That was the clarification (and reassurance) I needed. I did some searching in the forum and had just about figured this out myself.  Thank you!

Can you point me to a guide or tutorial on the process of recovering private keys from the encrypted wallet files using the Armory password? I assume that once I have the private keys I can restore the wallet on a new computer and fresh install of Armory, correct?

No update on my data recovery process. We are double-checking that a paper backup does not exist.

Yikes, that's what I was worried about. Well, at least that gets me to the next step in the process. I don't suppose anyone here has first-hand experience with a reputable data recovery company? I have a couple leads on local shops so I'll see what they say.

In the meantime, I'll see if my friend is absolutely sure he doesn't have the root key.

Yes, I have an extra computer. I will try the bootable USB as you've described.

My main concern with the drive was that all of the data recovery services say NOT to power on the drive after it has failed, or you risk further damage. Obviously it has to be powered on eventually, but a professional service might do an internal inspection of the hardware first (in a "clean room"). I'm trying my best not to mess this up and also wondering how much (if anything) I can do myself.

OK, so it sounds like there is hope if I can recover the necessary files. Thanks! I will post when I have an update.

If you're interested, here is a video where you can hear the awful sounds the laptop makes when trying to boot.
https://youtu.be/lUcboH-mtVc

(Edited for more and correct info)

I am new here, but have been researching my situation, so I finally decided to post to confirm my findings.

I have an IBM ThinkPad laptop running Windows XP and Armory (I don't know which version). This laptop was powered off and stored in a bag for the last 5-8 years (I don't know the exact time frame because I am doing this research for a friend). I tried to boot the laptop and it failed. The hard drive made many strange (bad) noises and the boot loader failed with the message:


I pulled the drive out for visual inspection and there were no signs of damaged pins or anything suspicious.

All I have from my friend is his Armory password. He does not have a backup nor does he have his private keys.

I am trying to determine my options. I started to read about data recovery services and most of them can provide a copy of the data from a failed hard drive, but make no guarantees about restoring the original hard drive to a working condition.

Question: Can I recover my wallet using just a password and a copy of the Armory files? If so, how?

I read the disclaimer on this sticky post about backups
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=152151.0


Is there any chance of recovery?