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Stumped - can anyone help? Laptop drive issue

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Carol Haynes:
Hi

I have been given a laptop to sort out. It was crashing out during windows 7 pro startup to a blue screen.

The drive had surface errors which chkdsk repaired, on restarting Windows Repair loaded and checked the hard disk again.

It then starts windows but gets to a black screen with a mouse pointer and no further (same in Safe Mode). I have also tried last good configuration.

I decided the best approach was to rip out the disk - plug it into another computer and backup the data before putting it back and doing a factory restore.

This is where the real fun starts:

On my desktop Disk Manager assigns a drive letter and marks the partition healthy but when I try to open the drive is says Access Denied. I expected this on the data folders but this is the whole partition and gives no option to go further.

I plugged it back in the laptop and went into the recovery console command prompt and can read the partition fine.

I ran Paragon's Disk Management tools from CD and the drive shows up - I can see and copy the files - so the drive isn't bitlockered.

OK I plugged numerous USB drives into the computer and none of them show up in the BIOS or in Paragon - reloading the disk tables doesn't find the USB drives either.

Anyone any idea how to get a USB drive to be recognised - the BIOS has USB legacy enabled, I have tried USB 2 and 3 sockets, it doesn't have secure boote enabled or any other security measures that I can see enabled.

Failing that any idea how to access the drive via a USB adapter on my desktop?

I don't like giving up but I am stumped!!!

mouser:
I decided the best approach was to rip out the disk - plug it into another computer and backup the data before putting it back and doing a factory restore.
--- End quote ---

Seems like the right approach to me..  Or else plug in an external drive to the laptop and clone the internal hd -- which sounds like what you were trying to do next..

OK I plugged numerous USB drives into the computer and none of them show up in the BIOS or in Paragon - reloading the disk tables doesn't find the USB drives either.
--- End quote ---

So are you saying that essentially -- your desktop couldn't read the laptop drive when plugged into a usb dock connected to the desktop, AND the laptop refused to see any external usb doc drives?

Shades:
Is there a CD/DVD player in the laptop using a SATA connector?

If so, you can use an external (and separately powered) USB dock that allows you to connect it with a standard SATA cable. I got one of those from an U.S. embassy auction sale (a bi-annual thing here in Paraguay) and it works well.

That way you can connect 2 drives on the laptop and start cloning to have a backup.

Disadvantage is that you will likely need to open the laptop. Depending on make and model, that could be a damaging operation. With that I mean too "plasticky" laptops don't close up nicely anymore after they have been opened.

Carol Haynes:
I decided the best approach was to rip out the disk - plug it into another computer and backup the data before putting it back and doing a factory restore.
--- End quote ---

Seems like the right approach to me..  Or else plug in an external drive to the laptop and clone the internal hd -- which sounds like what you were trying to do next..

OK I plugged numerous USB drives into the computer and none of them show up in the BIOS or in Paragon - reloading the disk tables doesn't find the USB drives either.
--- End quote ---

So are you saying that essentially -- your desktop couldn't read the laptop drive when plugged into a usb dock connected to the desktop, AND the laptop refused to see any external usb doc drives?
-mouser (June 23, 2017, 10:14 AM)
--- End quote ---

Yes the laptop drive can't be read on my desktop and no USB drives show up on the laptop - and all the drives seem to work otherwise.

I have used USB 2 and 3 drives on the laptop (it has 4 USB ports 3 x USB3 and 1 x USB2).

I have a drive cloning station so in theory I could clone the orginal drive onto a larger hard disk and them maybe create a new partition in the spare space and copy the data over. All feels a bit like hard work and it is all time - at what point do you say this is beyond economic repair - get a backup next time!

Is there a CD/DVD player in the laptop using a SATA connector?

If so, you can use an external (and separately powered) USB dock that allows you to connect it with a standard SATA cable. I got one of those from an U.S. embassy auction sale (a bi-annual thing here in Paraguay) and it works well.

That way you can connect 2 drives on the laptop and start cloning to have a backup.

Disadvantage is that you will likely need to open the laptop. Depending on make and model, that could be a damaging operation. With that I mean too "plasticky" laptops don't close up nicely anymore after they have been opened.
-Shades (June 23, 2017, 11:57 AM)
--- End quote ---

I suppose that might be the only other option but I am reluctant is is pretty flimsy and there is no guarantee I can get at the SATA connector without having to strip away all the plastics and maybe even have to remove the motherboard - don't really fancy that without a disassembly manual.

mouser:
The path of least resistance would seem to be making a backup of the laptop drive using the laptop, using a cd-based backup tool at boot time, and a usb stick or an external usb dock/drive, and then telling client to replace the hard drive.
With the cost of hard drives, my advice would ALWAYS be, at the very first sign of trouble that has even a 1% chance of being hard drive related, is to backup the hard drive, then replace it and put the original on the shelf.

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