DEFECTIVE HARD DRIVE

When it is not possible to access data on a hard drive, it can either be due to a software failure, or a physical defect in the hard disc. If you suspect having lost important data due to a physical defect, we strongly recommend you to turn off the device immediately and contact our technical consultants for further advice.

There may be several reasons for a corrupted hard drive. A hard drive can be damaged by external influences such as shock and heat, but also as a result of normal wear and use.

Whatever the cause, the symptoms of a defective hard disk will typically be some kind of a jarring sound or a completely silent hard drive.

If the hard drive is completely silent, the typical defects may be:

• A defect on the hard drive's circuit board and electrical circuit. The defect means that the hard drive does not spin up or the hard drive cannot be detected by the computer.
• Firmware problems. The hard drive cannot read the firmware or the firmware is corrupt. When a firmware defect occurs, the hard disk will typically not be detectable. In some cases it may still be recognized by the computer; however the drive is, due to the firmware corruption, detected with incorrect information. Thereby the data is still unavailable.
• Problems with the bearings or the motor imply that the disc platters are unable to rotate.

In virtually all cases where a hard drive makes a jarring sound (“ticking”, “growling”, “scraping”) we are dealing with one of the following mechanical damages:

• Head crash. In this case the read-/write heads have hit hard against the disc platters and caused considerable damage to the disc platters on which data is stored, which also results in the read-/write heads becoming defective.
• Click of death. A variety of errors can cause your hard drive to emit a metallic clicking sound. A typical reason for this could be an error in the calibration of the read-/write head relative to disc platters, faulty engine or damage on the read-/write head(s).

If you are interested in further information, you can read about how we make hard drive repair and hard drive recovery.