Can Hard Drives Be Repaired

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If it's an inconvenience when your system crashes, it's a disaster when your hard drive heads south. Usually, that means your data is destroyed, and your bits are blasted—unless y'all backed upward, of course. Just is your bulldoze really expressionless, or just mostly dead? We'll evidence you lot how y'all might recover something, but exist warned: this information is provided for use at your own chance and should but be used if the data on your drive is non worth the money to invest in a professional repair. If the information means anything to you lot -- if you need it for your work or legal purposes -- Practise NOT Utilise THIS METHOD. If your side by side step is to throw away or otherwise recycle a truly dead hard drive, then keep at your own chance!

1. 1

   Verify the failure. Make sure your drive is truly broken by checking things that could crusade your drive to not be recognized.

   • If your drive is making a steady, loud clicking racket, stop and skip to part 2. Your drive is expressionless.

2. 2

   Check hardware connections. This is the best place to offset, and if establish to be the trouble, is the fastest, most cheap set up you lot can make!

   • Make sure power is getting to the figurer. If the cat knocked out the plug, or cable is broken, nothing will work.
   • Open up the calculator instance. Are the data (IDE or SATA) and power cables firmly in place? Make sure they are seated well, and no pins are bent, broken, or otherwise damaged.

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3. 3

   Practise a visual check. Sometimes, it's not the drive that's expressionless, only the PC board that controls its functioning (on the underside of the drive). If at that place'southward a ability surge or a component failure on that board, your drive will stop working, just only because information technology doesn't know what to do next.

   • Await for signs of damage—burns or scorch marks. If yous encounter this, y'all can exhale a little sigh of relief, for information technology means that is your probable culprit—and oft, this is a problem that tin can exist fixed with relative ease.
   • If you want to replace the PCB, search on Google for replacement parts for your drive's brand and model.
   • When information technology arrives, remove the old board (there are 5 tiny screws to remove—don't lose them!)
   • Slide out the old drive and replace it with the new one. Do non bear on the metal leads on the new board—static discharge could blow your new board before it ever has a run a risk to exhale new life into your drive. Yous can ground yourself by either wearing an anti-static wrist band or by touching something grounded and metal. The inside of your plugged-in computer will usually work.
   • Slide in the new board, making sure it's seated firmly into the drive, then re-attach the screws.
   • Reconnect the drive to the computer, then power back up. If it works, congratulations! It's a expert idea to back upwardly your data at this point, but you lot're set to get.
   • If it doesn't work—keep reading.

4. four

   Bank check to see if the drive is being recognized. If everything is plugged in, and naught appears to have blown upwards on the controller PCB, check out Windows Disk Management or BIOS, or Mac Bone X Disk Utility to determine if your drive is beingness recognized at all.

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1. 1

   Brand a option: if this data is worth saving, it is worth finding a professional difficult-drive recovery company and paying what it takes to get your data back. If you attempt anything at all yourself, chances of recovering any information professionally will be nothing.

2. 2

   A quick search on Google for "hard drive replacement parts" volition lead you in a couple of unlike directions. Replacing parts may piece of work for older hard drives, just normally not for newer ones.

3. 3

   Do it yourself. A favorite method of brave souls is the DIY method, promoted by companies that specialize in providing parts for practice-It-yourselves. The idea is that if yous just supersede the burned out controller lath, your drive will spring back to life.

   • Truth is, maybe information technology will! Only there's one big caveat: the chips on the controller are, more and more than, calibrated for that item bulldoze, and at that place's no guarantee a replacement will work. However, this is past far the to the lowest degree-expensive option.

4. 4

   Hire a professional. This is the ONLY option to become your drive support and running, or at least have the files on the drive recovered (which is actually what you want, in the end).

   • Turnaround times tin can be quicker than the DIY method, and success is somewhat more than bodacious, but it comes at a price, which may be worth it if your data is of import.
   • You can expect to pay 2 or three times more than the original cost of the drive, then you will have to weigh the value of the money against the value of the information on the drive.

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1. 1

   Read this first! If your bulldoze made a clicking sound the showtime fourth dimension you plugged it in, any time y'all plug it in once more causes loss of data by damaging the magnetic layer on the drive. Do not attempt this self-repair if the data is of import to you lot for work or legal reasons. Some of these techniques are "Hail Mary" attempts that will either work or return your drive truly, finally, really dead. This will totally and finally kill whatever part of data that is not already damaged.

2. 2

   Physically examination the bulldoze. Hold the drive in one hand and firmly spin it back and forth, listening for any noises as y'all practise and then. This may seem similar "non doing annihilation", simply really if anything is loose, y'all may cause information technology to break!!! If you lot can't hear any noises, a likely crusade—particularly if you have an older drive, or 1 which ran very hot to the touch—is a seized caput bearing or spindle. The following steps can be considered: If you open upwardly the drive, you are probable to impale whatever was still able to be saved.

3. 3

   Warm it up. Pre-heat a domestic oven at its lowest setting for 5 minutes or so, then turn it off. Place the bulldoze in the oven for 2-five mins, until information technology'due south warmed upward. Delight note that warming information technology up -- whether it has already crashed or not -- can and will make it dice.

