Salvage files from IDE drive

oregon · 12-23-2007, 07:38 AM

My dad brought home some IDE drives from work he wants me to get files off of. They are IDE though, and have XP installed on them. I have Vista, Mac, 2000. Would adding them into these systems do anything? Could I access the files that way?

What about running a Linux live disc and booting from that. Could I get files then?

The computers the drives were in are messed up, so I can't just use an external hard drive.

PC eye · 12-23-2007, 07:46 AM

With one drive at a time slaved and the partitions unaccessible then you would need something like Knoppix live for cd to conduct data retrieval with a live distro over using a data recovery program like Active Undelete if needed. XP can read Vista partitions as well as Vista can read XP ones since those are both NTFS 5.0 seen there.

One old 2004 article sums up the idea of using Knoppix for pc rescue seen at http://www.shockfamily.net/cedric/knoppix/

SirKenin · 12-23-2007, 04:07 PM

This is what you want:

http://www.dansdata.com/rdriver.htm

Combine it with Free Undelete and other drive recovery tools, you can accomplish pretty much anything. I couldn't function without mine.

oregon · 12-23-2007, 07:49 PM

I have Vista on a SATA drive. As long as this is selected as the primary boot device in BIOS, would that be okay? I don't think the drives have any jumper connectors.

**Cromewell** · 12-23-2007, 07:54 PM

Yes as long as the SATA drive is the first one in the boot order it will be fine.

oregon · 12-23-2007, 09:57 PM

Okay, I will do that. Is it safe to just hook them up to my computer, but not screw them into the case? And just have leave them flat on my desk or carpet?

**Cromewell** · 12-23-2007, 11:02 PM

I wouldn't lay it on the carpit but sitting on the desk or your computer case or even hanging from the cable should be fine while you pull data off of it.

PC eye · 12-23-2007, 11:17 PM

Often what I do here to insure no accidents is simply slide the drive into a 3 1/2" bay and only put the two fasteners in on one side to secure it. You won't have to worry about the data cable being loosened up a little while moving around. If the case has a pull out drive bay that makes things easier where you simply slide the drive without any.

The Sata 1 type drives see a jumper for mode not cable position on those. The default for those is where the jumper is seen when bought or simply removing them. The other positions disable things like ATA150 support. The ide drives will have to be set according to the cable position like slave to a single optical drive unless the board has two ide channels there.

If you do get stuck on something back in here and let us know. Then we can coach you through it.

SirKenin · 12-24-2007, 12:27 AM

yeah, just plug them in and sit them on your desk. As long as you don't touch any metal to the circuit board, you'll be fine. Also you have to make sure that the drive is set on master for it to work.

PC eye · 12-24-2007, 12:57 AM

If you have more then one ide channel you slave one of the ide models to another to see two new logical drives added long enough to grab files from more then one. That can save a little time if you have several drives to go through. With two in you may have to set the second to cable select depending on makes and models however.

The removable drive cages seen on many cases allow for simply sliding them in to prevent any esd problems without needing a phillips head screwdriver to secure them. Hopefully you have a place to set a case where you don't have to hang drives off of the ide cable to avoid finding the plug got pulled out a little simply when working and moving things around yourself.

If the drives are still found inaccesible review the article posted earlier on using a live distro for accessing stubborn partitions. One other thought there would be any security set inplace since those are or were company owned drives. Some data may be encrypted for that reasons like that.

12-23-2007, 07:38 AM	#1 (permalink)
oregon Diamond Member Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: portland, oregon Age: 18 Posts: 1,248	Salvage files from IDE drive My dad brought home some IDE drives from work he wants me to get files off of. They are IDE though, and have XP installed on them. I have Vista, Mac, 2000. Would adding them into these systems do anything? Could I access the files that way? What about running a Linux live disc and booting from that. Could I get files then? The computers the drives were in are messed up, so I can't just use an external hard drive. __________________ MB: Gigabyte P35-DS3L CPU: Core 2 Duo E6550 @3.5hz GPU: PNY GeForce 8800 GT 512 RAM: 4GBs DDR2-800 (Ballistix and OCZ SLI) CL4 PSU: Antec NeoPower 650W Case: Antec 900 HDD: Seagate SATA 250GB, 16MB cache Seagate SATA 320GB, 16MB cache

12-23-2007, 07:49 PM	#4 (permalink)
oregon Diamond Member Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: portland, oregon Age: 18 Posts: 1,248	I have Vista on a SATA drive. As long as this is selected as the primary boot device in BIOS, would that be okay? I don't think the drives have any jumper connectors. __________________ MB: Gigabyte P35-DS3L CPU: Core 2 Duo E6550 @3.5hz GPU: PNY GeForce 8800 GT 512 RAM: 4GBs DDR2-800 (Ballistix and OCZ SLI) CL4 PSU: Antec NeoPower 650W Case: Antec 900 HDD: Seagate SATA 250GB, 16MB cache Seagate SATA 320GB, 16MB cache

