Hard drives are sturdy devices, built to withstand everyday use. But accidents happen, and they can physically damage the drive – and the data stored on it.
With physical damage, software and home repairs can make the case worse. In those cases, hard drive data recovery is done in a lab, starting with a free diagnosis.
So can a physically damaged hard drive be recovered? If you follow our blog, you’ll know that very few cases of data recovery are truly hopeless – and damaged drives are often no exception.
However, this situation calls for care and professional help so you don’t put your data and your device at further risk. Below, we explain how a damaged hard drive and the data on it can be recovered.
Can a damaged hard drive be recovered?
In many cases, yes. But you first need to find out what caused the damage and how it affected the drive. Some cases are relatively simple to recover; in others, the damage is irreversible and the data can no longer be recovered.
To understand why, let’s look at how a hard drive works. Inside it there are one or more platters, which is where the data is stored. To read and write data, a read/write head mounted on a moving arm floats just above the platters while they spin at high speed. All of this is controlled by an electronic board (the PCB).
A damaged drive can have problems in any part of this structure. If the damage affects the board, the heads, the arm or even the casing but leaves the platters intact, the chances of recovering the stored data are higher.
After all, the platters are where the data lives – so the job is to work around or replace the other damaged components. In a fire, for example, the platters may survive even when other parts are burnt.
If the platters themselves are damaged, the chances of recovery are lower, though recovery may still be possible.
What can damage a hard drive?
Knowing what caused the damage helps determine the best way to recover the drive.
As we mentioned, hard drives are built to withstand minor knocks and fairly high temperatures. But some more extreme situations can physically damage the drive and stop it from working properly:
- Drops and sudden impacts can break internal components;
- Prolonged exposure to sun and humidity, or contact with water or fire, can damage the drive;
- Power surges and sudden power cuts can burn out the electronics;
- Disconnecting an external drive without ejecting it, or switching the computer off incorrectly, can corrupt the file system and data;
- Using the drive beyond its useful life can also lead to wear-related failures.
Besides damaging the device, these situations often corrupt files and make them inaccessible.
How can I tell if a hard drive is physically damaged?
A physically damaged hard drive usually gives some warning signs. These are the main ones:
- Clicking, grinding or other unusual noises;
- The drive isn’t recognized by the system;
- Files on the drive are corrupted;
- The computer freezes or slows down;
- The computer shows a blue screen.
If you notice any of these symptoms, stop using the drive right away and seek help before the damage gets worse and more data is lost.
How do I recover a physically damaged hard drive?
A physically damaged hard drive needs professional data recovery. Never try to open or repair the drive at home.
Without the know-how, the right tools and a clean environment, dust will get inside the drive, and taking it apart and putting it back together can make things much worse. The damage may then become irreversible.
That’s why, as soon as you notice the symptoms, you should contact a specialist company like Bot to recover your damaged drive. Tell the technicians what may have happened to it – this makes the diagnosis easier and helps them choose the best procedure.
In a controlled clean-room environment, specialists can open the drive safely to identify the damage. Damaged parts often have to be replaced with compatible donor parts – a job that should only be done by specialized professionals.
This is what happens when the controller board burns out, for example. A compatible board is needed, and the drive-specific firmware data (usually stored in a ROM chip on the original board) has to be transferred to it, or the damaged components repaired. When the fault is limited to the board, the chances of recovering the data are usually good.
Parts can also be replaced when the arm or the read/write heads have been damaged by a drop or a sudden impact. In some cases, the heads are simply stuck or out of position and only need to be freed and repositioned.
The problem is that damage to these parts often affects the platters too. If the head touches the platter surface, for example, it can create bad blocks (defective areas on the disk). In this case, professional data recovery tools with advanced functions are needed to recover as much data as possible.
How do I recover data from a damaged hard drive?
A specialized company’s priority is to recover the data, and every procedure carried out on a damaged drive is planned with that goal in mind.
As we’ve said, if the platters are intact, data recovery is easier. Otherwise, the damage needs to be assessed and as much data as possible recovered.
Data recovery software can help with logical problems, but it can’t fix physical faults: it only tries to rescue the stored data. On a drive that is clicking, not recognized or has physical damage, running these programs can make things worse and even rule out a later recovery by a specialist company.
So don’t hesitate to talk to us about recovering your damaged drive and the data on it. Bot specializes in data recovery and works on your devices safely, with the right equipment.
Bot’s more than two decades of experience in the market allow our professionals to handle all kinds of data loss, with high recovery success rates.
Want to know how much it costs to recover your drive? Send it to us: our standard diagnosis is free. Fill in the form now!
