As we use hard drives on a daily basis to store valuable information, it’s important to understand the various components that make up the hard drive and how they work. Unfortunately, hard drive failure can occur, causing us to lose access to our data. In this article, we’ll discuss the different components of a hard disk drive and their functions.
The internal and external hard drives contain hardware and software components, and each of them is very important for the hard drive’s proper work. Some of the crucial ones include:
The Printed Circuit Board (PCB). The PCB is an essential part of the hard drive that regulates power distribution and communication between the various components. When the PCB fails, the hard drive may not spin up, making it impossible to access any data on the platters.
Spindle. The spindle’s RPM rating is a crucial factor in the speed of data transfer to and from the hard drive. Most hard drives for desktop users have an RPM rating of 7,200, while some high-performance drives can have an RPM rating of 10,000 or higher.
Read/Write Arm.The read/write arm is a delicate component that must remain in precise alignment to function correctly. Even slight damage or misalignment can cause the arm to scratch the surface of the platters, resulting in data loss.
Actuator. The actuator is a small motor that uses magnetic fields to move the read/write arm across the platters. A failing actuator can cause the read/write arm to become stuck or move erratically, making it impossible to access data on the drive.
The Firmware: Firmware is a computer program that is hard-coded into the internal hard drive and contains the hard drive’s basic operational storage programming. Another way to think of firmware is as a software middleman, allowing your hardware to communicate with software (i.e., Windows operating system, etc). For a hard drive, the firmware is a program that governs the behavior and factory settings, even the identity, of that drive. Any drive that leaves the factory and is in use in a computer or server has firmware installed on it.
By understanding the technical details of hard drive components and how they work together, you can better recognize the signs of hard drive failure and take steps to prevent data loss.
How Hard Drive Works and Fails
The motor is activated and begins to rotate upon powering up. The reading heads block is currently parked in a specific parking zone. This demagnetized zone can be on the plates (towards the center) or on a ramp.
When the motor reaches its maximum speed, air reaches the platters to transport the read/write heads and keep them floating without even touching the HDD platters. To read and write data, read heads can be launched onto platters. The heads eventually return to their initial location. When any of these components get damaged, or the platters fail due to wear-and-tear, the HDD user losses access to his data.
To prevent hard disk drive failure, it’s crucial to take regular backups of all important data. It’s also essential to keep the hard drive away from extreme temperatures, moisture, dust, and magnetic fields, which can damage the components. If you suspect your hard drive may be failing, it’s important to stop using the drive immediately and contact a professional data recovery company.
How to Fix Hard Drive Failure
Hard drive hardware failure can affect the proper functioning of the drive. This failure may concern one or more components of the hard disk: mechanical component, electronic component, or Firmware component. We, therefore, speak of a hard disk that is physically inaccessible or a hard disk not recognized by the computer.
A logic failure may accompany this failure. The best-known examples of hardware failure: are a hard disk no longer spins, a fallen hard disk, and a hard disk that has suffered a power surge; among the examples less known to the general public, an unrecognized hard disk due to aging and wear of the hard disk, a hard disk locked by a password. Strangely it is a hardware failure because due to this locking from an HS hard disk, recovering data may be inoperative.
Remember that repairing a damaged internal hard drive is only a way to recover inaccessible data. Therefore, recovering data from a hard drive should be the primary objective of any intervention to recover the data from a damaged hard drive.
In some cases, recovering data from a hard drive may require specialized techniques and equipment, such as physically damaged platters or read/write heads. Data recovery companies use advanced technologies and tools to retrieve lost data from damaged hard drives. They can recover data from all hard drives, including internal and external hard drives, solid-state drives (SSDs), RAID arrays, and more.
Possible causes of hardware failures
- If a hard drive component fails, repairing a damaged internal hard drive sometimes requires replacing the failed hard drive components.
- In the event of serious read/write errors beyond the Firmware’s ability to manage, repairing the internal hard disk is a fictitious operation because it eliminates the signs of the symptoms of the failure and not the causes. This may be temporary hard disk backup time physically.
- Repairing a faulty, factory-installed hard drive is problematic because hard drive repair tools do not take care of these faults. Sometimes, the manufacturer may provide information to help data recovery professionals eliminate this defect.
- Repairing a damaged internal hard drive in some cases may not be possible if the degradation of the hard drive is irreversible due to excessive temperatures or humidity, flooding, fire, etc.
- The repair of a hard disk drive having suffered a shock or a fall only replaces the block of read heads if the state of the platters allows it. Otherwise, the disk is out of service forever.
Hard drive repair options
- Repair of the hard disk failure due to physical damage: In such a case, the hard disks are suffering from physical damage, and in most cases, damage users’ data with each spin. When recovering such data loss cases, it is necessary to have identical or compatible components and advanced tools and operate in the ISO Certified Class 10 Cleanroom. Professionals of our data recovery company have required hardware and tools to ensure the maximum data repair results in such data loss scenarios.
- Hard disk repair failed due to logical damage: If the hard drive failed because of logical damage, it does not require physical inspection. However, it still requires professional data recovery services to ensure maximum results and no data leak opportunities.
Recovering data from a hard drive by yourself is not safe, as the success rate of the recovery attempt is very low. And we found that the 2nd attempt reduces the chance of successful data recovery by 80%.
Each data loss scenario is unique. PITS technicians have generated specialized hard drive recovery software and hardware, allowing us to provide customized hard drive data recovery solutions for all common and catastrophic data loss scenarios.
Our engineers provide successful hard disk recovery to those cases, which other service providers have declared permanently lost. We maintain a 99% success rate by operating in ISO Certified Class 10 Cleanroom, using state-of-the-art tools.
In addition, our experienced technicians have years of experience recovering important files from different data loss scenarios.
Data loss scenarios we recover data from:
- BSoD Error Message
- Bad Sectors
- Physical Damage
- Malware and Virus Damage
- User Error, Accidental File Deletion
- Data Corruption
- Water Damage
- Power Supply Failure
In conclusion, hard drive failure can occur unexpectedly and cause significant data loss. However, there are ways to fix hard drive failure and recover valuable data. Before attempting any DIY solutions, it’s important to understand the cause of hard drive failure, which can include physical damage, software corruption, overheating, power surges, and human error.
If you’re not confident in your ability to fix hard drive failure or recover your data, it’s essential to seek professional data recovery services immediately. Data recovery experts have the expertise and specialized equipment needed to diagnose and repair hard drive failures safely. They can recover data from all hard drives, including internal and external hard drives, solid-state drives (SSDs), RAID arrays, and more.
Remember, prevention is always better than cure. To minimize the risk of hard drive failure, keep your hard drive clean and free from dust, avoid overheating, and ensure your computer is protected against power surges. Regularly backing up your data to an external storage device or cloud storage can also help ensure that you never lose your valuable data.
Facing data inaccessibility on your hard drive, give us a call at (888) 611 0737 or fill out the request help form. Our customer service representatives will gladly help you with the issue and start your data recovery case.