If you use a laptop/desktop, a hard drive crash is as normal as falling ill due to the flu. We have all encountered this at some point or the other. What follows is panic and fear of losing our valuable personal or official files.

A hard drive crash is a common occurrence.

So if you have experienced a hard drive crash and do not have a backup of your files, worry not! Hard drive recovery software and hard drive data recovery services can help you salvage your files.

Here are some facts on hard drive crash and a ready reckoner for hard drive data recovery in Bangalore. Also, know how the common causes of hard drive crash and the common hard drive crash symptoms.

Types of Hard Drive Failure – Logical & Physical

There are multiple causes of hard drive failure such as virus attacks, improper ventilation, accidental corruption/deletion, human error and much more.

It is always advisable to maintain regular backups of your data. If you lose your data to a hard drive failure, hard drive data recovery can help in recovering your data. Hard drive data recovery services depend on the nature of the hard drive failure – logical or physical.

Logical Hard Drive Crash

A logical hard drive crash results from the inability of reading files off the hard drive. Though the hard drive may be physically and functionally perfect, the computer is unable to read data on the drive. This is one of the causes of hard drive crash that results from corrupted files or software errors.

In these cases, one uses hard drive data recovery software for hard drive data recovery. A hard drive data recovery software makes repeated attempts to read each file in the crashed hard drive. Although time-consuming, the hard drive data recovery software tries to salvage every bit of recoverable data.

Physical Hard Drive Crash

A hard drive comprises a spinning metallic platter that stores data. A physical hard drive crash results from some form of physical damage to the hard drive. This means a damage to the data reading head on the hard drive or the spinning mechanism.

In such cases, the hard drive data recovery process involves breaking open the hard drive and replacing the damaged part. All this is done in a special hard drive data recovery room that is static- and dust-free. 

The Common Causes of Hard Drive Crash

The following is not an exhaustive but a summarized list of the common causes of hard drive failure/hard drive crash.

• Manufacturing Defect
• Accidental Damage
• Unintentional deletion of files
• Improper Ventilation/Fault in the CPU fan
• Exposure to water/fire or any other natural disaster
• Power Surges
• Bad Sectors
• Virus Attack
• Corrupted Files

Basic Physical Components of a Hard Drive

It is easier to understand the physical causes of a hard drive crash by understanding the basic components of a hard drive.

Platters

These are circular discs within the hard drive which store data in binary form. Usually made from glass, aluminum or ceramic, platters have a magnetic surface which store data permanently. The use of multiple platters help to increase the storage capacity on larger hard drives.

Spindle

The spindle is responsible for maintaining the position of the platters and rotating them as required. The speed of reading/writing data on hard drive depends on the revolutions-per-minute. The spindle helps in maintaining a fixed distance between the platters so as to provide access to the read/write arm.

Read/Write Arm

The read/write arm is responsible for controlling the movement of the read/write heads. The read/write heads do the reading from and writing on the hard drive platters. Also known as the actuator arm or head arm, it ensures the proper positioning of the heads while reading or writing data on the platters.

Actuator

Also known as the head actuator, it is a small motor that controls the movement of the read/write arm. It takes instructions from the circuit board of the hard drive and is responsible for ensuring the correct positioning of the read/write heads at all times.

Common Symptoms of Hard Disk/Hard Drive Failure

Hear an occasional whirring and grinding noise from your desktop? Or a continuous clicking sound? And then your system goes blank?

These are enough to make your heart stop, aren’t they?

Note that these are some of the common hard drive crash symptoms.

A hard drive just like any other electronic device is susceptible to mechanical failures when the motor running it is affected. One hears a buzzing noise when the motor is partially damaged. When completely damaged, the motor does not spin at all.

Watch out for these Symptoms for an Impending Hard Drive Failure

Do you know what the ‘Click of Death’ is?

This term was coined in the late 1990s for the clicking sounds that emanate from disk storage systems indicating a massive failure of the disk drive. The unexpected movement of the read-write actuator of the disk gives rise to this distinct ‘clicking’ sound.

You may have to go through the tedious hard drive data recovery process in case you experience any of the following symptoms.

• Powerful buzzing on switching on the disk
• Occasional ticking noise
• The drive is undetected even after switching it on
• No powering of the hard drive
• System hangs during the booting process
• Long wait to access files/folders
• Scrambling and/or inter-changing of folder/file names
• Frequent cryptic error messages while performing tasks such as moving/copying

While your engineering loving self may want to repair a damaged hard drive on your own, it’s always advisable to seek professional hard drive recovery data recovery services.

Incognito Forensic Foundation (IFF Lab) – Hard Drive Data Recovery in Bangalore

Incognito Forensic Foundation (IFF Lab) is a private digital forensics lab that offers services and software for hard drive data recovery in Bangalore and Chennai. IFF Lab has the latest tools and software, along with Cleanrooms for hard drive data recovery. Be it physical or logical damage, IFF Lab’s repertoire of experts can help salvage data from damaged or corrupted hard drives.

Hard drive data recovery techniques would depend on the nature of hard drive failure. Data recovery in case of physical damage to the hard drive is possible by replacing the damaged parts in the drive.

In case of logical damage, a special procedure called disk-imaging helps to recover data from every readable bit of the hard drive.