recover anything from a hard drive that won't spin, short of taking out the disc and placing it in another hard drive. It's sheer hell and has to be done in a clean room or a hepa tent.
Big hard drives are hell to swap platters. Now imagine a hard drive that's the size of a compact flash card. That's what I have. If it were deleted files on that card, I could get them all back in a few minutes. Not the case.
If I had any dexterity left at all, I'd go ahead and put my microdrive platter in a new microdrive and recover it. I just can't do it, I'm too old and shaky. :-)
Point being, software is useless.
We're still deciding if we're willing to pay a thousand bucks for the pics. They won't go anywhere while we make up our minds. We may have enough pics from the family's pics that we're happy. I'm hoping that's how it shakes out. Wish us luck. :-)
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