12-23-2007, 07:54 PM	#5 (permalink)
Cromewell Moderator Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Canada Age: 25 Posts: 10,602	Yes as long as the SATA drive is the first one in the boot order it will be fine. __________________ You know what the chain of command is? It's the chain I go get and beat you with 'til ya understand who's in command here. www.userfriendly.org

12-23-2007, 09:57 PM	#6 (permalink)
oregon Diamond Member Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: portland, oregon Age: 18 Posts: 1,248	Okay, I will do that. Is it safe to just hook them up to my computer, but not screw them into the case? And just have leave them flat on my desk or carpet? __________________ MB: Gigabyte P35-DS3L CPU: Core 2 Duo E6550 @3.5hz GPU: PNY GeForce 8800 GT 512 RAM: 4GBs DDR2-800 (Ballistix and OCZ SLI) CL4 PSU: Antec NeoPower 650W Case: Antec 900 HDD: Seagate SATA 250GB, 16MB cache Seagate SATA 320GB, 16MB cache

12-23-2007, 11:02 PM	#7 (permalink)
Cromewell Moderator Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Canada Age: 25 Posts: 10,602	I wouldn't lay it on the carpit but sitting on the desk or your computer case or even hanging from the cable should be fine while you pull data off of it. __________________ You know what the chain of command is? It's the chain I go get and beat you with 'til ya understand who's in command here. www.userfriendly.org

12-23-2007, 07:46 AM	#2 (permalink)
PC eye banned Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Inside a pc Posts: 20,803	With one drive at a time slaved and the partitions unaccessible then you would need something like Knoppix live for cd to conduct data retrieval with a live distro over using a data recovery program like Active Undelete if needed. XP can read Vista partitions as well as Vista can read XP ones since those are both NTFS 5.0 seen there. One old 2004 article sums up the idea of using Knoppix for pc rescue seen at http://www.shockfamily.net/cedric/knoppix/

12-23-2007, 04:07 PM	#3 (permalink)
SirKenin banned Join Date: Aug 2006 Posts: 4,711	This is what you want: http://www.dansdata.com/rdriver.htm Combine it with Free Undelete and other drive recovery tools, you can accomplish pretty much anything. I couldn't function without mine.

12-23-2007, 11:17 PM	#8 (permalink)
PC eye banned Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Inside a pc Posts: 20,803	Often what I do here to insure no accidents is simply slide the drive into a 3 1/2" bay and only put the two fasteners in on one side to secure it. You won't have to worry about the data cable being loosened up a little while moving around. If the case has a pull out drive bay that makes things easier where you simply slide the drive without any. The Sata 1 type drives see a jumper for mode not cable position on those. The default for those is where the jumper is seen when bought or simply removing them. The other positions disable things like ATA150 support. The ide drives will have to be set according to the cable position like slave to a single optical drive unless the board has two ide channels there. If you do get stuck on something back in here and let us know. Then we can coach you through it.

12-24-2007, 12:27 AM	#9 (permalink)
SirKenin banned Join Date: Aug 2006 Posts: 4,711	yeah, just plug them in and sit them on your desk. As long as you don't touch any metal to the circuit board, you'll be fine. Also you have to make sure that the drive is set on master for it to work.

12-24-2007, 12:57 AM	#10 (permalink)
PC eye banned Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Inside a pc Posts: 20,803	If you have more then one ide channel you slave one of the ide models to another to see two new logical drives added long enough to grab files from more then one. That can save a little time if you have several drives to go through. With two in you may have to set the second to cable select depending on makes and models however. The removable drive cages seen on many cases allow for simply sliding them in to prevent any esd problems without needing a phillips head screwdriver to secure them. Hopefully you have a place to set a case where you don't have to hang drives off of the ide cable to avoid finding the plug got pulled out a little simply when working and moving things around yourself. If the drives are still found inaccesible review the article posted earlier on using a live distro for accessing stubborn partitions. One other thought there would be any security set inplace since those are or were company owned drives. Some data may be encrypted for that reasons like that.

Thread Tools
Show Printable Version Email this Page
Display Modes
Linear Mode Switch to Hybrid Mode Switch to Threaded Mode

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
My IDE hard drive doesn't like my SATA one..	Jet	Computer Memory and Hard Drives	5	02-13-2007 10:15 PM
Hard Drive Installation	compdummy	Desktop Computers	2	12-03-2006 02:32 AM
Compaq mother board again	exopforce	Motherboards	15	09-29-2006 02:05 AM
Secondary IDE Drive on Motherboard	kevinvu99	Motherboards	18	02-17-2006 03:33 PM
SATA master, IDE slave - is this right?	bee1000	Computer Memory and Hard Drives	6	04-15-2005 09:48 PM