What is the failed hard drive?

The most frequent cause of data loss is the physical failure of hard disk drive (HDD) or SSD.

Data, that is to say user files, can be retrieved from partially damaged media, but the correct, right timing decision makes a difference between recoverable and unrecoverable digital memory device.

Risk of losing data is real when the problem is not taken seriously sooner, and the failure symptoms are ignored or misinterpreted. However, the practice of using improper testing techniques and repairs outside of specialized laboratories remains a reality despite obvious signs of failure or even damaging.

Misinformation about the HDD repair has flooded social media. Don't fall for misleading guidance or recommendations how to repair hard drive. Even though it might sound boring and preachy, data recovery laboratory remains the only proper place for safe service.

Here are few things to take into account to avoid, or at the very least, mitigate the damage from Hard Drive failure.

Avoid opening the hard drive

Instead of fixing the problem, things will go much worse.

A quick research about open (tampered with) HDD answers the question of why expensive service with a less favorable result is consequence of an unqualified repairing, resulting in messing up with the internal parts integrity and the insides cleanness.

It is difficult to understand what kind of motivations behind people's decisions to open such a precise mechanical device, and what they expect to see inside, what they are to do with it without having expertise in clean room, precise mechanics, HDD repair instruments, and knowledge in this branch of industry.

If your drive is already open: Do not touch disks, do not move the actuator arm with the heads block. The sooner you close the cover, the less airborne particulates will stick to the disk surface, therefore less damage data layer covering the platter, and more data can be recoverable later. Never try powering previously open hard drive, it's better to be left to the specialist.

Avoid freezing the drive

While cooling could buy you few minutes of access to a drive, repetitive restarts reduce the disk platters quality.

This is how it works: When you cool the drive down to a room temperature, sometimes some of unstable sectors may become readable again, but the other side of this temporary success is a massive uncontrollable bad sectors re-mapping, causing eventually the data corruption. When SMART system is available for monitoring, the error warnings may help to recognize the growing problem before the final crash. Be aware about the fact that the temperature stress (freezing / thawing) can also be cause of electrical components degradation.

Avoid heating the drive

Heating is useless and dangerous for this purpose. The sensitive electronic components can be easily overheated. The data may be unrecoverable if the chip with unique ROM is destroyed (burned).

Avoid Drop-test

Without a doubt, this is most dangerous idea about HDD repair we ever heard. A dropped drive recovery is one of the most laborious tasks for a specialist to deal with later: misaligned disk platters, scratches on surfaces, deformed heads assembly are only some of them.

Avoid using failing drive

Upon even slight suspicion that HDD has a mechanical damage, do not try to use any software (recovery programs for example) for testing or recovery purposes.

Running a computer or other unit with a single defect on the disk platter leads to fast data-layer degradation. A single unevenness (bump or micro-crack) on the rapidly rotating disk will hit the flying head (reading/writing 'needle') frequently, generating multitude of micro cracks and, eventually, the visible scratches as clear indication of unrecoverable failure.

By the same reason, avoid using HDD testing utilities, especially for ones with obvious mechanical problems (clicking, noisy, frozen, unresponsive) as well as remote data recovery services.

Note: As professionals, we do appreciate a great deal done by many software programmers in data recovery industry. However, it happens each and every day: the vast amount of completely ruined hard drives because of delayed actions of users, who firstly decided to apply software to a failed drive.

Avoid repetitive restarts

Every computer restart with suspected hard drive in attempt to boot an operating system can add more bad sectors or even scratches to the failing drive. Try to minimize the number or reboots, read and analyze every error message to make sure they are not related to hard drive failure. Same rule apply to external hard drives, NAS, RAID systems.

Avoid data recovery at the computer repair places

In fact, none of them really provide any of professional data recovery service. Even many of them position themselves as such, they never have done and never will do the Hard Drive repair.

It is only fair to point out that major computer authorized dealers, repair centers, and branded electronics stores may provide this service exclusively through the third party vendors, that is to say, the real labs. However, besides double or triple pricing there, you may be caught in situation when you drive will be open - without your explicit consent - in so called the evaluation/diagnostic process, when it's too late pull the plug.

If the data on the drive is vital, critical, valuable or useful and it is worth of spending somewhat more than repair computer, then do NOT delay and do not try dangerously wrong decisions based on an illusory solutions and unwarranted remedies to access the data on physically malfunctioning device such as a hard drive. It may seem as too hard to believe that some users or even certified computer technicians could bring the drive to this unrecoverable state depicted on image below.

• Is your hard drive dead, not spinning, or clicking?
  Those symptoms are the most obvious, objective evidences that you have a failed/broken device.
• Can your computer see/detect the drive?
  Entirely failed device could not be recognized by booting firmware: Check device model number in BIOS/UEFI pre-boot utility at motherboard level.
• Other symptoms of possibly malfunctioning drive
  There are number of other indirect indications that your hard drive or SSD could be in failing condition and might be required immediate professional data recovery help. While these symptoms could be seemingly subtle, indirect, or caused by other computer failures, you must be alerted and be aware of risk to overseen the real problem.
  • SMART status (may be available in BIOS / UEFI)
  • Login failure with correct password (especially for Apple Mac book Air, Pro)
  • Freezing on boot, Blue Screen, Black Screen
  • Computer slows down or stop responding to any command
  • Error Messages, Warnings, Alerts
  • Corrupted Data in open files, sudden data loss (disappearing or missing of files or whole folders), inaccessible files, fast growing of bad sectors

As you can see, not all failed drives have visible signs of failure; obscure or hidden issues are difficult to make absolute conclusion. For instance, the drive may yet spin and sound normally; the failure signs seem to be moderate or inconclusive. Then, in an hour or less, the same drive is totally inaccessible. Is there anything you can try without more damaging? We realize that advice is not for everybody, but most safe place to check, test, and retrieve data is a drive recovery laboratory with clean room. No ifs, buts, no substitutions.

Do not fool yourself. There is no safe 'easy solution' to fix the drive outside of specialized lab. Whenever your data is vital, any attempt to repair, test, or recover at home or computer store could be the last and irreversible mistake. This is exactly the case when it's better be safe than sorry.

Do not hesitate to make call for free consultation; ask our expert about all technical details and other aspects of data recovery process. We start working with case before even we get your device. Apply for data recovery service here and get back your files soon.