In general, if a drop occurs while a hard drive is powered down, then generally speaking it survives, as the heads are parked and the internal mechanisms of the device tolerate actual physical shock. However, if a drop occurs while the drive is still operational (i.e., still operating), then the heads may collide with a surface they would normally travel over top of. This damage typically happens immediately. It is understandable to want to plug it in and check, but doing so is the thing most likely to finish it off.
Most commonly, dropped hard drives are destroyed after the fact, i.e., when they’re checked. If the drive was operating at the time of the fall, there’s a chance that the heads could currently be sitting on one of the disks in the drive, and thus powering it back up causes the disk to spin under those heads. At this point, if it is making any noise, the decision has already been made for you.
Damage can be significantly influenced by just one thing when you consider the same drop in terms of the spin state of the platters as they are impacted.
A dropped drive that still mounts is not an indication that nothing occurred.
If the head(s) of your hard disk were damaged upon striking a surface, it can potentially read data from your disk while also transporting debris or a bent slider. Your drive may seem like it works normally. However, what really happens with each access cycle is that the damage becomes dispersed throughout your disk as well as causing “reallocation” of sectors on your disk. In many cases, your drive will fail completely days or weeks later. At that time, much less will be retrievable than if you had addressed the problem immediately after the drop.
In the event that your hard drive holds irreplaceable material and was in use when it was dropped, it would be best to transfer the contents of the hard drive (once) to an alternative medium as quickly as possible and discontinue use of the original media regardless of how it may appear to be operating normally. If the original media has already started to make unusual noises, do not attempt the copy: turn it off immediately.
The unpredictable nature of impact damage dictates caution in this area.
Before attempting to operate the platters contained within the damaged hard drive, the drive will be opened and the platters inspected for scoring. This will determine what can reasonably be accomplished.
Particles created by a head crash will continue to circulate through the air and create additional damage. As such, surfaces will need to be cleaned and the internal filter(s) replaced as part of the work.
A matching donor head-stack will be installed; or where the spindle on the original drive seized, the platter pack will be moved to a new donor chassis while maintaining platter alignment.
Reading is done on the areas that have what you were looking for first, because if there has been damage to a surface it may not withstand a full pass. Undamaged areas will generate normal images.
Where platters are scored we say those tracks are gone by name instead of returning files that open to nothing.
A physical problem is one where costs have already been committed, whatever the outcome.
A dropped or physically damaged drive is from £300 +VAT after a free 48-hour diagnostic and written quote. Donor work carries a 50% deposit with the balance due only on success. External units should be sent complete with their enclosure.
Full write-ups: Iomega Recovery: “Access Denied” on a Backup Drive and a dropped Sony VAIO.
Before we can start work on your unit you will need to send it in for a free diagnostic review and tell us briefly what happened. We then have one of our engineers review your unit & verify your exact quote in writing prior to starting any work.
Before dropping off or posting your device please request a quotation either by telephone or using our quotation form. The first step to recover your data is to get the device to us. Please ensure that you pack the device securely, include your contact information and then forward it to us. Once we have completed the free diagnostic of your device we will provide you with your exact price in writing prior to commencing any further work.
Posting it? We would suggest using a tracked and insured delivery method. Want to drop it off? That’s okay too. Monday to Friday, from 9am to 5:30pm is good; no appointment necessary: simply prepare the item as described above.
If you want a few more details first, fill out this form and let an engineer go through it and send you back a custom quote.
We’ll be in touch shortly. If it’s urgent, call 01865 593000.
These are the issues people contact us with the most about dropped and damaged drives.
That will depend solely upon whether or not it was operational. Powered off, the heads are in a ‘parked’ position, and the drives can absorb a great deal of shock. As such, many times there is no damage at all. Running, the heads could possibly contact the platter causing major damage, which would be a good time to never power it up again.
Possibly not. A head that strikes a surface can continue reading for a period of time; by doing so, the heads distribute the damage as they continue to pass over the area, and add “bad” sector after bad sector until the drive eventually fails properly either days or weeks from now. Make one copy of your files right away, and do not use it again.
No, and that’s probably how most dropped drives get lost. If it had been operating (powered) at the time of the drop, it is possible that the heads are currently lying on top of the platter, and powering it will simply rotate the platter under the heads. In such an instance have it evaluated instead of testing.
Only partially at best. The scoring will ruin the magnetic coating in those tracks, and nothing is going to recover that information. Often other undamaged parts of the same platter are able to image normally as well, so you may get some files back from your recovery (the ones that were damaged are obviously lost, and we report them by name).
Switch it off now and don’t use it again. If it makes noise after you’ve dropped it, then it’s been mechanically damaged, and if you try using it again, you’ll make things worse. We prefer it if you send the whole unit including the casing and not just the disk.
From £300 + VAT for one drive once we’ve done a free 48-hour diagnostic and provided a written quote. For donor part work, we take a 50% deposit and only ask for payment of the remainder if we successfully recover the data.
Each data recovery repair comes with a 10,000 item donor part store, starts with a free written diagnostic, and in most cases you only pay if we recover your data.