Study hard drives and our company has been engaged in their restoration since 2000. During this time, the engineers of our laboratories have gained extensive experience in various HDD failures and methods for their elimination. In this article, we want to systematize the most frequently encountered groups of HDD failures, the causes of their occurrence and the methodology for their elimination.
When is hard drive repair possible?
There are many programs for data recovery, but most of them are not intended for use on broken hard drivex Type of software for hard recovery the drive to which you have access only makes sense if there is a non-physical error on the hard drive, for example, a damaged one boot sector.
Surface damage, remapping
You can learn more about how our software for data recovery. Moreover, hard disks Not for repair, not for your car or your refrigerator. When hDD breaks down, you have to buy a new one. However, the data that you saved on it is important, much more important than the drive itself, and this is what you need to bring to life - this is where we came from.
At the very beginning, two important points need to be clarified: repair hard drive any category of complexity and EVEN DIAGNOSTICS for the possibility of repairing the hard drive, lead to complete and irretrievable loss of user information on a repaired hard drive. This is due to the peculiarities of the technological process of both the repair itself and the post-repair testing of the HDD.
The success of repairing an external hard drive is almost independent of its parameters
Unlike your car, your refrigerator, or your TV, hard drives are not really meant to be repaired. If you are not a manufacturer of hard drives, you are not going to constantly repair hard drives. Very accurate calibrations must be performed on your hard drive when it rolls back from the conveyor. Each hard drive, even one from the same model, even one that left the factory next to each other, is slightly different. At best, we find spare parts that are almost perfect.
And the second point: often customers confuse the concepts of “HDD repair” and “data recovery from the hard drive”. If you need repair, then an urgent request to understand that this service is much cheaper than information recovery, but at the same time will lead to its complete loss. And on the contrary, if you need to recover data from a hard drive, then you need to formulate your wishes when contacting a company that deals with hard drives.
A hard drive with nearly perfect spare parts inside it will usually work well enough for our engineers to display and retrieve data from it using fail-safe data recovery tools. But in general, after we had to repair the hard drive, it is no longer suitable for working inside or is otherwise connected to the computer.
In addition, we would rather put your data on a new password protected external storage with hardware encryption. This is a healthy drive that we know will work. And it is encrypted, so your data is completely protected from chance when your data falls into the wrong hands on the way back to you.
So, HDD malfunctions can be divided into main groups:
HDD Surface Failures - Bad Blocks
The most common damage to the hard drive is the so-called bad blocks. It is surface defects that often lead to the fact that the hard drive is not detected in Windows and there is no access to user data. A bad block is essentially a sector that, when accessed, the processor on the hard drive board does not receive its correct checksum. In this case, the UNC bit is set in the error registers, which stands for an uncorrectable data error. This situation may occur if the sector is not read at all, or is read, but the checksum field does not correlate with the data field. You can find out the true reason by trying to overwrite bad sector as a whole, both the data field and the service information. U soft block bad after overwriting, the sector checksum will be corrected. And most modern drives will hide physical bads by automatically replacing the bad block, or by excluding it from the broadcast. If the rewriting did not help and the bad block remained in the old place, then you should manually enter it into the defects table and recount the translator. Or rewrite the entire user area, as you have to do if you need to hide defects on IBM and Hitachi drives.
What happens to damaged hard drives
Yes - until the damage is exceptionally severe. Your hard drives are made of aluminum or glass. A thin layer of ferromagnetic material covers their surface. The dust that once was part of your data settled throughout the plate. It is not possible to reapply this dust to your plates, not to mention returning it with the correct magnetic charges.
And the only way to access data that is still not corrupted is to clean up the garbage. Until a few years ago, no data recovery lab had the means to efficiently recover this type of hard drive. Serious disk corruption can still make data recovery impossible.
Bad sectors that meet in groups indicate a more serious problem. This is either a failure of one or several read / write heads, or a mismatch of the zone distribution table to the current hard drive, or failure in the initial factory adaptive settings of the HDD. To localize the causes and determine the troubleshooting strategy, it is necessary to establish the presence or absence of patterns in the location of defect groups. So, for example, regularly repeating bad groups throughout all LBA sectors can be caused by malfunctions in the package of the block of magnetic heads. Irregularly appearing groups can be removed by manually editing the zone distribution table or by launching a factory self-scan. Bad blocks that appear unstable can most often be caused by malfunctions of the electronics board or the spindle motor, which, due to the development of lubrication, is not able to maintain stable speed.
