Computer accessories?

[Harmony-bc]

I have an external hard drive that I store music, movies, pics, etc on. A friend was staying at my house feeding my cats [while I was away] and broke it, grrr. I took it to best buy when it happened and they said I needed to buy a new one and that it would cost me 80 to transfer my files. Well ok, that's fine, but I would rather support local and small business's, if I can.

Can someone recommend a good computer shop close to Cambie and Broadway or easy to get to by transit, please?

 

[Ray]

I use NCIX myself.
They have a shop on Broadway by Granville.

Check their prices on-line.

http://ncix.com/contact/

 

[badbadboy]

Main and 57th Computer is a very good family owned and run computer service store for PC's. Fast, inexpensive and reliable.

I am on Mac's these days so I am dealing mainly with Apple for accessories etc.

 

[mercyshooter]

i wonder about the damage. what did he break? if broken circuit board or scratched the disk surfaces, then yes new one!

 

[Dawg]

I dont know if ATIC computers is still on broadway, but they were always awesome for giving deals in the neighborhood, and if not NCIX were good too.. Is it showing bad clusters or just not firing up at all.. PS, I know you might laugh at this but a little trick I learned along time ago that has worked once or twice is tap the drive with the eraser side of a pencil while its trying to spin, sometimes it will help it spin. Sure its only worked 2 out of 75 times, but its worth a shot..lol

 

[dunnochit]

I am guessing, the key word being guessing, that the damage is probably power or USB related. My guess is the hard drive is intact and the data remains.

i wonder about the damage. what did he break? if broken circuit board or scratched the disk surfaces, then yes new one!

I think ALINBURNABY should get the points for the suggested solution.
JMHO
D

NOTE
External hard drives should be used to store a COPY of your data. However, it should never contain the ONLY COPY. Try to avoid "Single Point of Failure" scenarios.

 

[Harmony-bc]

Aww, thanks you guys. You guys are the awesomest of the awesome. I knew if I posted here, I would get more help than I need. Yay perb !!

I really know nothing about computers and I really don't care about knowing. I use my comp for entertainment purposes only ie, photos, download music, movies, itunes, tv shows, etc. I have a fairly old second hand computer that I bought from reboot, so the memory is really small. It is not a lap top. I used to have one, but it got old a virus or two that destroyed it. My external drive, which is a blue box type thingie that sits on top of my pc, stores all my stuff on it. I came back from a mini vacation, and went to play music, and itunes library couldn't find any tunes. I took it into best buy just to see, and they said that it looked like someone dropped it (the outside looks fine) and I would have to buy a new hard drive and transfer my info. My info is still there, the guy said.

One of my new years resolutions is to support as much as possible local and small business, so there you go. [as well as the gym, and no more pasta ]

 

[mercyshooter]

Aww, thanks you guys. You guys are the awesomest of the awesome. I knew if I posted here, I would get more help than I need. Yay perb !!

I really know nothing about computers and I really don't care about knowing. I use my comp for entertainment purposes only ie, photos, download music, movies, itunes, tv shows, etc. I have a fairly old second hand computer that I bought from reboot, so the memory is really small. It is not a lap top. I used to have one, but it got old a virus or two that destroyed it. My external drive, which is a blue box type thingie that sits on top of my pc, stores all my stuff on it. I came back from a mini vacation, and went to play music, and itunes library couldn't find any tunes. I took it into best buy just to see, and they said that it looked like someone dropped it (the outside looks fine) and I would have to buy a new hard drive and transfer my info. My info is still there, the guy said.

One of my new years resolutions is to support as much as possible local and small business, so there you go. [as well as the gym, and no more pasta ]

BestBuy is money suckers.

 

[threepeat]

My external drive, which is a blue box type thingie that sits on top of my pc, stores all my stuff on it. I came back from a mini vacation, and went to play music, and itunes library couldn't find any tunes. I took it into best buy just to see, and they said that it looked like someone dropped it (the outside looks fine) and I would have to buy a new hard drive and transfer my info. My info is still there, the guy said.

The part I don't understand is how the Best Buy guy can say the drive looked like someone dropped it if the outside looks fine. If it has been dropped, it's not 100% certain that your info is still there -- if the platters in the drive have actually been damaged in the fall, that info is gone -- so that's two reasons to doubt what he's saying.

Simplest fix, but most expensive:
Buy a new external hard drive, and take your dead hard drive to a data recovery place like DataPro (http://www.datarecoverypro.com/index.html) and have them copy all your data over. You are probably looking at about $500.

Techie fix, but cheapest. I am assuming the connectors to the drive are not damaged, since you said earlier the drive looks fine. If they are damaged, go with alinburnaby's suggestion of buying a new enclosure and transferring the drive to it:
1) Remove the enclosure from the hard drive but keep the connectors on if possible, and plug it in to your computer. Do you hear or feel the drive spin up? It should make a slight vibration and a high-pitched spinning sound if it does. If the drive spins up, it is physically ok, which means you probably got hit by a virus. The good news is that it will be easier to recover your data. If the drive does not spin up, you will have to get a data recovery centre to get the data off your drive, so you are looking at about $400 - $500.

2) If the drive spins up, it is physically ok and the data should be recoverable with software. I have personally used this application (http://www.nucleustechnologies.com/Windows-Data-Recovery-Software.html) and it worked great -- I managed to get back about 98% of the data off a drive that was completely unreadable by Windows. It only costs about $50.

