Hard drive failure, how to recover data without spending $1000?

[DaChamp]

   

 HD-CE1.0TLU2 began skipping while I was arranging music files. I have about 700GB of music, video, pictures and computer backup data. While downloading music to itunes the hard drive began skipping...tap...tap...tap.. and then shut down. I haven't been able to successfully restart the unit since then. It powers up but just begins skipping. The unit is still under 1 year warranty and RMA is no problem, but how do I get my 700GB of data off the drive without breaking the bank.  Lets face it, I would rather spend $200-300 on recovery hardware and software than $1000 on DriveSaver or some other recovery service.  There must be some recommended method of accessing the disc, plugging into another functioning drive case and then accessing the files given that they aren't corrupt? Please help!  I really don't care about voiding the warranty on the $140 unit -I'll buy another one, I just want my data!

[DumbTechDude]

   

Is the drive skipping mainly on LAN mode?  Have you tried accessing the data in USB mode?

 

 

[DaChamp]

   

It begins skipping as soon as you turn it on no matter which mode it is in. I believe its a mechanical issue with the drive. I have also tried holding the unit and moving it around gentle in different ways during start-up to see if I could jog the drive loose. This was the only recommendation of Buffalo tech support.

[DumbTechDude]

   

Could it be a loose power cabling inside the drive case itself that is causing a hard drive startup problem or could it be a problem with the AC adapter itself that is not supplying the proper power needed.  Sometimes, drive startup problem is almost always related to a power supply problem but the drive itself is perhaps fine.  If that is the case, you need to seperate your drive away from the case if you want to recover your data.  If you had kept the format to FAT 32, you should be able to use something like Thermal X box and plug the drive into it.  If you can not retreive data using this method then, you will need to pay someone who can get the data for you.  Believe me, $1000 is nothing compared to some people I know who had paid $20,000 or more to get their RAID arrray data back!  Guess what, they could have saved that money if they were to have 2 spare RAID 5 NAS boxes and still have some spare changes left!