Anyone knows a good disaster recovery tool????

Hi people, I have a computer that was working very well, but lately when I was working on a important project, there was a power fluctuation for a couple of times (I thought that was normal) but after the last power fluctuation my computer refused to boot up. There seems to be a failure of some kind…..but I need to get the projects back that are still in that disk.

I would be thankful if you could suggest any good tools to get the files and documents back.

I use this one primarily:

http://www.data-recovery-software.net/

It is not free, but worth every penny that you pay for it. The Demo version will ensure that you are able to see the data prior to purchase.

Another decent, but less successful, tool is here:

http://www.pcinspector.de/Sites/file_recovery/download.htm?language=1

It is freeware, but I've had less success with it.

Both tools run within a Windows environment and you will need another disk to copy the data onto.

If it just won't power up, there may not be any damage to the disk drive and you can put it in another PC and just transfer the files off it. You may have just fried the PSU, mobo, etc. and need a replacement to get it back up and running.

With that said, GetDataBack is one of the best if it comes to data recovery, but if the hard drive electronics are fried, nothing will help except possibly a circuit board transplant. Good luck

If you can get one a LiveCD from a linux distro should give you access to the HDD. Knoppix has a great live DVD.


Aside from that, does the computer POST? Bios recognize the HDD? Do you have access to another computer at home?