My hard drive wont spin for reasons unknown to me so I figure that its finished and not going to work anymore. I would like to know if its possible to recover the data on it and if so how can I do it?
Sometimes the drive is stuck. As long as you're sure that the drive is otherwise dead, try each of the following steps, with testing of the drive between each step:
1. Take the drive in hand and spin it back and forth vigorously in the plane of the drive and platters. This will use the inertia of the platters to move them independently of the casing.
2. Put the drive in a plastic bag, suck out the air fairly well, and put it in the freezer for a couple of days. Take it out and leave it in the bag while it warms up to room temp.
3. Open the drive to expose the platters. Carefully move the spindle in order to move the platters without touching them directly. Replace the cover after you're done. PREPARATION: Make sure your hands are washed and AIR DRIED (do NOT use a towel) after rolling up your sleeves. Hold the drive on its side to minimize the chance of a piece of dust (even a liquid droplet from your breath) landing and sticking to the platters.
If you end up going through each of these steps and the drive still doesn't spin up, then it's dead.