Best method to offload files from failing SATA drive?

[teckneeculler]

My 2TB Seagate Barracuda, used for storage in my tower, is on the verge of failure after 16 months.

(This is the second time I've had this problem - its predecessor lasted 26 months )

Fortunately, the newer is one is covered by the 24 month warranty, but I'm having problems off-loading its files - the process is extremely slooow - so slow that its 1TB of contents could take 20 - 30 hours, going by what I've done already using Windows built-in copier, during which time it might fail altogether.

Question: Any suggestions as to a better method for this? I have TeraCopy, and there are numerous other copiers available. Maybe in DOS, via command line? I could image it with Macrium. Or clone it, perhaps. Or I might be able to move it from the tower into a USB container.

Suggestions please.

NOTE: No bugs on the HDD, thoroughly checked multiple times with Malwarebytes, Kaspersky Rescue Disc, HitMan Pro, RKill, TDSKiller etc etc.


Crystal Disk used for analysis - see attachment.

 

[SIW2]

I would be tempted to clone/image it, using a tool that will skip bad sectors - and/or that can exclude any files/folders.

There might be stuff on there you don't want to copy.

You could try diskgenius. It is on my boot media. It can make file based images, with exclusions.



Or you could try the giveaway of O&ODiskimage pro v12 which can make images with exclusions and skipping bad sectors as well as clones.




You have had bad luck with those seagates. I have a different model ST2000DM008 - only one platter and a massive 256mb cache. It is very quick for a spinner and low power usage, but it hasn't had much use, so I don't know how reliable it is.

 

[teckneeculler]

Thanks for the tips, I'll try both apps.
I like the look of your ST2000DM008 HDD - 1 platter and only 2 heads sounds less fragile than 3 and 6.
So I've ordered one.
Not sure what the merchant will offer me to replace the failing ST2000DM001 (which is what the case says, not ST2000DM006, as Crystal Disk shows in the pic above).
I'll report back after testing - first, O&O, then Disk Genius.
Cheers

 

[SIW2]

O&O diskImage 12 GIVEAWAY
Register: (the registration page is in German - don't worry about that)

Registrieren Sie sich hier fur Ihre kostenlose Vollversion von O&O DiskImage 12

They send an email. Click the link in the email they sent you and you will receive another email with your license key

Download English version of the program:
Download Archive

 

[teckneeculler]

Thanks for the link
I've just been reading this 10-page thread Best method/tool for cloning a failing HDD for Data Recovery? about recovery methods and it seems that Macrium won't work on a disk that has more than a couple of bad sectors.

It'll be interesting to see how DiskImage copes.

 

[SIW2]

O&O Imaging Options>Advanced




O&O Cloning Options >Advanced

 

[teckneeculler]

Thanks again for the added tips, I was wondering about the Control for skipping bad sectors.

PS: Haven't tried it yet. The drive has disappeared from My Computer (as it's done several times since it started misbehaving), but I guess it'll show when I run DiskImage.

 

[SIW2]

The drive has disappeared from My Computer (as it's done several times

That is not very encouraging.

 

[teckneeculler]

That is not very encouraging.

LOL, you're not wrong.

This business started about a week back. I couldn't figure out what was wrong with my computer. At first it was just an extremely slow boot - like five minutes to run through the BIOS and Windows splash screens, then another minute or two for the desktop to settle down.

Then I might run something like 'msconfig' from a run box, and that would take 30-40 secs to bring up the msconfig executable.

(Instead of pretty much instantaneous, as it's now doing without that drive showing up)

I tried every bug fix I could think of without any nasties being found, plus a lot of other diagnostics.

Turns out, all that was wrong was Windows didn't like the behavior of the failing drive.

Once I understood what the problem was I tried copying stuff off the drive but that was impossibly slow. So I started deleting some older, redundant files. That was similarly slow, but the deleting did work, whereas as the copying was hopeless. Sometimes the drive would just disappear as it's done now.

It usually comes back after a bootup, though. But I guess that won't continue for long.

Actually, the previous failed (identical) drive still runs after a fashion - like it didn't die completely. Maybe this one will do the same. But all I want now is to be able to save the remaining 800-900MB of files before they're irretrievable.

 

[SIW2]

Good luck.

 

[teckneeculler]

Thanks. BTW, the app seems to need WinPE to create a boot disc\USB, but says 'no WinPE base found'.
Clicking 'Change' goes to a menu that only includes an active option for 'Windows Installation Media'.

Does the app grab WinPE from an inserted Windows installation disc?

 

[SIW2]

if it can't find winre.wim in your recovery folder, untick the boxes, coz you don't want it to automatically make a one click backup, then click "switch to previous view"

 

[teckneeculler]

SIW2, thanks for the info.
Apart from inserting a Windows install disc, which is easy enough, the alternative O&O instructions on the following page are a bit misleading. Create boot medium O&O Software.
It says that W7 needs the AIK kit and, if I click the 'down' arrow to the right of the greyed 'Windows Automated Installation Kit' (your second image) it does actually open the MS page where the ISO can be found. But after downloading the kit (an ISO), then clicking the 'open box' icon (again, your second image)and navigating to the download folder, it doesn't find the 'setup.exe' file that it's looking for. Neither can it be found in the unpacked ISO. There IS a 'startCD.exe' but that just just kicks off the AIK kit's own WinPE creator. Very confusing.
So I think I'll just insert my Windows disk and let it find the required files on that.
Cheers

 

[SIW2]

After inserting your win7 in the cdrom drive, You will have to browse to the cdrom drive.(3rd picture) It mounts install.wim and extracts winre.wim from the mounted image. So if you are doing it that way, it might decide to copy install.wim from the cd drive to a temp file first.

 

[teckneeculler]

It didn't accept the Windows disc, citing 'Failed 2' or something similar.
So I opened the extracted AIK ISO contents and ran startCD.exe, which installed something else again. After a couple of false starts, O&O finally showed a tick alongside the AIK option, and that created a (bootable?) CD.
(It probably would have called for a blank disc but I'd already loaded one in the DVD drive).
I'll reboot now and see what happens.
Hopefully, it'll see the damaged HDD, which is still not seen in Windows, as well as the empty 1TB drive I've connected by USB3.
Fingers crossed.

 

[SIW2]

Hope winpe picks up the disk. It might not if windows doesn't. If winpe can't see it, then any programs in winpe won't be able to.

If no joy, then the other thing to try is a linux boot media - parted magic, or similar.

 

[teckneeculler]

After booting, the process found the disk OK, and DiskImage appeared to work, but I only had a 1TB spare so I thought I'd wait until I got another 2TB disk to image to.

I'm expecting the merchant to replace the failing disk without argument, but I think they'll want the disk returned before they'll part with another, so I'd have no source.

I ordered a 2TB like yours, with the single platter and 256MB cache.

It should arrive today (merchant was open over Easter but couriers weren't) and then I'll try cloning the disks.