Hi,

I've been having some problems with a LaCie - harddisk which accidentally fell (the fall was from 10cm height, it doesn't even have scratches on the cask). Problem is, now it won't start up and my pc won't recognize it (so this means I haven't been able to use any programs like getdataback...). Based on the noise and previous experiences (oh yes, I also have another LaCie disk gone bad), I think it might be a damaged partition table. Therefore I would like to know:
a) If there's a way to get it recognised by my pc
b) If so, is there a program that can restore the partition table without erasing any data, or must I find a spare disk to use a datarecovery - program and reformat?

Cheers

Lauo if you really have a PC and not a Mac you are probably on the wrong site. FineTunedMac is strictly for Apple Macintosh computers.

However, in answer to your question, a fall such as you described may well have physically damaged the hard drive mechanism itself in which case it is highly unlikely any software on the Mac or a PC will be able to recover your data. In that case you are going to need the services of a data recovery firm such as DriveSavers and the investment of anywhere from several hundred to a few thousand dollars.

At this point your best chance is to to take the drive to a reputable repair facility and ask them to diagnose the problem. Even that is likely to cost you $60 to $100 or so.

If you dropped a lacie while it was running and it doesn't mount anymore, the odds are about 99% of a head crash. I would be amazed if it were partition damage.

Hard drives very rarely survive falls while running, and when they do, they tend to fail very soon after.