Retrieving Hard Drive Data

So you went and thought it would be a good idea to open the control panel and start messing around with stuff, did you? Didn't feel like waiting to shut down your computer the RIGHT way, did you? You just pulled the plug. Or pressed the button. Silly rabbit...
You didn't pay any attention to the fact that you might lose some of all your precious computer information. No! Who cares about that, right? That's what we have nerds for!
But now you're sad because your super awesome new laptop computer has been reduced to a big ugly paperweight. Oh, if only there was some way to retreive your hard drive data! I'll tell you how, don't worry.
Problems like this are usually caused by the power going out. It goes out and your stupid file system didn't get stored like it needed to. Or maybe you have a problem with your hardware or drivers. Or maybe your stupid computer just crashed and you don't know why. They all have the same result: the file system didn't cross the T's and dot the I's. Imagine an olympic gymnast freezing in mid-air and instead of landing gracefully, falls on his head. SPLAT.
And like the gymnast, when your computer falls on its head, its going to get all messed up. It might start acting strangely, such as powering up and shutting down. It may forget things that it once knew, like how to feed itself and tie its shoes. Like a human deprived of oxygen for too long, your computer could have brain damage, making it difficult for it to communicate with the hard disk and retrieve the data necessary to operate properly.
There's some neat programs out there to fix these problems and your computer probably comes with at least one. I've listed them below because I'm cool like that.
Linux - FSCK Mac - Disk Utility Windows - CHKDSK
Run these programs to see if you have logical damage to your computer. If you're not getting anything, chances are you have some physical damage that's masquerading as logical damage.

Solutions to damaged hard drives
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Stuart_Oden