Working with big amounts of information? You know the panic moment when you realize that you need some data that you deleted a long time ago. This is the topic of this article : Ask me how to recover lost files from WD Elements portable hard drive. First lets start with some general data recovery tips, valid for all type of data devices, PC’s, Mac’s, phones.
Don’t forget to back up your files. As life coaches like to say, there’s something positive about every negative thing that happens to us. When your USB flash drive suddenly disconnects from your computer or your operating system starts to insist on checking your SD card, it may be a blessing in disguise. These early warning signs give you a chance to properly back up your files, if you haven’t done so already. We can probably all agree they are much better alternative to a sudden, irreparable failure.
To make sure it’s the hard drive and not one of the many other things that can go wrong when starting up a computer, if possible, remove the hard drive and plug it into another computer. Lots of PCs make this easy, but for any device, the process will be easier with a tool kit and universal drive adapter. Once you’ve removed the drive, plug it into a working computer. If you can see that drive’s files on the working computer, pull out anything essential and make copies. Yes, this is a big ask, especially for anyone who hasn’t ripped apart a computer before. But this will at least determine if the drive is the part that failed.
You’ll know if your hard drive has been mechanically damaged if on trying to access the data on it, you can hear a distinguishable clicking sound. When a hard drive suffers a mechanical failure, there is little you can do to help. Professional help is your best bet in such a case so you might have to take it to a hard drive recovery service center.
If you want to replace the PCB then you’ll need to fine a matching replacement and have the ROM chip moved. There are many online providers that will sell you a matching PCB. Some of them even offer to move the ROM chip for you, saving you the hassle of soldering and possibly damaging the chip. If the PCB was the only damaged component and the drive’s internals are OK, then after the replacement and ROM swap, your drive should be up and running again. Another PCB-related item to check are the head contacts. Sometimes they corrode with time, but are easily cleaned with a rubber eraser.
Older laptops that were constructed with traditional hard drives were fairly simple to pop open and fix. You could unscrew a few screws holding the case together, and then plug into the drive via a universal SATA port to retrieve the data. Opening the actual drive itself is not without risk, or advisable, as dust could and will enter the drive, causing contamination and potentially additional damage during the process. For example, older drives would be subject to something called stiction, and sometimes became ‘stuck’, whereby the head and actuator were locked or stuck and the motor failed to spin, causing the hard drive platters to spin improperly. One trick that had some reported success involved placing a hard drive in the freezer, which would cause the metal to contract and become unstuck, at least long enough to offload the data.
If you have a storage device that you have not used for a while and you realize that you deleted information a long time ago, it is possible to recover it. There are different tools when recovering files, and one of them are data recovery software, programs specialized in the recovery of any type of file and that work under any operating system. Read more info at Deleted file recovery.