   • Remove the drive and echo the start stride. If yous nonetheless can't hear whatever noises, continue to the side by side pace. Nevertheless, if there is a divergence, reattach the drive to your computer and listen for spin-upwards of the drive and normal clicking that indicates head activeness. If all seems well and then far, try to access the bulldoze, and motility your information onto a good bulldoze.
   • If needed, reheat the device and, while holding the drive in i hand, sharply spin and hit the drive on a hard surface. This is drastic of course but may help gratis the heads from any binding. If anything was still alive on your hard bulldoze, it would now be totally and finally expressionless.
   • Repeat the starting time step. Can you hear caput movement now? If yeah, re-attach the bulldoze to your reckoner, and attempt accessing the drive.
   • If you can hear a rhythmic "click" in time with the movement, the chances are that the drive heads are costless on their mounts and are non jammed. Check that you don't hear any rattling noises when you rotate the drive gently (dorsum and along) through xc degrees. This would indicate loose and disconnected components inside the bulldoze and are across the telescopic or intent of this article.

4. iv

   Chill it downwards. Another option—a controversial one—is freezing the drive. This is a last-ditch effort, and you may only get the drive dorsum long enough to copy off of import files, only if all else fails, it'due south worth a endeavor.

   • Seal the drive in a zip-lock handbag, and remove as much air as possible. Pop the drive into the freezer for a few hours.
   • Plug the drive back into the computer and requite it a try. If it doesn't work immediately, power down, remove the drive, then smack it on a hard surface such as a tabular array or floor. Re-attach the drive, and try again. If it works, salvage your files, and so toss the bulldoze. If it doesn't, your drive volition at present be across all methods of professional assistance!!

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Add New Question

• Question

  What should I do to fix an external hard disc connector problem?

  

  An external hard bulldoze is only a regular internal difficult drive in an external case. You can open up the case and have out the drive, and from here you lot tin connect information technology to a computer in a number of unlike means. Or yous can notice a replacement example and install the hard drive so you again have a functioning external hard drive.

• Question

  How do I repair a laptop hard drive?

  

  Most laptop hard drives are similar or the aforementioned basic structure of a desktop hard drive, and will require you to take it to a repair store or follow the above steps.

• Question

  How do I retrieve files and data from a broken hard drive?

  

  At that place are "information recovery services" that will disassemble your difficult bulldoze and do magic to the magnetic medium to recover as much information as possible. But they cost a lot of coin. I might send an email to grc.com and ask them for a referral to a reputable information recovery service. At least you'll want to spend your coin (and protect your privacy) on a company that has high customer satisfaction ratings.

• Question

  My difficult drive sounds like sand when shaken. What should I do?

  

  It sounds similar your difficult drive's concrete platter is damaged beyond repair and volition have to be replaced.

• Question

  Is it okay to smack it on a hard surface such as a tabular array or floor?

  

  If information technology'due south an iPod hard drive, where failures are more often than not due to drops, then your effect is commonly a jammed arm. Smacking it gently while information technology is clicking might fix information technology for a while. This besides works with any drive that was physically dropped (laptop drives, external drives). Otherwise, no, don't smack it on a hard surface. If data is crucial, do not even try it.

• Question

  How do I find out the capacity of my external hard drive?

  

  If you plug your external hard drive into a PC or a laptop and open Windows Explorer, so open the computer section and double click the proper noun of your external hard drive, you should exist able to meet the capacity of your external hard drive.

• Question

  I have an external hard bulldoze which may be dead. I tin't access information technology through my PC. The cable is fine merely the LED indicator doesn't low-cal up. What should I practise?

  

  You lot volition need to accept the difficult drive out of its case - it is best to look on the manufacturing website to do this. Check to come across if information technology works in a regular calculator. If it does, so the instance is at error and you lot need a new one.

• Question

  What should I exercise if the arrowhead of my hard drive has broken off?

  

  Get a new ane. It is much cheaper, and less of a hassle. You can discover a faster one for probably the same size at about $50 USD; information technology really shouldn't be hard.

• Question

  What practice I exercise if my external hard drive is spinning and the indicator light is on but it's broken?

  

  If the indicator light is on, and the disk is spinning properly (no weird noises as described higher up), information technology might not be broken physically at all. Before attempting whatever repairs on the hard drive, make sure it's not other components that are causing the failure. If yous're certain information technology'south physical damage, and so the problem is about probable caused past the broken logic lath if the deejay is spinning properly when powered on. Your best bet is to replace the PCB. However, keep in mind any kind of DIY repairs may really cause permanent damage, even if it'south just replacing components, dust may make it and wreck the drive. If the information is important, it might be all-time to seek professional assistance.

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Article Summary X

Before you try to gear up a physically broken hard drive, continue in mind that attempting to fix a difficult drive yourself can result in the permanent loss of the information on the difficult bulldoze. If the data on the hard bulldoze is of import, your best option is to hire a professional recovery company. To attempt to fix the hard drive yourself, try preheating an oven at its lowest setting, turning it off, then putting the difficult drive in it for 2-5 minutes. Then, reattach the drive to your computer and meet if it's working once again. You lot tin can also try freezing the hard bulldoze for a few hours in a sealable plastic bag and then checking to come across if it works. To learn how to determine whether or non your hard drive is broken, go along reading!

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Source: https://www.wikihow.com/Fix-a-Physically-Broken-Hard-Drive

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