When you see, hear, or smell the signs of hard drive failure, one common response is to turn to the Internet for common do-it-yourself data recovery solutions. Undoubtedly, the Internet can offer some very effective strategies. This very website-connecting you to Secure Data Recovery services-is one such example! A quick Google search, however, will also reveal multiple myths of hard drive recovery. Let’s debunk 3 common myths related to hard drive failure and data recovery:
MYTH: Your best bet to reviving your dead hard drive is to stick it in the freezer, microwave, or under a hammer.
REALITY: Most everyday computer users should avoid any recovery strategies that involve physically altering the drive in any way. Changing temperature, vibrating, hitting, shaking, and otherwise physically damaging your drive will only make data recovery more challenging-if not impossible. Before even minimally invasive attempts at recovery, make a copy or an image of your disk. Attempts to recover data that damage or further damage the physical hard drive may not only fail to recover lost data but the damage might make the problem even worse than the original issue. To be fair, older hard drives often failed because bearings locked and the motor stopped working. A light, strategically-placed tap with a hammer, sometimes freed these bearings to spin again. Newer hard drives, however, require such precision that a millimeter’s difference could make the difference in freeing stuck bearings and further damaging the drive itself.
MYTH: Solid state drives are immune to failure.
REALITY: Solid state drives (SSD) are more durable and less likely to fail because there are fewer moving parts. While they may crash and burn less often, solid state drives do still fail. The integrated circuit, or memory component of SSD, can fail and firmware can become corrupted. SSDs do offer more security and durability compared to other hard drives, but users should still prioritize backing up data and trusting a reputable recovery service, like Secure Data, if trouble arises.
MYTH: You don’t need a professional if you know how to swap out a circuit board from one hard drive to another (of the same model).
REALITY: Much older hard drives were easier to fix a common problem by swapping out circuit boards. In the last decade, there are about 10-12 variations and updates to each model. Finding the exact model to make the swap is virtually impossible. When you replace a circuit board with a board from another model, the firmware is no longer compatible with the board. Rather than purchasing another (potentially problematic) hard drive, save your money to invest in a professional data recovery service, like Secure Data.
