Repair hard drive- a procedure that in some cases allows you to restore the drive to functionality. Due to the nature of this device, serious damage is usually impossible to fix on your own, but minor problems can be fixed without calling a specialist.
You can return the HDD to working condition even if it is not visible in the BIOS. However, it is not often possible to repair a drive due to the complexity of its design. In some cases, repairs may require you to pay an amount several times greater than the cost of the hard drive itself, and it only makes sense to do this to restore extremely important data stored on it.
On the Internet, sure, but which program can you trust with your data? That's what's happening in this article. All programs are designed to perform recovery at a high level, which means that if the program does not help you, then no expert can help you. Unlike many other programs, you have the option to download it before purchasing it and test it thoroughly. Is your internal or external damaged? HDD? Data recovery is still possible!
The success of external HDD repair does not depend on parameters
Download the hard drive recovery tool. The intuitive user interface simplifies and facilitates the operation of the program. You don't have to think about where you should click, so the program does something, the right buttons are clicked on you without you knowing it. If you want to recover your external hard drive, it is usually because it is no longer found or due to access errors. Here you will find solutions to the most common problems.
It is necessary to distinguish between repairing a hard drive and restoring it. In the first case, we are talking about restoring the device’s functionality, and in the second, we are talking about returning lost data. If you need to recover files that were deleted or lost as a result of formatting, check out our other article:
You can also replace the hard drive yourself, and, if possible, copy files from the old HDD to the new one. This is suitable for those users who do not want to contact specialists and prefer to simply get rid of the failed drive.
Can you repair an external hard drive yourself? And why is this even necessary? External hard disks have problems other than hard drives. This is due to the fact that they are often transported and can be damaged. On the other hand, they have to connect to computers again and again and get new drive letters every time. And so it happens, for example, that read and write errors occur due to damage to the surface of the hard drive. In other cases, you can unplug the drive or switch the cable - the external hard drive is no longer detected.
Problem 1: Bad sectors of the hard drive
Bad sectors can be divided into software and physical. The former can be easily restored using various utilities, and as a result the HDD operates stably and without failures.
Treatment of physically damaged sectors does not involve the use of programs. At the same time, the drive itself may begin to make unusual sounds: clicks, creaking, rustling, etc. Other manifestations of problems include system freezes even when performing simple tasks, disappearance of files or folders, or the appearance of empty unallocated space.
External hard drive not found
For these problems we present you a solution. This means, among other things, that they are re-registered every time they are inserted into the computer and assigned a drive letter. If it is always the same computer, the internal connection data is stored internally and the drive letter does not change. You can even use an external hard drive.
Sometimes, however, things go wrong. It then resets to be recognized incorrectly or is not assigned a drive letter. The system cannot find the disk. In this case, you can't say that you need to restore your external hard drive - it's more about a new application. But even this does not come without tools.
It is impossible to fix such a problem on the hard drive of a computer or laptop manually. Therefore, the user can either replace the hard drive with a new one and, if possible, transfer important data to it, or use the services of specialists who restore data from a physically damaged surface under special conditions.
You can understand that there are problems with sectors using the following programs:
In computer management, you can check the status of all disks. If the external hard drive is not found, it is usually just a login error. It shows up in the volume control but is not detected correctly. Now you have two options to recover from this error external drive.
You will be notified of this as the active partition so that it is recognized by the system. On the left side of Computer Administration, you will find a Disk Management entry under the Data Storage menu item. If the disk is not found at all, and the “Mark partition as active” option is available in the menu, click on it. If the drive is recognized as active but is not logged in, click Change Drive Letters and Paths in the menu. In the next dialog box, enter the drive letter and you should find the drive.
- You assign it a drive letter to access the drive.
- Select it with a mouse click.
- Currently all connected and detected drives are displayed.
- will appear context menu, similar to the one shown above.
If the device is still working, but is no longer stable, you need to think about purchasing a new drive as soon as possible. At the same time, it is strongly recommended to minimize the use of a PC with a damaged HDD.
After connecting the second hard drive, you can clone the entire HDD or just the operating system.
Repairing a hard drive with surface damage
Beginning of the gallery. The situation is completely different when the hard drive creates access problems, and write and read errors are repeated again and again. You cannot restore an external hard drive. But you can ensure that there is no further data loss. All operating systems contain a hard drive that can detect surface damage. In this case you can note bad sectors and ensure that they are not used in the future.
What to do if your hard drive clicks suspiciously
However, such damage indicates serious problems in the future. It should be clear to you that the damage found is almost certainly starting. Do backup copy your data and see that more damage is coming soon. Eventually you will have to buy new hard disk.
