Hi all. I have an HDD from an old laptop that I would like to recover files from. I have connected the HDD as an external USB HDD to another machine. Windows recognised it for a short while but now only occasionally allocates it a drive letter. Even if it gets a drive letter it can't be opened. I've tried many tools including TestDisk and PhotoRec. I think this is the end of the road but there's one question. TestDisk is able to see the disk and determine its capacity. Is that information derivable from header information somewhere on the HDD itself? The reason I ask this is that it's been the only glimmer of hope. However, I see that it could be possible to read that information and yet not be able to read the disk itself. TestDisk just gives 'read errors' over and over.
Many thanks.
Dead disk - not sure anything can be done but ...
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When asking for technical support:
- Search for posts on the same topic before posting a new question.
- Give clear, specific information in the title of your post.
- Include as many details as you can, MOST POSTS WILL GET ONLY ONE OR TWO ANSWERS.
- Post a follow up with a "Thank you" or "This worked!"
- When you learn something, use that knowledge to HELP ANOTHER USER LATER.
Before posting, please read https://www.cgsecurity.org/testdisk.pdf