//Star Wars Begins\\: HD Version Now on Vimeo — Page 20

Jambe, that's awful. I'm sorry to hear it.

Did you have anything backed up?

That is teh sux0rs

But what does that mean, it's dead? What kind of procedure did they perform on it, do you know? Did they actually try to recover the platters? Sounds a bit strange, is all.

Yikes... So, what is the difference between what you lost and the preliminary clips you have up on YouTube? I mean, I watch them and they have all the interview clips and behind the scenes stuff in them and everything.

ACK.  I cannot even begin to convey my sympathies.

MattMahdi said:

ACK.  I cannot even begin to convey my sympathies.

You just did, in a way. ;)

Aw man that is indeed awful.

But echoing above, what kind of recovery procedure did they use?

Did they try swapping the platters into another chassis or was it just a software effort?

Big sympathies, I have a drive of personal family mementos I have to send away for recovery and I know that will be a hardware fix costing around $1200. :-(

That's a real bummer man!  However, maybe one of us could give it a shot too.  Sounds like there's a few people around here who know more than one way to see if they can bring it back.

Thats really bad news. I can't imagine how you're feeling right now after all the work you have put into it. I take it they were doing a software recovery process. But there may still be a way if you get the drive back. If you can find someone who has an identical drive that wouldn't mind donating it then you could try swapping the main circuit board as this is one of the most common things to go before the actual platter arms do. I know it's a long shot but it may be worth a try.

Jambe Davdar said:

The drive heads are knackered. I was asked if I wanted to pay a further £300 for another/further attempt. But I can afford it. The preliminary versions on YouTube are taken from a DivX render of the final cut pro timeline I did in January. It is only low res. And I had done lots of work since then. I still have the timeline but 80-90% of the media is gone. I am staying fairly positive and the project will be finished... Somehow. Thanks for your support as always. JD

Mate, set up a paypal contribution fund. If it's just the drive heads which are broken, then they should be able to transplant the platters and fix it. I really enjoyed your empire and jedi docs and I'd happily send you a bit of cash towards paying for your drive to be fixed, I suspect many more here would also! :)

That's not a bad idea. I also loved the Empire and Jedi series and wouldn't mind throwing a few bob towards the drive recovery.

Ditto!

Do you have the HDD back?

You could try sealing it in a freezer bag and leaving it in the freezer for 24 hours. There's a slim chance this might get you 15 mins to a couple of hours worth of operation in which to copy across as much data as you can.

There are reports on the web of the freezer trick working, and if it's not going to cost anything then it's worth a try.

The alternative, as others have suggested, is the platter swap. Either set up a donation fund to pay a professional recovery firm to do it, or risk attempting it yourself. What's the make/model of the drive, and have you checked how much identical drives go for on eBay?

A friend of mine (who was an offficial beta tester for MS at one time) confirmed several years ago that the freezer trick worked for him. It's weird, but apparently it can breathe a bit of life back into it. :p

Here is a link on the freezing technique and comment from someone supposedly in the professional recovery business.

http://forums.overclockers.com.au/showthread.php?t=607675

Hi guys,

Thanks Slugs, I have the source material. Unfortunately its all on DVD and needs ripping again. Boo.

The freezing technique looks interesting, however, there is no power to the drive. The company I sent it to reckon that the heads have gone.  I am going to try another company soon. Thanks for your offers of money. Not sure what to do about that yet.

By the way the drive is a Seagate Barracude 7200.10, 250 Gbytes.

I wonder if I could track down another of the same model and get someone to weave some magic.

If there's no power I would definitely try the logic board swap..
Try and find the model no. (something like ST3160215A) to be sure it's the exact same kind.. But it's an older model I think so it might be difficult getting a new/unused drive.

Hi Satankia,

The model number is ST3250820A.

http://www.memoryc.com/products/description/250GB_Seagate_Barracuda_7200_10_IDE_Hard_Drive-8MB_cache-7200rpm_/index.html

Right I have decided to take the plunge and have a more reputable data recovery service have a look at it. Its going to cost between £350 and £650 to recover the drive. Perhaps I will set up a donation account after all!!!

JD

Can't seem to post donation link.

You can donate by clicking the link over at my blog. Any help would be appreciated. I will keep all donators details and endeavor to repay the favour in some way.

http://buildingempire.blogspot.com/2010/06/taking-donations-to-pay-for-my-star.html

Jambe, just curious, was you 250gb Seagate Barracuda originally inside of a Lacie enclosure? That was the situation I had, and I lost my first original, longform film that I had just finished editing. I literally found out it had stopped working when I plugged it in to back it up. Never was able to get the money together to get it repaired.

I think you should definitely put that link in your signature. (and post everywhere on the forum for it to be truly effective, haha)