Hard Disk Data Recovery

Changin platters is even more difficult than you write (all you wrote was correct, but not complete), if the plater does not sit with an absolutely exact middle alignment, the data tracks will run out of true. Furthermore, each of the platters must be digitally aligned with the other platters......not just "any old how!"

In manufacture, the platters are completely unformatted (empty) and are mounted together and THEN the basic format (not to be confused with a format on a PC!!) and all the bits/tracks are written and checked for accuracy, then the firmware is changed for the customer version, tested and sold.....or close to, fine details are all secret to the manufacturer concerned!!!

This basic format is never changed nowadays and remains even when reformatting/data erasure is done to the DATA ONLY on your PC.....

That "basic" formatting is known as "Low Level format"

it should be work, once you change correctly pcb.

try to check if there is any wrong connect or link wire.

If any part of the boot-sector became physically corrupt, or a head-crush occurred during a power-brake, this HDD is toast, and better be thrown to the garbage bin, unless there is some critical data to be salvaged (by a specialist), but even then, the disk will not be usable anymore.

Salvaging data, does not mean repairing the disk, for normal use.

Only hard-disks which their data-structure is corrupt can be re-defined for further use.

A critical physical corruption or a head crush will render the hard disk useless

If the platter has been rotated, fine tune heads.

From what I have read, your data is now gone . Unless your drive was a single platter, the act of moving the platters has probably rendered those platters unreadable. The data is written sequentially across the heads (and thus, the platters). If the platters are rotated with respect to each other, there is virtually no way the data will ever be recoverable. There is also the fact that you should not open a drive without a clean-room environment, and dust will soon damage the drive. I watched a very good tutorial on HDD data recovery on You Tube, I'll see if I can find it and post a link, but I fear it will not help you with your present situation, but there's always next time!

Tom

Hi, There is or was a company in Dandenong that recovered stored data on HD's I'm sorry I cannot remember their name, been so long since I was there last.

With what he has already done to the drive, I seriously doubt that they can do much now either, or only at EXTREMELY high cost of many thousands of $$$$$$$....sadly. And with no guarantee of success.....

Rule no 1: Never open a HD unless you have complied with an A class clean room as your chances of recovery has reduced considerably.

This is due to the fact that microscopic particles land on the platters and thru movement

i.e abrasiveness may render the platters unreadable.

Rule no 2: Unless you are in the data recovery business and your HD savvy it is un-advisable to frig with it. Hence the reason the platters are enclosed. Only those with the knowledge,experience and facilities should pull a hard disk apart.

Now you most likely will have to go to one of those expensive data recovery companies. You could have tried hooking the hard drive up to a board that is working as a slave drive, and proceeded to use inexpensive data recovery software to check the validity of the drives structure etc.

In any case good luck

If this is a personnel or employers disk it should always be backed up (Computer 101). To your current problem, I know that there are several companies that specialize in data recovery and they can be found on line. If this is an employers disk you will need to ensure you havbe a secure source performing this with disclosure agreements and understandable process and procedures. You may also check with such companies like Microsoft, Sun, Dell and other computer manufacturers. Another source would be to look at trhe drive owners website as most likley component changes can be made or systematic know cures can be affected. Good luck, hope this helps.

You may have seen it in a comic, but in fact we used to clean disk heads many years ago by hand!! But in those days(mid 1970's), an Eagle drive for example (considered to be huge!!) was 500MB....the platters (removable) weighed several kilos!!!

When we had head crashes, we sometimes needed 100 or more new heads, (operator had tried a dropped pack on ALL of the companies drives, crashing every single drive in the process!!), so we had to clean and "recover" any heads that showed no damage and then align them using an (very expensive!!) alignment pack!!!

Been there done that and got the T-shirt!!!!

35 years ago, we actually did that on the drives where the "pack" was replaceable....but with maximum data on a HUGE set of platters being 100 MB........automatic (tooth!!) brushes were there to clean the platters before loading the heads on many machines.

The worst part was flossing all those bits. One new guy complained, "Do I have to do all of them?"

"No, just the ones you want to keep!"

Like it!!!!

Did he appreciate the humor as well as I did?

If the HD is truly screwed, remove the platters once again, they make very handy mirrors, and the magnets stick almost anything to your fridge...

Get a pair of the magnets, and demonstrate by sticking 1 either side of your hand or table to the young folk that are curious ;o)

Keep out of reach of children tho, fingers stuck between these magnets can make your ears hurt from the screaming.

Hi,

Your disk is physically damaged so if you change platters, it won't be able to recover your data. You need data recovery Service now to recover your hard drive.

I take the help of Stellar Information Systems Ltd. when my disk was corrupted logically. You should try this company for your data recovery requirements. for more details go here : http://www.stellarinfo.com/

If he has physically removed the disks from the central spindle (as I understood from his post) then his data is already completely lost and it would cost a fortune to get a specialist company to re-align them and get data off......

I feel he should cut his losses and learn how to make proper backups in the future......