Hard drive died

[fleetp]

The boot drive on my main PC died. I had the mods for Pirates on a separate hard drive, so they weren't 'lost'
I'll be using a back up (slower) computer that I share with my life partner, so I won't be as active here as I normally am for two or three days.
Very respectfully,
fleetp

[themodelcitizen]

Good excuse for a new xmas present for yourself? Haha we'll see you in a few days!

[corsair91]

Firstly if the drive motor is dead and it doesn't spin
and a mechanical drive not much you can do, drive is gone,
replace it and reinstall OS & files as best you can


the only people who can do anything for data recovery are clean room drive
recovery people and typically buying a new drive is a lot cheaper
for example
https://www.ontrack.com/
(warning probably not cheap)


If the drive still spins you have a lot more options, depending on brand of computer, make of drive and OS version etc
None of which I know in the detail required


https://www.seagate.com/gb/en/support/downloads/
https://www.seagate.com/gb/en/support/downloads/seatools/

Seagate, Maxtor hard drives tools

typically contents of the drive will be gone after this
so sort of a last resort if all else fails, more confirm the drive failure than anything else


Not Sure how this is going to be of use
This tends to be something you test works when everything still works
(which of course most people don't)

Do you have a bootable windows DVD or USB stick ? handy
(available using windows media creator download)

Windows used to have a DVD boot to a recovery console option
as part of the OS DVD
but they keep changing things around, so could be wrong on this


Windows PE
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-hardware/manufacture/desktop/winpe-intro?view=windows-11
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_Preinstallation_Environment

Windows PE (WinPE) is a small operating system used to install, deploy, and repair Windows desktop editions, Windows Server, and other Windows operating systems. From Windows PE, you can:

Set up your hard drive before installing Windows.
Install Windows by using apps or scripts from a network or a local drive.
Capture and apply Windows images.
Modify the Windows operating system while it's not running.
Set up automatic recovery tools.
Recover data from unbootable devices.
Add your own custom shell or GUI to automate these kinds of tasks.

(Another option to windows PE is say Live Boot CD Linux editions)


https://www.techrepublic.com/blog/five-apps/five-tips-for-restoring-an-unbootable-hard-drive/

https://www.techrepublic.com/blog/10-things/10-linux-rescue-tools-for-recovering-linux-windows-or-mac-machines/

https://uk.pcmag.com/migrated-3765-windows-10/134749/how-to-revive-windows-10-with-a-recovery-drive

5 Bootable Windows PE-Based Recovery Discs That'll Save Your System
https://www.makeuseof.com/tag/bootable-windows-pe-based-recovery-discs/

How to Revive Windows 10 With Recovery Drive
https://www.minitool.com/data-recovery/windows-10-repair-recovery-disk.html


Microsoft can be as clear as mud on some or all of this


The rule of thumb for most experienced support guys is never
Put anything on your C: drive (or physical drive if partitioned)
that you can't afford to lose & Backup is a must


Is there any specialist computer store with techs nearby
that could give you a quote or advice on this work?
(assuming the drive still spins)

It is difficult to talk someone through it all
as you only find out it works when it actually works

[Pirate]

I sent Santa a letter to get me a new one. That was twenty some years ago so hopefully it comes this year.

[fleetp]

I had already taken my PC to a local repair shop before I made my initial post. They recommended a new ssd hard drive and they would re-install Windows for me, and try to recover as much data as they could.
I could have replaced the hard drive and re-installed windows myself, but I was too busy with real life stuff to do it.
I got the computer back with the new hard drive late yesterday.
A lot of mods for Sid Meier's Pirates was saved, BUT all of the mods I'd saved to my hard drive after October 2019 are gone. Fortunately the best of them are on google drive. Downloading them is not a priority right now, re-installing programs takes priority.

[corsair91]

Glad you got it mostly resolved

October 2019 & later content should be available
from the various forum members

post any requests as needed

[Pirate]

Glad your back in business. If you lost anything and can’t find it someone here might have it.

[fleetp]