dropped my hard drive!! :(

[bectoplis]

i recently dropped my hard drive off the couch, it worked straight after i dropped it, but after that time it stopped working. the light still comes on, but thats all it does. im not sure if its just the usb cord or the hard drive? i have tried it on 3 different laptops.

 

[Hawkeye22]

If you have a desktop computer, you can try removing the drive from the enclosure and install it in the PC in order to see if just the enclosure is damaged, but most likely the drive itself is damaged and you will need a new one.

 

[bectoplis]

I only have a laptop, not sure how to remove to drive? If the drive is damaged, is there anyway to retrieve what is on there?

If you have a desktop computer, you can try removing the drive from the enclosure and install it in the PC in order to see if just the enclosure is damaged, but most likely the drive itself is damaged and you will need a new one.

 

[Hawkeye22]

It depends on the type and severity of the damage. If there is physical damage to the heads, platters, or motor, then you are out of luck, otherwise you may be able to use data recovery software to copy the data off of the drive and onto a new drive.

 

[Peterjoono90]

That’s right! The dropped hard drive can be damaged physically and logically. The logically damaged drive still could be fixed by re-formatting. The inner data is also recoverable at the help of free data recovery software. However, the logically damaged drive could be irrecoverable, including the inner data. But, if the inner data is VERY important, you also could consult a data recovery company to take a chance. But, you should prepare to pay much money for it.

 

[bectoplis]

There is no physical damage, my laptop just wont recognise it. How do I do data recovery software?

It depends on the type and severity of the damage. If there is physical damage to the heads, platters, or motor, then you are out of luck, otherwise you may be able to use data recovery software to copy the data off of the drive and onto a new drive.

 

[Hawkeye22]

There is no physical damage, my laptop just wont recognise it. How do I do data recovery software?

It depends on the type and severity of the damage. If there is physical damage to the heads, platters, or motor, then you are out of luck, otherwise you may be able to use data recovery software to copy the data off of the drive and onto a new drive.

That can be a sign of physical damage as the controller can no longer communicate with the drive. Remember, there are IC's (integrated circuits) that control the logic of the drive itself. If they are damaged, it can be just as bad as a head crash or other physical drive error.