If I was you and knew nothing about computers, I would hit up a techie guy and ask him to try the above solution with you. Maybe the two of you can work out a deal or something . If I was in Vancouver or you were in Edmonton I could probably help you out.

 

[ReluctantPooner]

One of my new years resolutions is to support as much as possible local and small business, so there you go. [as well as the gym, and no more pasta ]

I hear ya on the pasta. It's so easy, so good, but damn all those carbs ='(

When I make pasta I usually have two bowls......but I definately don't eat it as aften as I used to.

 

[BillRands]

OK, a lot of useful information but here are the facts. You said the drive is broken, not necessary bad, If the drive spins up then data can be recovered, it can be removed from the enclosure and connected via external ports and recovery performed to new media, without seeing it I cannot tell if this is possible. First and foremost is the data needed that badly? So as I tell my clients the actual recovery to set up the hardware takes minutes but the recovery time is high. I seldom charge for this service to current clients but $80 to recover from one drive to another is a rip off. Is it worth it to pay $50 for software you will only use once? This is not hard for a comp geek (me).
Portable hard drives fail due to being dropped, but most failures are due to heat. Drive monitoring on portable drives show temps in excess of 45 degrees and any drive running over about 45 will fail. I always recommend cases with fans, or add an external fan. Of course if you turn the drive off and only have it on when you need it this is not a problem.
Wish you luck whatever you decide.

 

[jnewton]

Portable hard drives fail due to being dropped, but most failures are due to heat. Drive monitoring on portable drives show temps in excess of 45 degrees and any drive running over about 45 will fail. I always recommend cases with fans, or add an external fan./QUOTE]

RE: temperature related failures. I've seen this often. It will probably seem inanely simple but, if you use your computer on your bed or sofa, be sure to keep the portable drive well ventilated. This goes for desktop use too. Don't pile crap on top of it, especially when it is running. Most small enclosures don't have fans and rely on radiant heat dissipation to keep the drive cool.

 

[Harmony-bc]

OK, a lot of useful information but here are the facts. You said the drive is broken, not necessary bad, If the drive spins up then data can be recovered, it can be removed from the enclosure and connected via external ports and recovery performed to new media, without seeing it I cannot tell if this is possible. First and foremost is the data needed that badly? So as I tell my clients the actual recovery to set up the hardware takes minutes but the recovery time is high. I seldom charge for this service to current clients but $80 to recover from one drive to another is a rip off. Is it worth it to pay $50 for software you will only use once? This is not hard for a comp geek (me).
Portable hard drives fail due to being dropped, but most failures are due to heat. Drive monitoring on portable drives show temps in excess of 45 degrees and any drive running over about 45 will fail. I always recommend cases with fans, or add an external fan. Of course if you turn the drive off and only have it on when you need it this is not a problem.
Wish you luck whatever you decide.

I have 5000 songs on it. Hell yeah, the data is important, lol. Half of the songs I have on cd's, but all of my songs are on my hard drive. I'm going to back up everything when I get it fixed, which is what I should have done anyways. Lesson learned, lol

 

[BillRands]

Yes, but backup of a backup? So it will be raw data recovery, if pc can get access to the drive it is easy to get the data off, if they said the files are still there and the computer can see the drive then is it that your computer connot read it or does the pc just not see it as a device? If its windows and the drive can be accessed try this free software 'Win Data Recovery Free' if not some forensic recovery is needed.

 

[Harmony-bc]

Yes, but backup of a backup? So it will be raw data recovery, if pc can get access to the drive it is easy to get the data off, if they said the files are still there and the computer can see the drive then is it that your computer connot read it or does the pc just not see it as a device? If its windows and the drive can be accessed try this free software 'Win Data Recovery Free' if not some forensic recovery is needed.

From what I understand, its not a cord issue. The guy tried to get it to work on his computer, and it wouldn't, so then he hooked it up to something. I wasn't really paying attention because he was behind a counter and I was in front, lol. He told me I needed a new hard drive, but I have heard that the geek squad always says that, even if its not true, just to get you to spend more money.

 

[mistressfreyja]

Yep, back-up your songs, then dump the hard drive. If it still doesn't work after reinstalling programs, then get a new one. Tho....you could save a lot of trouble just buying a new one.

Then again....I am no computer expert.

My skills range in other directions.....such as Harmony's......

 

[BillRands]

Well, what is the size Small, Medium or Large (Capacity)? Does it light up when the male plug is inserted in the female socket? Does it click when turned on like two people when personalities match? Does the computer chirp and respond when you insert the USB cord like with a warm sensuous woman? Does the enclosure hum when turned on like the warm caress to a gorgeous woman? Does the drive respond to the computer like a beautiful woman to a passionate man? Does it respond to the computer like two people embracing? If not a longer intervention will be required such as a long session with a loved one you cherish and nurture to complete the extraction!

Sorry, but feeling a little randy as my ATF bailed on me. Read between the lines for the questions.
Probably needs to hit the tech bench

Just read the above post, nice advice.

 

[mistressfreyja]

You sure have a way with words, sometimes, Al!

LMAO.

Harmony, you can be my 'older woman' anytime. Including, 5-30 years from now.

I've seen how your fam-dam ages!

lol, you know that Harmony is sort of cute for an older woman (lol, 34 or thereabouts) which is why I was kidding her about finding guys willing to do the work.

So, you could get hands on with a grateful woman that knows what to do with her hands. - just saying

 

[BillRands]

Got to have a sense of humor
And she is my type

 

[mistressfreyja]

Just do it, Bill.