But with our own hard drive, we can repair and save data from many hard drives with scratched plates. However, we can only recover data from undamaged parts of the plates, and if damage occurs in the right place, even data from the undamaged parts can still be unrecoverable. If parts of the plates containing the firmware of the drive were damaged, for example, it is impossible to make any contact with the data on your hard drive.
Hard Drive Recovery Statistics
Such cases are partly the reason that we offer free estimates. Finding out that your data cannot be recovered is painful enough without charging a privilege to know. We try to make data recovery as painless as possible, even if it does not work.
Hard disk controller malfunctions
The situation when the controller burned out on the hard drive is in second place in terms of prevalence. As a rule, either protective elements in the power circuit burn out, or a power microcircuit forms the operating voltage on the windings of the spindle motor and controls the BMG actuator. In some cases, for example, with a serious thyristor breakdown of the computer’s power supply, the pulse can burn out almost everything on the electronics board of the hard drive, including the central processor. As a rule, it is more expedient to repair the electronics board by the method of completely replacing the burned-out board with a working one.
I need my data as soon as possible. What are the accelerated hard drive repair options you offer. You pay only to us when we have restored your data at an affordable price. They can be wrong or dangerous. If you try them yourself, it can lead to damage or irreparable loss.
A common problem and problems with computers is a sudden and seemingly inexplicable disappearance external hard a drive that is functioning properly. It can be an exciting experience to suddenly say that your data, often irreplaceable photos and documents can disappear forever.
Unfortunately, modern hard disks cannot be easily replaced, since modern HDDs contain the adaptive settings necessary for the initial start and recalibration of the hard drive in the ROM. When starting up, some disks take the address of the cylinder from which the tracks with service information are located from the contents of the ROM, and when starting from someone else's ROM, such a disk will not load the firmware into memory. Other drives without starting adaptations will not be able to perform positioning by servo markings and when starting up HDDs with someone else’s controller, they will simply knock. Repair methods for different models of hard drives in case of loss of the board with the original ROM will be different. In some cases, you can assemble the original ROM from the service modules in SA, gaining access to it by selecting offsets, and somewhere you need to select the appropriate one from the database of compatible firmware versions.
Repair of hard drives with physical surface damage
As in many similar situations in life, the corresponding answer is “Don't panic.” With a reasonable and cautious approximation, the situation can be resolved, and the data is saved more than not. General error messages related to the sudden inability to access an external hard drive.
Work and prices
You need to format the disk to disk before you can use it. This volume does not contain recognized file system. Ensure that all necessary file system drivers are loaded and that the volume is not corrupted. Therefore, all available file system drivers cannot mount the file system as a disk. This often happens when entries that determine the type or location of the file system on the disk are corrupted or damaged, usually a partition table or boot sector.
Faults in HDD firmware
Modern disks have a rather complicated microprogram consisting of the boot part recorded in ROM, executable modules (overlays), defect tables, etc. The service area is recorded on the designated areas on the HDD plates. In fact, we can draw a direct analogy with operating system personal computer. And, as often happens when Windows “crashes” on computers, this kind of malfunctioning is also associated with errors in the microcode of the hard disk. Problems with hard drive firmware usually occur due to damage to one or more modules, when the HDD is not able to recalibrate and get ready. A similar situation is possible both in case of logical failures (violation of the header of one or more service modules or their contents, which may occur as a result of a failure when they are written or updated) and when physical damage surfaces in the area occupied by official information. You also have to deal with errors in the firmware itself, as is often found on earlier Seagate 7200.11 models. These drives have processing errors internal procedures the drive crashes as a result of a failure while updating SMART tables or user defect tables.
Why is this happening and how to avoid it?
Always use Safely Remove Hardware to turn off the drive. He has two of the most common problems. The partition table is corrupted, and the boot sector of the main partition is also scrambled. Images of error messages came above all from this disk. Below are pictures of the repair process from the actual repair of this drive. Some images from a virtual machine, and some from a real desktop.
