Can you recover data from a water-damaged drive?
Hard drives and water, like cats and dogs, do not mix well. Sadly, whether
due to an accidental spillage, a burst pipe or flood, they regularly come into
contact with one another.
In many cases, this will be of little concern to those affected. We almost
all have some type of data that is important to us, but when data loss has been
caused by something which has resulted in more pronounced and widespread damage, its loss will pale in
comparison to the importance of repairing damaged properties, vehicles and
other items. To those whose livelihoods are invariably linked to their data,
however, losing it is understandable a pressing concern. Good news: lost data can be recovered… but there are a few things you’ll need to know.
Speed, though, is of the essence. Should the drive be allowed to dry
naturally, then deposits can be left on the drive’s platter rendering the data
unreadable. Should the waters have originated from the sea, then corrosive salt
water will cause more acute damage more quickly. If you live in a hard water
area, it’s possible limescale could form on its platters. Whilst the need to
act decisively is slightly more important under certain circumstances, though,
it’s ultimately essential whenever any liquid and any type of storage media
come into contact with another.
Equally important is that you do not, under any circumstances, attempt to
power up the drive. Doing so will almost certainly destroy the drive and the
data along with it.
Finally, do not under any circumstances open the drive and attempt to dry it
out yourself. You may think that removing water and moisture from the drive
will prevent deposits from forming on the platter but the air around you is
literally filled with contaminates which, should they land on the drive’s
platter (which is highly likely) will cause nigh-on irreparable damage. Anyway,
that’s enough of what you shouldn’t do – here’s what Fields Data Recovery can
do if you’ve lost vital data through water damage.
Firstly, we will dry the drive out. Not in the way described above, but by
placing in it in a special solution that will remove the chemicals that will
create deposits on the platter. The drive will sit in this solution for several
days before being removed and allowed to dry out safely.
Following this, we will replace all damaged components (generally the head
and circuit board) thus ensuring that the data held on the still intact
platters can be read, accessed and viewed.
If you’ve suffered vital data loss because of spillage, flood or anything
else, get in touch with the
UK’s leading data recovery provider today.