Why exposing HDD platters is a BAD idea.
Following the “don’t put your hard disk in a freezer” advice in a previous post, here we examine the worst possible decision a person can make when they are suffering data loss. That is to open the hard disk drive and expose the platters, and worse still, to start poking, prodding and moving components inside the hard disk drive. Any such actions are likely to lead to complete data loss.
Although your hard disk drive might look a little bit like a record player inside, with shiny compact disc-like platters, it certainly does not operate like either. Hard disks are extremely sensitive to contamination and physical defects to the platter and have to handled with extreme care.
Over the last few years, we have had a number of potential customers who have visited with a hard disk drive that they, or a PC repair shop, have opened. Inside I have often seen dust, scratches and even finger prints on the platter surface. Unfortunately, on these occasions it is necessary to turn the person around send them on their way and politely tell them their data is not recoverable. I don’t like having to do that, especially when the chances could have been good if the hard disk assembly had not been opened in the first place.
It is as simple as that. We won’t produce a ten-page report and try and charge you for donor parts so we can ‘try the work’. We understand that in these situations a customer wants a glimmer of hope, but in some circumstances, due to mishandling of the hard disk drive it would be dishonest to do so. Please, if your data is important, do not try and ‘DIY’ it.
A head crash in a hard disk drive – unrecoverable