This is a real repair, not a production example. Before moving on to this issue, you need to be aware of the risks involved. If the problem with the disk is not just a logical error, but a manifestation of physical damage, the more you use it and try to recover, the worse the damage may be. To minimize risks, the disc can be taken into the hands of a professional who has experience in this type of repair. If you want to continue on your own, there are three important rules for remembering.
Such malfunctions can be easily eliminated. In some cases, you need to update the disk firmware to latest versionrecommended by the manufacturer, and sometimes it’s quite enough to overwrite damaged modules from their copies on other heads or from a disk of a similar family so that the disk starts working normally again.
Faults in the hermetic zone HDD
The Hermozone is the metal housing of the hard drive, in which a spindle motor, a package of plates, a head unit on the bracket, dividers, a parking ramp, internal recirculation filters and the like are mounted. Typical problems in the containment zone can be associated either with the head unit (malfunction of the heads themselves, or preamplifier-switching microcircuits), or with the spindle motor (jamming or wedging as a result of lubrication in the glass), or with the plates themselves (radial cuts, scratches, chips )
Computer problems are variables. Any other record can overwrite the data on the disk that you want to save. It can help determine if the problem is physical damage or just logical damage. With logical damage, the drive can be trusted and continued to be used after repair. In case of physical damage, you want to receive important data from the disk and replace it. Making sure that the connection between the drive and. the computer is correct, and its quality is the best you may need. Check the operability of the drive itself.
Jamming of the shaft of the hard drive is one of the most common physical breakdowns of the Hermoblock. The most common reason for a wedge of a winchester shaft is non-compliance with the temperature regime of operation of a drive. For a modern HDD, it is desirable to organize additional heat removal by installing a dedicated fan in the computer case specifically for this purpose. Otherwise, overheating of the hard drive can lead to thinning and squeezing out of the lubricant from the glass. As a result, errors occur during positioning, the disk begins to be repositioned many times, and from that moment the process develops like an avalanche. Due to the increase in the number of mechanical movements of the actuator, the general overheating of the drive is enhanced, the SD axis is deformed, touches the walls of the glass and the effect of hot welding occurs, the HDD shaft tightly sticks to the glass. In this case, the axis itself is deformed so that when you try to turn the glass itself (the axis in this state cannot be turned in any way), the plates begin to touch the metal dividers. In most cases, at the time of the hard drive wedge, the mechanism for organizing the head parking, the so-called airlock, manages to park the heads in the parking zone, in the center of the plates or on the parking ramp, depending on the particular family of the hard drive. If this does not happen, the heads “stick” to the surface, creating additional complications in this already difficult situation.
You can then eliminate physical damage that requires repair with specialized tools in a controlled environment. Does the noise make a noise that it has not made before? Physical damage may require the drive to be sent to the object using. The right tools and equipment for data recovery.
Restore partition table and boot sector
If he has failed any of these tests, you need to take him to a data recovery lab and professionally recover, otherwise you risk worsening the situation. If this does not pass the test, then there is physical damage. Keep in mind that this can be very time consuming. You can do other things on your computer while it is running, as long as it is not something that tries to use a bad disk.
Sticking heads on the surface of the hard drive is also possible due to a general malfunction of the parking mechanism, for example, when an abnormal power interruption occurs. Or as a result of mechanical impact on the hard drive (HDD was dropped or hit hard).
If the failure of one or more heads is not associated with damage to the surface of the plates, then such a disk can be repaired by software shutting down the faulty heads with lowering the capacity to the previous model in the lineup. Then, on such a disk with one or several heads turned off, it is necessary to launch a self-scan. In other cases, disk repair involves a complete replacement of the hermetic assembly.
If there is physical damage, consider sending the disk to a professional recovery service, since physical damage often continues to degrade data, and simply turning on the drive may cause the data to become irrecoverable.
Repairing an external hard drive is usually required in situations
If there is no indication of physical damage, you can continue. Make sure your external drive highlighted. Partition data does not look correct. Naturally, a deeper search takes longer than a quick search. The one we saw after quick search, and one more. Press the OK button to return to the screen, and then press the enter key to go to this screen.
