DV2000t Hard Drive Failure --- Data Recovery Suggestions?

I received one of the first shipments of the DV2000t (Vega) line - in mid June.

Two months later, the hard drive crashed.

As far as I can tell, there weren't any events that triggered it (i.e. no hard jolts shaking the computer, no external devices attached, no funky application running), but one morning the CMOS refused to recognize the hard drive itself.

The symptoms:

After the first screen (with the option to enter setup), all I see is a blinking dash (_) on the top left of the screen. The HD light blinks for a few seconds, then stops. Nothing else happens.

On entering setup (and later, using diagnostic boot disks), it was apparent that the IDE drive itself could not be detected.

The solution:

HP Support was actually pretty great to date. When I called in, an Indian talked me through the diags I'd already run then suggested reseating the hard drive (80 G SATA Western). When that didn't work, they escalated the ticket, and a manager offered to replace the laptop. I'm now writing from the one they sent.

The problem:

During those two months, I've put several hours of work (including at least ten all-nighters) into data that's only on that hard drive. Admittedly, I should have backed up, but you don't expect hard drives to crash under low-stress within the first six months.

HP has so far indicated that they will not pay for data recovery. While that's something that I'll talk to them more about --- I need to find a way to retrieve the data quickly. I've spoken to the local shops, but my colleagues have recommended against them, as they could exacerbate the condition. The online services (ontrack.com etc) project between $1k and $3k in data retrieval costs.

Does anyone know of a relatively reliable shop that will at least do the diags for cheap? If there's no such thing, I'll have to talk to HP to get them to cover data retrieval from one of the larger firms.

Suggestions appreciated.

 

I lost one week of data a few months back and it was awful. I can't even begin to imagine losing 2 MONTHS! When I was looking for a data recovery service I came across these guys: http://www.datarecovery.net/

They do a diagnostic test for free with 24-48 hour turnaround, or for $249 with same day turnaround.

Please also note that THIS IS NOT AN ENDORSEMENT OF THEIR SERVICES. I did not use this company for my situation.

 

i thought compusa had data transfer for lke 79.99 i think?