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Destructive virus

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9 replies

by computab

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A PC was probably struck by a virus, and now the disk is not accessible by anything including fdisk. On startup it makes a grating noise and the message appears No operating system. I think the MBR, FAT or partition table have been deleted. Has anyone seen a program that can help with this please?

9 replies

by abarnes70

If it's making a grating noise at boot, it sounds more like a failed/failing disk. If you need to recover data from it before replacing, it might be easiest to try it as a slave drive in another PC (preferably not a networked PC if you think you may have been hit by a virus) and try to access the disk that way.

by computab

Poster rated this answer.
tests show that there is nothing wrong with the mechanics; when running this test, it makes the right noise. But it can't read data which is consistent with the MBR or FAT or partition table being deleted

by wyrmlord

In addition to that, try to use some data recovery software on it (like Ontrack Easy Recovery, part of System Suite, or Acronis Recovery Expert:
http://www.acronis.com/products/recoveryexpert/ ),
as the disk may not be accesible directly. Failing that, you may have to send the HD to a professional data recovery center (again, most likely an Ontrack representative), but this will cost the skin of your butt ($ 5000+).
If your DR programs cannot access the disk, you may put it in a freezer for an hour or so (unorthodox I know, but low temp may change the head/plate geometry just enough to allow a read).
Hope this helps,

by computab

Poster rated this answer.
I managed to copy the data with Winternals ERD commander. Thanks for your help.

by donmars

The hard drive has failed. You are SOL. The mechanical grinding noise you are hearing is probably the heads/head screeching along the platter, it could also be the bearings in the motor. You may be able to recover by removing the drive and sealing it in a water tight freezer bag and placing it in a freezer over night. Next day return the drive to your system and maybe... maybe you will be able to boot and back-up your data to another source. If it works it is only temporary. The theory here is, and it is known to have worked, extreme cold contracts the metal enough to ease the friction of the defective parts so the drive will turn freely. If you do not need data off the drive then get yourself another drive.

by computab

Poster rated this answer.
Wrong. Running a mechanics test, it made the right noise and passed the test, but the noise like a frog at startup is the system trying to locate the OS. Also the BIOS was damaged, but is ok after setting to default.

by 1stladytech

If the drive doesn't contain data, I would suggest running a destructive diagnostic on the hdd. Check the manufactorer's site for a re-certification or low level diag. Alternatively, if you have a diag set of software that will write or "wipe" the hdd that should do it. After the diag, try to re-fdisk and partition the hdd.

Good Luck,

Vickie

by computab

Poster rated this answer.
fdisk cant read the disk, but I managed to copy the data with Winternals ERD commander. Thanks for your help.

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