Hard drive data recovery

Logical failures can be found in any hard drive, because they do not affect hardware but software. The device does not have physical damage. It can be caused by formatting, data deletion, boot corruption, partition corruption, virus, files corruption, overwriting, etc.
To reach 100% data recovery it will be necessary to process the content of the hard drive with specific techniques, depending on the kind of damage. If there has been overwriting there will usually only be a partial recovery.

It is usually triggered by electricity fluctuations in power sources of both PCs and enclosures. The hard drive will not have any activity: it will not be detected, nor the motor will spin. It will be apparently “dead”. It can present a burnt smell, characteristic of that of electronic components. Changing the PCB will not fix it, because the PCB has been parameterized with the factory-installed head.
Serman has the technology to adapt the parameters of donnor PCBs to the damaged hard drive. Success rate is close to 100%.

There are different types of mechanical failure, depending on the manufacturer and model of the hard drive:
- Whirring, vibration or motor not spinning.
- It makes a “tac tac” noise and the motor may stop completely.
- The BIOS does not detect the hard drive, or it is detected erratically.
Depending on the seriousness of each case, we will have to apply mechanical support techniques and, in some cases, even transplanting the disks to another hard drive. This is a severe fault. The success rate is above 90%.

The head crash is a very common failure in hard drives from all manufacturers. It can be caused by an external agent (e.g. a hit) or by an internal degradation of the magnetic emulsion. The BIOS does not detect or has difficulty detecting the hard drive. It makes a cyclical and repetitive “tac tac” noise, that may stop after a few attempts. A head crash requires a head transplant in a clean room. Data recovery from a head crash will be affected by the high price of the very specific heads required for the process.

It can be found in all the hard drive manufacturers. It is usually caused by a hit or by a serious thermal imbalance. It can present different symptoms:
- The BIOS does not detect the hard drive.
- The motor shaft gets stuck, making an odd and characteristic whistle, like a musical tune.
- The motor does not spin.
When a motor failure happens, it is necessary to transplant the disks to another hard drive. This is a complex procedure that requires experience and extreme accuracy. A specific equipment will be required in each case. The success rate is above 85%.