how can I fix or retrieve data from external drive?
i have an external 250gb hard drive that fell off my desk onto the floor. now no computer I attach it to will read the drive. I hear what sounds to be the drive heads moving and the fan works, but the drive cannot be read. I am connecting with USB 2.0 cable but the drive is also eSata capable.
Sorry, but there's no way in which you'll be able to get the data off of this disk without specialist equipment. Hard disks are very easily damaged by even a slight shock; if the heads hit the platter then they're essentially a write-off.
If the data is valuable, then there are data recovery specialists who will almost certainly be able to recover most of it. However, they are not cheap - the last time we had to have this done cost about £600. The reason for the high price tag is that the disk has to be disassembled in a "clean room" environment and then as much of the raw data as possible is read off of the undamaged sections of platter.
You can replace the actual disk with any old SATA hard disk though; you don't need to buy a new box, just open your existing one and change the disk. Personally, I like Seagate because they've got good shock tolerance and I've found them to be reliable, but other people will have their own opinions.... ymmv...
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