Technical FAQ

Q: My hard disk appears physically damaged, can I recover data from it?

A: Just depends, check it below:

If the hard disk makes unusual noises (clicks, grinding, scratching etc.):

STOP using it immediately and do not attempt to repair it/recover data by using any software yourself. Recovering data from a physically defective disk is very expensive so consider the need for this type of recovery carefully.

The hard disk spins but is not detected in the BIOS:

This can be caused by a number of things ranging from defective IDE cables to physical damage.

- Make sure the drive is properly configured in the BIOS (the AUTO setting should do well in most circumstances).
- Make sure the drive is properly jumpered.
- You can try if the disk can be detected using different devices, another PC, different cables etc.
- Use diagnostic software or the drive manufacturer diagnostic tool. If these tools can see the drive, see if you can clone it.

Sometimes swapping the drive circuit board with one from an identical disk (type AND revision) can resolve this.

Drive doesn't spin up:

Consider if the value of the data outweighs the cost of data recovery by an outfit equipped to deal with physical defects (expertise, tools, clean room environment etc.).

Drive contains unreadable sectors:

Clone the drive using disk clone tool firstly. And then, either repair the logical structure of the clone or just try to recover data from the clone using Data Recovery Wizard.