Problem 2: Windows doesn't see the drive
A physically healthy drive may not be detected by the operating system even when connected to another computer, but may be visible in the BIOS.
There are several situations in which Windows does not see the device:
Repair for incorrect reading
This command carefully checks the entire surface of the disk, detects any errors and places them in the disk index as damaged. The next test takes some time - depending on the size of the disk. After this you can use the disk again. It consists of several stages.
Disk controller failure
If you already know that the disc has surface damage, use the above method directly!
- Right-click on the drive and select Properties from the context menu.
- A small window will open, select the “Tools” tab.
- Click the "Check" button.
- In the window that opens, select “Scan” and “Repair disk”.
- The drive letter is missing. It may happen that the volume will be left without a letter (C, D, E, etc.), which is why it will no longer be visible to the system. Simple formatting usually helps here.
After this, if you need to return deleted data, use special programs.
- Received the disc RAW format. Formatting will help resolve this situation, but it is not the only way to return file system NTFS or FAT. Read more about this in our other article:
- Windows does not see the new hard drive. Just purchased and connected to system unit The HDD may not be detected by the system, and this is absolutely normal. To start using the device, you need to initialize it.
Problem 3: BIOS does not see the drive
In more serious cases, the hard drive may not be visible not only in the operating system, but also in the BIOS. Typically, the BIOS displays all connected devices, even those that are not detected in Windows. This way you can understand that physically they work, but there are software conflicts.
Install the necessary hooks and start an intensive test with built-in hard drive recovery. There are various symptomatic effects due to a defect in the external hard drive. But before the device is offered for expensive repair by the service provider, the defect can also be repaired on its own. In the next article we will show you how to do this.
Possible problems and solutions
External hard drive not recognized
A black stripe above the disk or the "Unallocated" indicator also indicates a defect in the partition. If new partitions need to be created and the data was not previously saved on another volume, you can first try to recover important data using tools. We provide assistance to save data. Once the corrupted data has been saved and restored to another external hard drive, the corrupted external drive can then be right-clicked on Volume Management to delete the partition along with all the data in the menu that appears.
When a device is not detected in the BIOS, in most cases this is due to one of two reasons:
Problem 4: The hard drive is knocking under the cover
If you hear a knock inside the hard drive, then most likely the controller has been damaged. Sometimes the hard drive may not be detected in the BIOS.
Other physical damage caused by external influences
After this, you can create a new partition using a new right-click on the menu. The external hard drive was now looking for errors and fixing itself. The process may take a few minutes to begin and the process may take several hours to complete.
The external hard drive is recognized or audibly damaged
External hard drive doesn't make or change noise
If a strange noise such as clicking, scratching or sound signal, it can be either an internal or external defect. The clicking sound may be caused by internal damage to the write and read head, and complete silence during actual commissioning indicates a faulty printed circuit board. There are several different samples of damaged external hard drives that you can compare to find the exact cause of the problem.
To fix this problem, you will need to completely change the controller, but doing this yourself is almost impossible. Specialized companies carry out such repairs, but it will cost a lot of money. Therefore, it makes sense to contact the experts only if the information stored on the disk is very important.
The external storage medium should no longer be used if it is suspected to be a physical defect. To use driver data, devices are identified by a letter and the corresponding slot. If you frequently move or change your device, this may result in a conflict that causes system error or failure when running the wrong driver with the device. The cause of these symptoms may also be harmful software on an external hard drive, as well as operating system or access error and antivirus program conflicts.
Problem 5: HDD makes strange noises
Under normal conditions, the drive should not make any sound other than noise while reading or writing. If you hear uncharacteristic squeaks, cracks, clicks, knocks or even scratches, then it is very important to stop using the damaged HDD as soon as possible.
It is recommended to always scan all portable drives and systems for viruses after using an external hard drive on different computers so as not to carry them out. The decor is also quite simple. Simple and quick installation. We archive our photos and videos of him. This is exactly what we were looking for and found.
Installation and commissioning are very simple. The latest software was read immediately after installation. I don't need access via mobile phone or tablet. I didn't care about the drum. The connection was interrupted more often and access took a long time. Then it's just not fun. Data access is very fast and the connection was never dropped.
Depending on the severity of the damage, the drive may not be detected in the BIOS, stop abruptly, or, on the contrary, unsuccessfully try to start spinning up.
In this case, it is very difficult to diagnose the problem yourself. A specialist will need to disassemble the device to determine the source of the problem. In the future, based on the inspection results, replacement of the damaged element will be required. This may be a head, cylinder, plate or other elements.
