When your hard drive has failed, it is wiser to leave the recovery to an expert such as
MjM Data Recovery Ltd in the UK.
Hard drives can fail for a range of reasons and the symptoms for the failure are few.
The broken hard disk will .
- Spin as usual but you can not access your files - Logical Problem
- Not Spinning - Probably Electronics Problem or seized motor.
- Spinning but makes clunking sounds - Possibly a Mechanical Failure
- Spinning but make other sounds - Potential head crash or motor failure.
When the hard drive is spinning as normal but you cant see your data, then the liklihood is that there is a logical problem. Did scan-disk run during start up?, or did you delete some files recently? Has your computer come under virus attack?
When the hard disk is not rotating, then your hard disk drive will need either electronics work it or will need opening in a clean room. MjM Data Recovery Ltd have the facility to recover from either of these problems.
If the hard disk is making clunking sounds then this points to a more significat problem and will most likely need internal examination in a clean room to determine precisely what has goner wrong. Never open a hard disk yourself, especially if the data has any value.
When the hard drive is making other sounds then this is indicitive of a major failure. More than likely a head crash or spindle failure.
Whatever the problem is, there is still a possiblity of recovering the data if the drive is sent to data recovery specialists.