Difference between revisions of "Data Recovery From a Failing Hard Drive"
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A hard drive may be inaccessable due to physical/mechanical failure, which is different from logical errors on the disk. This article relates to a drive that is physically or mechanically failing. You have a last chance to recover data before the drive fails completely, making the data inaccessible without actually opening the drive. | A hard drive may be inaccessable due to physical/mechanical failure, which is different from logical errors on the disk. This article relates to a drive that is physically or mechanically failing. You have a last chance to recover data before the drive fails completely, making the data inaccessible without actually opening the drive. | ||
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| + | Logical disk errors describe problems reading data from a drive that is mechanically fully functional. Data recovery software addresses ways to retrieve data from drives with logical errors. NEARLY ALL DATA RECOVERY SOFTWARE is for drives with logical errors, not physical or mechanical errors and such software typically inappropriate from data recovery from physically damaged drives. In some cases, use of data recovery software may result in you losing data you could have retrieved by other means. | ||
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| + | A drive that has any kind of physical damage is far more difficult to recover data from. In many cases, a drive failure is cascading, typically beginning with subtle errors on the drive until increasing exponentially until the drive is a brick. Sometimes the subtle errors go unnoticed and by the time cascading failure becomes evident, it is too late to retrieve most of your data short of mechanical service. | ||
Causes of Drive Failure | Causes of Drive Failure | ||
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== Electronic / Board / Chip Malfunction == | == Electronic / Board / Chip Malfunction == | ||
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| + | If a control chip on the board has failed, or there is another problem with the electronics on the board, sometimes that board can be replaced with an identical board, thus repairing the defect with the hard drive as a unit, and allowing full functionality including data access. This has been accomplished but is hit and miss largely due to undocumented differences in hard drive boards designated by the same model and series. | ||
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| + | == Low Temperature Data Retrieval == | ||
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| + | Some hard drives respond to reduced temperature conditions, making them temporarily functional for the purpose of data retrieval. Engineers have placed drives in a freezer. | ||
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Revision as of 14:20, 25 October 2011
A hard drive may be inaccessable due to physical/mechanical failure, which is different from logical errors on the disk. This article relates to a drive that is physically or mechanically failing. You have a last chance to recover data before the drive fails completely, making the data inaccessible without actually opening the drive.
Logical disk errors describe problems reading data from a drive that is mechanically fully functional. Data recovery software addresses ways to retrieve data from drives with logical errors. NEARLY ALL DATA RECOVERY SOFTWARE is for drives with logical errors, not physical or mechanical errors and such software typically inappropriate from data recovery from physically damaged drives. In some cases, use of data recovery software may result in you losing data you could have retrieved by other means.
A drive that has any kind of physical damage is far more difficult to recover data from. In many cases, a drive failure is cascading, typically beginning with subtle errors on the drive until increasing exponentially until the drive is a brick. Sometimes the subtle errors go unnoticed and by the time cascading failure becomes evident, it is too late to retrieve most of your data short of mechanical service.
Causes of Drive Failure
- Physical Impact (dropping, or an impact to the drive)
- Excessive Heat (not well ventilated, overheat, external heat exposure)
- Electric Failure (motor)
- Electronic Failure (board, chip)
- Mechanical Failure (bearings, platter surface, contamination)
Any mechanical failure of the disk, or physical damage inflicted to it will almost certainly cause attendant software problems, generally due to bad sectors. Data I/O performance can be negatively impacted by drive bearings causing the platters spinning up slowly or rotating at an incorrect speed.
Stuck Read Heads
Sometimes the heads stick to the platter causing the drive to lock up. If this is the case hitting the hard drive can knock the heads free. This is a temporary fix and should only be used to recover the data. Put your ear to the drive while trying to boot or simply access data. If you can hear servo read head movement then do not attempt this. If the drive is spinning you will hear it turning. Some drives are louder than others.
Electronic / Board / Chip Malfunction
If a control chip on the board has failed, or there is another problem with the electronics on the board, sometimes that board can be replaced with an identical board, thus repairing the defect with the hard drive as a unit, and allowing full functionality including data access. This has been accomplished but is hit and miss largely due to undocumented differences in hard drive boards designated by the same model and series.
Low Temperature Data Retrieval
Some hard drives respond to reduced temperature conditions, making them temporarily functional for the purpose of data retrieval. Engineers have placed drives in a freezer.