Only when a gigabyte of data is played out does he hum something. I can't say anything negative and would recommend it. You should also read the reviews between the lines rather than being unsure. The following commands ensure that they are no longer run after a neutral start.
Repair of hard drives with failed magnetic heads
Putty and installation. These commands are used to stop services. Optional - so that they are not registered again after a reboot. You can cancel everything if there are problems. Access always works without problems. Small tip: At every boot, the hard drives are mounted, rather than the "mount at login again" checkbox. It turned out over the years as the best option. Open the editor and enter.
TrackLab specialists are able to repair and restore external hard drives of any brand! We repair HDD brands: Seagate, Western Digital, Transcend, HP, Samsung, Netgear, Hitachi, Toshiba.
Our advantages:
- Free diagnostics!
- Location – close to the metro!
- Any complexity of work!
- Payment for the service is only after checking the data!
At TrackLab, work on HDD recovery produced as quickly as possible! Our specialists not only recover data, but also repair hard drives while preserving data in cases where this is possible. After diagnosing the device, which is carried out free of charge in our company, you can decide whether it is advisable to repair the hard drive.
Now all drives are automatically mounted on every startup, and then everything works! There hasn't been a single problem with the recording so far. She sleeps when she is not needed. She wakes up when she is needed. I haven't had any hangers or misfires yet. To numerous negative reviews.
Networking is just a topic unto itself and not everyone can or can handle it. Let's be silly: what are we doing? Because that's how the data comes in. Additionally, many of you probably haven't installed a firewall on your router. However, the disk works without problems.
How to merge data from HDD without repair?
Clients often turn to us with a request to rewrite data from a hard drive without repair (to reduce the cost of the service, if the customer is planning to purchase a new hard drive).
It all depends on the breakdown: if sectors have just begun to fall on the HDD, there is still an opportunity to remove the data and think about purchasing another hard drive. In the event that the device has problems with electronics or mechanics, it will not be possible to do without repairs if you still hope to save photos, videos or any other information from the disk.
If at the beginning of your computer the drive behaves strangely or notes that it is becoming very slow, this is a sign that something is wrong with your hard drive. The most common mistake is bad sectors. The first step to know the nature of the damage and damage to your hard drive is to analyze its condition and, based on the results obtained, make a diagnosis of the cause and try to repair it.
This free tool will analyze your hard drives and show you their health status. This time use portable version 4. Download the software and extract the file to an accessible location. For example, on the desktop. The program will then start and, after a brief analysis, display the health status of the memory blocks connected to the computer. It simply performs periodic checks.
In the TrackLab laboratory, the entire range of work with the HDA HDD is carried out in a special room, which indicates qualitative approach for repairs.
The most common malfunctions of external hard drives
Due to numerous requests from our customers, we will tell you about the most common failures and methods of repairing hard drives.
- Bad blocks- represent partial damage to the hdd magnetic plate, while the hard drive often cannot read or write data to the damaged area. In most cases, to restore such a disk, you need to copy it sector by sector to another hdd.
- Engine bearing wedge. This is often a sore point for Toshiba and Seagate. “Symptoms” of malfunctions are quiet humming sounds due to the fact that the motor shaft cannot spin up. You can repair an external hard drive by wedging the bearing or moving the magnetic plates into a working HDA.
- Burnout of the electronics board.“Symptoms” - failure to start the engine due to an electrical breakdown, incorrect connection of the drive’s power connector, or simply a poor-quality power supply. In this case, repair external HDDs This is done by replacing the board with a new one or repairing the old one.
- Head block sticking. Most often, this problem occurs on laptop drives as a result of a shock or fall, but it can also happen without external impact on the drive. Such a malfunction is repaired by bringing the heads back to the parking attendant, after which the heads must be replaced.
- The problem is in the magnetic head unit. In the event of such a malfunction, the external disk usually clicks periodically when the head does not find the servo marking and the disk constantly parks and unparks the faulty heads. It is only possible to temporarily restore an external drive to copy data as follows: to copy data, you need to rearrange the MMG (magnetic head unit) from another hard drive, but after removing the data, both drives can be considered non-working.
- Failure of the BMG switch. In this case, disk failure may be caused by a failure of the switch chip or the switch itself as a result of an electrical breakdown. Repair of hard drives in such situations is carried out by resoldering the switch chip from another drive, or by completely replacing the magnetic head unit with the switch.
If you have a problem with your computer, the hard drive is not detected or other malfunctions, we are ready to provide a full range of services:
- Repair and recovery of data on removable hard drives
- External HDD repair
- Free diagnostics
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