Hard Drive Data Recovery: Is Your Hard Drive Damaged? – Here’s what to do next

You’ve just finished moving your digital life to a new hard drive. Everything’s working great — until you try to boot up your computer. If you’re like most people, you hit the power button, but nothing happens. That’s because your hard drive is broken. Or at least, your computer thinks it is. Your hard drive contains your operating system, all of your programs, and all of your files. If your hard drive is damaged, you’ll need to reinstall your operating system and programs. But before you go tearing out your motherboard, read on to learn what to do if your hard drive is broken.

What happens when a hard drive breaks?

A hard drive is made up of many small parts that help it function. One of the most important parts is the disk platter — a round, flat piece that stores your data. When a hard drive breaks, the disk platters may have been damaged. You might not be able to use your computer or access any of the files stored on your hard drive until you get it fixed.

What happens if my hard drive is broken?

If your hard drive is broken, it might seem like your computer won’t boot up. Your operating system (such as Windows) and all of your programs will be on that hard drive, so if it’s broken, you’ll need to reinstall everything.

Is there a way to fix the problem? Yes! If you want to repair the hard drive yourself, you can go here and find out how. But if you don’t want to or are unable to do this yourself, you will need to send them to a hard drive data recovery service center. Data recovery companies have special tools they use to fix a broken hard drive. You can find out more about this process here.

Can a hard drive repair fix a broken hard drive?

The short answer: no. Hard drive recovery software can’t fix a broken hard drive — it can only recover the data that was on it. To fix your hard drive, you’ll need to get a new one.

If your hard drive is broken and you want to use the data on it, then you’ll need to find a way to access it. You can either replace your hard drive or get a data recovery service to access the data and extract it for you.

Is my hard drive dead?

If your hard drive is broken, the first thing to do is figure out if your hard drive is dead. You can use a disk utility tool like Disk Utility in OSX or Norton’s Partition Magic to check the condition of your hard drive.

You may also want to check for viruses, as they can damage your hard drive and put it into an unrecoverable state. Viruses can come from a variety of sources: downloads, email, or even infected programs you might have installed. In order to eliminate viruses on your computer, you should perform an antivirus scan plus a full system scan.

How long do hard drives last?

How long your hard drive lasts depends on how you use it.  If you’re using it for simple tasks like email, browsing the internet, and listening to some music, your hard drive can last anywhere from five to ten years. But if you’re using it to store a lot of data or programs that require lots of reading and writing, your hard drive may only last a year or two.

Can I recover data from a broken hard drive?

If you can’t boot up your computer, one of the first things you should do is shut it down. Once your computer is off, try to boot it up again. If that doesn’t work, and your hard drive is broken, you might be able to recover some of your data.

Fortunately, there are a few ways still available for recovering data from a damaged hard drive. You could purchase data recovery software, like Stellar Phoenix Windows Data Recovery or Disk Drill Pro Mac Data Recovery and install them on another working PC or laptop. Another option is to bring the hard drive to a professional data recovery service provider like Hard Drive Service Center in Tampa Bay and pay their fees. This last option may cost more than the software options, but you don’t have to worry about compatibility issues with another PC or laptop.

Final Words

When your hard drive is broken, you’ll need to be a little more decisive than usual. The data recovery process can take hours, days, or months depending on the severity of your hard drive failure. You should also know that there are two different types of hard drives: mechanical and solid-state (SSD). Mechanical drives have moving parts and typically last longer, but SSDs are more expensive but faster. If you want to avoid the hassle and cost of data recovery, make sure you buy an SSD.