If you have ever lost important information due to a damaged hard drive, you know how stressful it can be. This is especially true if you were carrying important or sensitive information on it.
Luckily, there are many ways to recover lost data from a damaged hard drive. Depending on the cause of the damage, hard drive recovery can range from basic troubleshooting to requesting the services of a data recovery service provider.
Here’s a quick guide on how to recover data from a damaged hard drive, so you do not have to worry about losing important information.
What Causes a Damaged Hard Drive?
A damaged hard drive is generally caused by either physical damage or logical damage.
Physical damage can be because of rough handling or regular wear and tear. Some ways to identify if a hard drive is physically damaged is if it:
- Does not turn on
- Makes strange noises
- Is not recognized by your operating system
- Cannot access any files stored on the hard drive
Logical damage tends to be caused by software issues or a problem with how the data is handled by the file system.
If the hard drive turns on, is detected by your operating system, and allows you to access even a few of the files on it, you are likely dealing with logical damage.
Recovering Data From a Crashed Hard Drive
When you are dealing with a crashed hard drive, you may be able to recover lost data through your computer.
Connect the hard drive to your computer and check to see if you can browse the drive’s data.
If you can access the data, simply copy it to another hard drive. If you cannot, you may be able to use the hard drive repair tool that comes with your operating system to recover lost data.
You may also potentially be able to recover all lost data if you have a recent backup. This includes manual, automatic, and online backups.
In the case that these above solutions do not work, you may be able to get lost information back through data recovery software.
A data recovery software will scan the drive for bits of lost data. It will then salvage all recoverable data and put it together in a readable format.
Recovering Data From a Damaged Hard Drive
If you physically damaged your hard drive, it is recommended you send it to a professional data recovery service provider, such as Lifeguard Data Recovery.
Data recovery service providers can also assist in recovering lost data due to logical damage, so they are a good option if you have any trouble with the hard drive recovery.
Getting Your Lost Data Back
If you have a damaged hard drive, it is more than possible to recover lost information.
After figuring out the source of damage, you can try some basic troubleshooting techniques to recover the data on your hard drive. If you find you cannot recover your hard drive on your own or there is physical damage, be sure to contact a professional data recovery service provider for assistance.
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