A PC's boot drive is showing signs of imminent failure, and a technician needs to...

The first step to recover data from a failing drive is to clone the drive to another one, which means creating an exact copy of the drive’s contents, including the operating system, applications, files, and settings, to a new drive. Cloning the drive can preserve the data and prevent further damage or data loss from the failing drive. Cloning the drive can also allow the technician to boot from the new drive and access the data normally, without needing to reinstall the operating system or the applications12.

The other options are not as effective or relevant as cloning the drive. Accessing the Device Manager may not help with data recovery, as it is a tool that displays and manages the hardware devices and drivers on a PC. The Device Manager may show the status of the failing drive, but it cannot copy or restore the data from it3. Downloading the drive manufacturer’s diagnostic tool may help with identifying and repairing some errors or issues with the drive, but it may not be able to recover the data if the drive is physically damaged or corrupted. The diagnostic tool may also overwrite or erase some data during the repair process, which can make the data recovery more difficult or impossible4. Uninstalling the drive in the Device Manager may not help with data recovery, as it removes the drive from the system and its driver from the operating system. Uninstalling the drive may make the drive inaccessible or unrecognized by the PC, which can prevent the data recovery5. Replacing the drive with a new one may not help with data recovery, as it does not transfer the data from the old drive to the new one. Replacing the drive may also require reinstalling the operating system and the applications, which can take time and effort. Replacing the drive may also discard the old drive, which may still contain some recoverable data.