Conclusion
Once again, I want to draw the attention of readers to the fact that repairing an external hard drive (HDD) leads to the complete and irretrievable destruction of user data. The concepts of “hard drive repair” and “data recovery” should not be confused. These are the exact opposite things, therefore it is always necessary to clarify whether the information contained on the hard drive has value and whether it should be stored.
This is my favorite external drive to create backupsbecause it is reliable, strong and does not encrypt your data without your permission. Hope this solves your problem. Let me know if you are stuck or have questions. Always follow backup data before running any checks on your hard drive.
This command will try to fix any file system error. The duration of this completion will vary depending on the capacity of the drive. Always back up your data before starting a first aid scan on your hard drive. If there is bad sector, any data that may have been available before the launch of Recovery Disk is likely to become inaccessible after redirecting a bad sector.
It is also worth adding that at the time of publication of the article (May 2011), our company does not provide HDD repair services. This is due to the fact that at present our capacities are fully loaded with data recovery orders, as well as with the unprofitability of the repair itself compared to the price of the hard drive (average price sATA drive 1Tb ranges from 1,500-2,000 rubles) and the technological inability to provide a "normal" long warranty on a repaired hard drive. You can read more about our view on this topic in the article “The computer does not see the disk. Hard drive not detected "
There are some rather strange recommendations for repairing hard drives floating on the Internet. Enough people claim that they work, that they deserve attention in difficult circumstances. If your drive has a mechanical problem or just a problem that you could not solve, and you do not want or cannot get professional data, you can get one last shot looking for data.
Do-it-yourself WD external hard drive repair
Before you can try any of these methods, make sure that you are ready to immediately restore your data. Also remember that these methods may not work and may even cause additional damage to your hard drive. If you have any questions about that, you are probably best off having a professional look at your hard drive.
Article author: Artem Makarov aka Robin, hardmaster.info.
With full or partial use of the materials in this article, an active hypertext link to the site is required.
Below are five tips on how to suppress panic and try to repair the hard drive yourself.
Tip 1. Changem SATA cable.
It is advisable to replace it with a company one, and not a “homemade one”. Pay attention to the cable width, not less than 8-10 millimeters. When buying, choose a shorter cable, it should be enough up to 30cm, although the standard size is 50 cm. Next - connect the cable. The easiest way, so as not to get confused, mark both ends of the cable with different felt-tip pens before removing, so that a new cable is attached there. If you did everything correctly, then when you turn on the computer and switch to BIOS, the parameter SMART # 199 (C7) UltraDMA CRC Error Count should not increase.
Tip 2. We clean the SATA connectors on the hard drive, which have 7 pins
It is advisable to dampen a microfiber cloth with anhydrous alcohol. After that, clean the adjacent 15-pin power connector.
Tip 3. Clean the electronics board from the back.
To do this, unscrew the board (star-type screwdriver) and inspect the back surface. All contacts should have a light color. If the color is dark, red, brown, we clean the contacts with an ordinary rubber band and wipe with a cloth with alcohol. When screwing the board to the disk, adjust the twisting force. If the edges of the slot close, this may serve as a reason for the refusal of warranty repairs by the service.
This procedure is important for all drives, even new ones, since oxides and dirt tend to accumulate on the back of the board due to lengthy transportation, improper storage in the warehouse, high humidity, etc.
Tip 4. Checking the north and south bridge
We recommend doing this procedure to an experienced electrician, since it involves changing the power elements. including checking the power supply. The main problem that requires checking bridges is a computer freeze due to overheating.
Tip 5. Updating the hard disk driver and flashing the BIOS
On the nForce chipset, disabling NCQ commands sometimes helps. Uncheck the Enable Command Queuing command in the parameters of the SATA controller on the channel to which the hard drive with problems is connected.
Personal opinion of the author: all these actions should be taken only if you are confident in your abilities and in the correctness of the procedures followed. After all, repairing a hard drive with your own hands is not a task for everyone, especially if there is a risk of losing valuable information. Therefore, as they say, measure seven times, cut one. Sometimes it's better to spend time and money on repairing a hard drive in a workshop than to lose everything because of your wrong decisions.
