How to Recover Data from a Damaged Hard Drive

If for one reason or another you have a failing hard drive on your hands, then you are probably wondering how to recover data from a damaged hard drive. This is a problem that many people have to deal with, and an issue that many people do not know how to deal with. If you have important files in that hard drive, then you may already be in a panic because you need those files and you don’t know how to recover them.

If you’re asking how to recover data from a damaged hard drive and if it is possible, then read on to find out just what you can do to save your data—or as much of it as you can.

How to Recover Data from a Damaged Hard Drive: Causes of Damage

There are many reasons as to why your hard drive may have started failing. Read on to find out just what those reasons may be:

• Sudden force or shock to the hard drive unit
  • Did you accidentally drop your hard drive, drop something on top of it, or accidentally hit it against something? If so, then you may have caused some mechanical damage to the mechanical parts inside the hard drive, which is quite problematic because this cannot be repaired—not from home anyway. You will likely have to send it to a specialist for repairs, and this means money. A good way to tell if your hard drive is suffering from mechanical issues is to listen for clicking or “clung” sounds—this could mean that the hard drive has some inner damage.
  • Liquid damage
  • Corrupted file or virus that may have caused the file system to corrupt
  • Heat damage

These are only some of the possible causes of hard drive failure. There are other possible causes for your hard drive to fail, but no matter what they are, what’s important is how to recover data from a damaged hard drive.

 How to Recover Data from a Damaged Hard Drive: What Can I Do?

Naturally you will want to try everything that you can at home before you send off your hard drive to a specialist to see what they can do. After all, sending it off can be quite expensive.

You can try the following methods to see how to recover data from a damaged hard drive:

• Clean the hard drive’s contacts and make sure that the hard drive is dust free, especially if it is old or has been exposed to the elements.
• Make sure the hard drive (and the computer, if it is enclosed in a computer) is properly cooled—heat damage can be quite killer.
• Clean the main board’s contacts by rubbing a pencil eraser on it as though you were erasing something you wrote. If this does not work, you can try replacing the board with only the EXACT SAME kind of board. Otherwise, it may not work.

How to Recover Data from a Damaged Hard Drive: Last Ditch Effort

If none of the methods listed above work, then the next best thing for you to try is to see if you can recover your data through the use of software. If this still does not work, then you can try to send your hard drive to a data recovery centre or company to see what they can do for you.

Remember that when it comes to hard drives, to be careful is the best thing you can do because they are fragile—that way you don’t have to worry about how to recover data from a damaged hard drive.

In the middle of editing a file or doing some work that is very important for one reason or another, you may have heard some clicking or seen some error and then experienced the nightmare nobody wants—your hard drive crashed and now you’re asking: is it possible to recover data from damaged hard drive?

Nobody likes losing any files and that’s without any exceptions. Truly nobody would enjoy getting all their hard work, memories, pictures and various files get wiped out for one reason or another. And most certainly nobody wants to start from scratch.

Prevent having to recover data from damaged hard drive

Before you start worrying about how you are going to recover data from damaged hard drive, then perhaps you should think about how you can prevent this from happening to your other hard drives. Truly the best way for anyone to avoid hard drive failure or at least data loss is to take care of the hard drive itself and to back up all your data so if indeed something happens by accident you still have your data somewhere. Don’t be like others who end up regretting the fact that they hadn’t backed up their files while they still could.

Here are a few steps you can take in order to keep your hard drive in healthy working condition:

Is There Hope To Recover Data From Damaged Hard Drive?

Recover data from damaged hard drive

However, as in any situation, the best way to deal with things is to always take care of your hard drives as well as to back them up on a regular basis so that in case anything happens, you can still rest assured that you will not at least have to start all over from scratch.

To recover data from damaged hard drive is definitely possible but most of all, it is preventable.

If you are reading this article because of your hard drive clicking or making  “clung”/”clunk” sounds, stop and back up your files immediately while you can! It doesn’t matter which method you use, whether you burn your files onto DVDs, copy them onto another hard drive or make them fit onto your USB thumb drive—just get those files backed up as soon as you can.

You may be asking “why the rush?” This is because your hard drive may experience some failure, if it hasn’t already done so. And of course, this means a big chance for you to lose all of your data.

Hard Drive Clicking: What does it mean?

If your hard drive is making those “clung” sounds, then it might be a sign that your drive is having trouble reading the data contained in the drive. The clicking may mean a very serious problem with your drive, one that cannot be fixed by software alone. It could mean that your hard drive is suffering from mechanical problems or failure, the worst problem for it to have because you cannot repair it on your own—you’ll need to send it to a specialist.

That’s why it’s important for you to back up your files while you can. Once your hard drive fails it might cost more to get it repaired than to just get a brand new hard drive all together (and of course, you don’t want to lose any files).

 Why Is My Hard Drive Clicking?

If you’re curious as to why your hard drive may be clicking, then ask the following questions:

If you answered yes to one or more of those questions, then those are the likely causes for your hard drive clicking. However, there are other reasons for this clicking noise to happen. Here are other things that may have your hard drive clicking:

How Do I Solve Hard Drive Clicking?

In most cases, hard drive clicking has to be fixed by a specialist because these hard drives must be opened up in clean, dust-free environments as well as by specially trained personnel. Do NOT attempt to open your hard drive up on your own—this will not bode well for your hard drive and you may end up worsening the problem or even making your hard drive completely unrepairable.

In the case of heat damage to your hard drive, the only thing you can do is make sure that your hard drive is properly cooled and then hope for the best because that is pretty much the only thing you can really do.

If the damage is caused by another reason, the only thing you can do is send your hard drive in for repairs or perhaps get rid of it and buy a new one (hopefully after you have been able to back up your files).

Can I Recover My Data?

However, it is important for you to remember that the best way to avoid hard drive clicking is to take proper care of your hard drive in the first place—that way you don’t lose any data.

If all of a sudden your hard drive is no longer recognized by your computer or you cannot for some reason get your hard drive to read, don’t panic— damaged hard drive recovery is possible (in some cases)! You don’t necessarily have to lose all those files, especially if they are important for one reason or another whether it’s because it’s for work, sentimental value or any other reason you may possibly have.

Corrupted file systems, mechanical problems and whatnot are really not at all uncommon problems when it comes to hard drives. The reason for this is that hard drives are fragile, which is why it is important for you to take care of your drives and back up your data now and again.

Damaged Hard Drive Recovery – What To Do

Naturally, preventing a damaged hard drive is much easier than actually having to deal with a damaged drive—this way you can ensure that all your data stays safe from corruption and other problems that can lead to unrecoverable data.

So how exactly can you avoid hard drive problems?

These may be things that you already know or things that are too late for you to do, but they are nevertheless important to remember for the future.

Damaged Hard Drive Recovery: Some Things to Try First

Remember, your hard drive may not yet be broken beyond repair! There may be simple issues that you could clear up on your own, so here are a few things you can try before trying to do damaged hard drive recovery (or before spending money on recovering your data).

Last Resort for Damaged Hard Drive Recovery

If no matter what you try you simply cannot make your hard drive work, then you have two options: