repairing broken hard drive

[dan28]

tried the freezer method it didnt work

with the top of the drive you can see the platter turn slowly


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it doesnt look to hard to remove the platter an insert into another drive or am i missing some thing ?

 

[mattbrown]

you able to source and another drive you can swap the platters over, and use the head of the donor drive to read the old platter (just a thought)

 

[highlandsflyer]

That is exactly what data recovery professionals do, sometimes.

Well, they remove the platters and remount them in a special reader, depending on the results.

I have had some success swapping over to identical drives, but some drives don't seem to match up, perhaps due to minor differences or factory calibration.

Worth a try versus the expense of getting the platters read.

(You can always remount it and send it in.)

Watch out for multi platter drives as the data is spread across the platters.

 

[Neil]

Don't be deceived into thinking that data forensic people just dismantle and rebuild platters.

They also use special rigs, with custom firmware, so that they can tweak disk reading parameters (disk / platter structure, head position and things like that).

It's for the these types of reasons, that "safe" erase programs make so many passes - because data forensics can often extract more than most would think they could.

That said, it's very costly, and taking disks apart and putting them back together again, doesn't usually do much for the enthusiastic amateur.

 

[highlandsflyer]

There are a lot of 'data recovery professionals' who do just that, and are not geared up with specialist equipment.

It is worth a try, the main issue is keeping the work area meticulously clean and taking the usual anti static precautions.

No on is attempting to deceive anyone.

For example, PC World use software and if it is anything they cannot deal with it they farm it out. The service being advertised is not always what is says on the tin.

 

[Neil]

There are a lot of 'data recovery professionals' who do just that, and are not geared up with specialist equipment.

It is worth a try, the main issue is keeping the work area meticulously clean and taking the usual anti static precautions.

No on is attempting to deceive anyone.

For example, PC World use software and if it is anything they cannot deal with it they farm it out. The service being advertised is not always what is says on the tin.

I didn't say that anybody in the thread was attempting to deceive anybody - I merely pointed out that the true data extraction professionals, don't merely just swap out platters, and bolt them back together again - so the OP shouldn't be deceived into thinking mechanical reconstruction is likely to address the root cause.

There could be damage to the head(s) or head assembly, or damage to the disk surface.

As to precautions, well being at the same potential matters to circuitry, but the disk platters are magnetic media - so you want a magnetically clean environment, too - no point doing a lot of dissasembly on a workbench where you're also dismantling a large speaker driver (don't laugh, I've seen it...).

 

[highlandsflyer]

I would have thought the OP is aware of the basic precautions, having gone so far as to remove the cover, but you are right of course. Don't perform this operation on a subwoofer cabinet.

The donor drive will have a new head, and a new motor.

If you can then get it spinning up you can normally read the drive before the head is damaged too much due to any other issues. Basically the idea is to get it reading and then clone off all the data immediately.

I am not suggesting you will then be able to go on using the drive as if it were new.

Saying that, I have a Seagate 80GB drive that is still performing fine ten years after a transplant.

Actually this technique is used by some high end companies as well, depending as I say on results.

It is fast and easy.

 

[computerbitz]

Try to source an identical drive as been suggested but first before taking it apart attempt to swap the controller board first, there’s a few things to consider when doing this and the most important is that they are identical in version type and firmware used this is all available on drive sticker.

I have removed platters and replaced into drives as expected with a varying degree of success and with that I mean I have cases where I have got everything I wanted back and then other cases I have got a fraction back. trying the controller card first though is always a good start as sometimes this will work and in the event it doesn’t you have a working drive ready for the transplant procedure beware the more platters in the drive the more difficult it becomes as if you don’t align them all the way they are meant to be then your transplant is a failed one

If it was me doing it and I had never done this before I would get myself to eBay and get 2 cheap old working drives that where identical and place data on one and transfer platters to other and see if I could do it in a way I would retain my data for recovery when connected to a machine if I failed I would then look for someone who I knew could do it for me at the end of the day the most important question of all is how important is the data to you and are you prepared to chance a DIY or pay megabucks for it to be done professional