Data Recovery?

[rev]

My portable hard drive has stopped working, I'm actually heart broken.
It's full of the usual, music, movies, etc.
I pulled the hard drive it self out of the case, thinking that the connections were playing up, and plugged it in(SATA2) the computer.
But windows wont even recognise that it's got another hdd plugged in...

Just wondering if anyone knows of a good, reliable computer/IT shop that does data recovery and wont care there is nearly 1tb of music and movies, and also wont charge insane prices?

[crawf]

This has happened to me recently aswell, so furious about it.

[Ho Really]

How important are the files to you? Because if there is physical damage it can cost you an-arm-and-a-leg!! And you'll most probably have to send it off interstate. Then you'll need an exact copy (model) of the hard drive that failed for them to transfer the files to. They'll do all the work in a clean room (like those at NASA and JPL). If it is a software thing you could try data recovery software yourself (but be careful). I have a friend who's a computer engineer who can check your drive. It may take weeks for files to be recovered. It can be a slow process. Not sure what he'll charge you, but PM me and I'll give you his number. He has done recovery before with success. BTW, he's a Windows man. He's at Highgate.

Cheers

P.S. I know how you feel. The HDD in my iMac shit itself nearly two months ago and it wasn't backed up. Lost a lot of important files accumulated over 18-months including a website I was designing for my new business. Now I have two 1TB external drives that I use for back-up. One here and the other off site. Something that we all should do when we purchase a computer, is spend that extra cash for back up drives!!