Data Recovery - Any Questions?

[DanH]

Even good up to date anti-virus doesn't stop this attack

What are you talking about?

[DH Data Recovery]

The CryptoLocker virus, what are you referring to?

[DanH]

The CryptoLocker virus, what are you referring to?

Same.
Sawlw's friend is suggesting to install some program to stop cryptolocker from infecting your computer (stops the encryption process).  I said that any decent AV already has the malware in its db, and will not allow it to infect the computer.  Therefore, sawlw's friend's program is pretty much useless.  I say pretty-much, because there can be new variants.

[DanH]

Even good up to date anti-virus doesn't stop this attack

http://blog.avast.com/2013/11/19/can-avast-protect-me-against-cryptolocker/

[DanH]

Although, see this:
http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/forums/t/513182/cryptoguard-prevents-your-files-from-being-taken-hostage/
http://www.foolishit.com/vb6-projects/cryptoprevent/
http://www.thirdtier.net/enterprise-solutions-for-small-business/
http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/virus-removal/cryptolocker-ransomware-information#infected

[DH Data Recovery]

Ok.  1. Never trust an anti virus when they say they can protect against a specific virus, they couldn't do it the first time around and the virus gets modified slightly it will bypass the anti-virus again. Remember an antivirus is usually a step behind the virus.
2. I believe these new programs protecting against cryptolocker are working against the encryption not the virus.  Meaning even if you get infected they try to stop the encryption from running. 
I never tested these utilities but the theory is sound.

[AnonymousUser]

My sister has an Acer Aspire netbook with Win7 x64. She just started getting an error message on boot that a boot device cannot be found. The hard drive is the 1st on the boot device list in the BIOS.
My initial reaction is that it could be a loose HD cable, a defective HD,  or that Windows is corrupt. Is there an easy way to try to repair Windows if she can't boot into it before checking the hardware? TIA

Thanks everyone for the suggestions. She ended up taking it to a technician, who booted with a Win7 disk and still couldn't get the drive to be recognized. He said that data recovery would cost a bundle, so she opted to just replace the hard drive.
I told her to give it to me and I would see what I could do. I plugged it in to a HD enclosure; the drivers loaded, and Device Manager shows it with the correct name. However, it does not show up in My Computer. I checked Disk Management, and it shows the disk, but doesn't show any partitions, rather all the space is unallocated. When I try to initialized it, for both MBR and GPT, it gives an error: "Data error (cyclic redundancy check)", which sounds like a checksum error. Does this mean the MBR is corrupt? is there any way to create a partition without erasing the data in order to attempt data recovery? TIA

[DH Data Recovery]

Don't try creating anything new, you will just be writing data to a failing drive and a. overwriting the existing data, b. destroying the hard drive further. If you're on a low budget and data isn't valuable to spend $200-$300 in recovery and you aren't afraid to risk it yourself - you can try using runtime getdataback for NTFS - you may be successful in recovering some or all of the data before the drive is completely destroyed.
If the data is valuable don't take the chance yourself - I can most likely do a recovery like that for under $300.

[AnonymousUser]

Don't try creating anything new, you will just be writing data to a failing drive and a. overwriting the existing data, b. destroying the hard drive further. If you're on a low budget and data isn't valuable to spend $200-$300 in recovery and you aren't afraid to risk it yourself - you can try using runtime getdataback for NTFS - you may be successful in recovering some or all of the data before the drive is completely destroyed.
If the data is valuable don't take the chance yourself - I can most likely do a recovery like that for under $300.

Getdataback had been running for ~7 hours and it seems like it's just finding error after error. Is there anything else i can try myself?

[DH Data Recovery]

Nothing I would recommend - it will only get worse and worse at this point. Your only option right now is hardware based recovery - which requires equipment that you don't have

[AnonymousUser]

Nothing I would recommend - it will only get worse and worse at this point. Your only option right now is hardware based recovery - which requires equipment that you don't have

OK, thank you for your time and help.

[how]

My laptop died with a cd stuck inside. is there a way to get the cd out and how can I recover the data?

[Centro]

My laptop died with a cd stuck inside. is there a way to get the cd out and how can I recover the data?

Check if there's a thin hole someplace on the cd tray, if there is one then push in a thin long thing into it and it should eject.

[how]

Check if there's a thin hole someplace on the cd tray, if there is one then push in a thin long thing into it and it should eject.

thanks

[notanonymous]

My laptop died with a cd stuck inside. is there a way to get the cd out and how can I recover the data?

[DH Data Recovery]

Use paper clip for CD, and USB connection for hard drive

[notanonymous]

Use paper clip for CD, and USB connection for hard drive

I thought I responded something like that above...it never posted.
I added that from your description it sounds like a power issue.  If yes, then a USB enclosure should work great.  If not, and you do have a hard drive issue, you can still use the USB enclosure with a data recovery program.  If that does not work, or you are not a do-it-yourselfer, send it to DH.

[how]

Thanks I gott out the cd with a pin. There is no power at all. What is a usb enclosure?

[notanonymous]

Thanks I gott out the cd with a pin. There is no power at all. What is a usb enclosure?

I am on my phone and can't send a link.  Go to amazon and search for laptop usb hard drive enclosure.  You will need either a sata or ide connection.  Probably a sata, but what is your laptop model?

[how]

I am on my phone and can't send a link.  Go to amazon and search for laptop usb hard drive enclosure.  You will need either a sata or ide connection.  Probably a sata, but what is your laptop model?

Dell inspiron 1720