An internal hard drive can show signs of wear or sudden failure. In the event of a failure, how can you recover lost data? Here’s how to address a loss of files that could lead to serious consequences.
How It Works
How does it work? It is a magnetic storage medium, whereas USB drives and SSDs are electronic storage media. It consists of concentric platters that spin very fast, between 5400 and 15 000 RPM. Made of aluminum, but also glass or ceramic, these platters are coated with a ferromagnetic substrate used to record data. The number of platters varies depending on the desired capacity.
Data is recorded in the form of bits, corresponding to the orientation of the cells that make up the substrate (“0” and “1”). To write and read this information, a head moves above the hard drive’s platters. For writing, a magnetoresistive head comes into action, and for reading, it is an inductive head. This component, in order to “fly” a few tenths of a micrometer above the substrate, needs an air cushion, which can cause a failure. Filters can become clogged, altering the airflow and the movement of the read head.
The electronic board, meanwhile, is responsible for ensuring the hard drive works properly and for maintaining good communication between the motherboard and the operating system. This board, made up of a microprocessor as well as cache memory and ROM, runs on firmware (code that allows the drive to function properly). This code contains all the settings used to calibrate the read heads. If this piece of code contains an error, the hard drive can be affected.
How do you repair bad sectors? You need to use the repair utility associated with the operating system: chkdsk on Windows, fsck on Linux, for example.
Logical Failures
It should be noted that the most common cause of failure for this type of computer hardware is not mechanical at all. Most devices stop working because they have become corrupted. Early operating systems stored files in an unstable way; fortunately, today’s systems no longer have this drawback. However, there are malicious programs that take the form of highly damaging viruses which partially erase the hard drive, wiping out the table that contains all the information. Without this table, the drive appears empty, which allows the operating system to proceed with formatting it.
This software failure is not as serious as a mechanical failure can be. The solution: proven data recovery software (Hexascanl, for example) can easily locate files even without the table.
How do you proceed?
- unplug the storage device as soon as you notice something is wrong;
- when you feel ready to recover data, reconnect the damaged drive;
- launch your copy of Hexascan;
- on the main screen, your magnetic storage device should be listed; click the “Recover” button;
- let the program do its work.
A few minutes should be enough to retrieve your lost files. If needed, Disk Drill offers additional options for recovering data from a hard drive.
Mechanical Failures
The other type of failure is known as mechanical. As a reminder, a tiny head passes just a few nanometers above the storage surface. If the head and this surface come into contact, there is a strong chance the magnetic storage device will stop working properly. Note: a desktop computer is safer than a laptop, since the latter is regularly transported around.
Hard drives are fitted with an air vent whose role is to properly balance humidity and pressure between the casing and the outside environment. To keep dust particles out, the vent has an extremely fine air filter. However, even with this filter, it is possible for a dust particle to accidentally get into the storage device, causing a failure. It can also block the air vent.
By using data recovery software, you get a satisfactory backup tool.
Repairing a mechanical failure is more complex than repairing a software failure, as it requires a dust-free workspace (cleanroom) and special tools.
This is why it is strongly recommended to call on a specialized data recovery laboratory that will put its experience and professionalism at your service.