It happens more often than you think; you're working on your computer and suddenly your hard drive crashes.
You panic, thinking of all the important stuff inside that hard drive -- your company project, your personal financial records, and personal files -- all gone.
  Even worse, you have no backup files on a flash disk.
  Fortunately for you, data on the hard drive may still be recoverable.
First, try to reboot your computer in safe mode by pressing the F8 key after rebooting.
If you can reach the Windows log-in screen, it is not hard drive failure but a problem with the software; you can still recover your data by reinstalling Windows.
If there really is a problem with your hard drive, then you may need to consult a data retrieval service.
You can send your damaged drive to them and they will evaluate it to see if they can recover any data from it.
These services are not cheap, however, as the evaluation fee will run you around $100 and the actual recovery may cost you hundreds or even thousands of dollars based on the amount of time and labor involved in the job.
If you are looking for a reputable data retrieval service, ask for recommendations from your computer-savvy friends.
You can also try online services which will either scan your failing drive to look for recoverable data or try to recover it online.
Of course, your computer will have to be working and have an Internet connection for you to avail of their services.