Fried my hard drive! I seriously need help getting data off please!!!

[jpuzas80]

Hey Guys and Gals,

I had an internal Hitachi hard drive and placed it in a caddy which I use to back my family photos on.
I have used it for many years and decided to back this data up. Whilst in the process of backing up my data from the Hitachi hard drive, just my friggin luck, I have heard some sizzling and crackling then smelt burning.
I have opened the device to more smoke and a more potent smell. I have looked at the power connector on the Hard Drive and that looks fried!

Please can someone give me any advice as some of the photos haven't been backed up yet. Thank you

 

[Dunlop0078]

Well if it wasn't totally dead (going by your description the electronics at the least got fried) then opening it probably finished it off, a fingerprint or dust on the platter could totally ruin the platter next time it is powered up, hard drives are assembled in a clean room for a reason.

Likely your only option is to send the drive to a data recovery company, they can take out the platters and try to pull data off it, it's not cheap. Unfortunately I don't think you have any other option.

 

[jpuzas80]

Thank you Dunlop0078, I really hope it doesn't come to a data recovery company. The Mrs won't be happy lol

I've looked at the Hard Drive and the platter doesn't seem to be exposed. I have taken it out and placed it in safe dust free packaging. I have done some simple electronic repairs before but nothing fried, so understand what your saying.

So can a hard drive get fried but still be recovered?

 

[ko888]

Usually just replacing the defective controller circuit board with one of the exact same model allows the data to be retrieved without any need to open up the drive to get the spindle into another drive.

https://www.hddzone.com/ibm_hitachi_pcb_swap_replacement_guide.html

 

[smorizio]

another thing to look online is google the model of the encloser and drive see if the fire issue happen to more then one user. sometime if it a defect there may be a class action lawsuit that pays for a new unit and data recovery. also contact the vendor see if they pay for data recovery of there failed product.

 

[RolandJS]

Class action or no class action, no hardware or software company is responsible for backed or non-backed up data.

 

[jason201]

Well if it wasn't totally dead (going by your description the electronics at the least got fried) then opening it probably finished it off, a fingerprint or dust on the platter could totally ruin the platter next time it is powered up, hard drives are assembled in a clean room for a reason.

Likely your only option is to send the drive to a data recovery company, they can take out the platters and try to pull data off it, it's not cheap. Unfortunately I don't think you have any other option.

I think you may have misunderstood what he was saying (not that I can blame you, as he wasn't overly clear)
In the UK, a caddy is a term used to describe an external drive enclosure, and I believe he meant he opened it (the enclosure) after the incident and not the hard drive itself, but this is yet to be confirmed.
For the record though, there's no such thing as a "universal platter reader" - that is an urban legend!
Data recovery companies have a huge stockpile of spare parts for recovery purposes, as well as special data recovery hardware.

 

[jason201]

Thank you Dunlop0078, I really hope it doesn't come to a data recovery company. The Mrs won't be happy lol

I've looked at the Hard Drive and the platter doesn't seem to be exposed. I have taken it out and placed it in safe dust free packaging. I have done some simple electronic repairs before but nothing fried, so understand what your saying.

So can a hard drive get fried but still be recovered?

Just to confirm, you haven't actually opened the hard drive itself down the platter level (from the sticker side), correct?
Anyways, you can source a spare circuit board for it from one of the following sites:

https://www.onepcbsolution.com/
https://www.hddzone.com/
or from ebay/aliexpress.

Each HDD's circuit board is unique, and has an identification number on it.
Refer to this guide in order to determine the number on yours:
https://www.hddzone.com/conditions.html
Do note that 3.5" drives use T8 (Torx) screws for the PCB, so you may need to purchase a new screwdriver (or screwdriver set) for this purpose. Also, do keep in mind that the firmware chip would likely need to be transferred from the original PCB to the new (or it wouldn't work otherwise). The first site I've mentioned (onepcbsolution) does this free of charge (you purchase your PCB, sends em your existing one, then they do the swapping and send it back).
So if you can find it there, that option would probably be best. Otherwise, you'd have to get it done locally on some electronics/phone repair shop. In order to determine the location of the firmware chip, just look it up on ebay/aliexpress, the sellers would usually circle it in red on the picture. Provided you have not opened it down the platters (and that the firmware chip itself isn't damaged), your recovery chances are very high. If the firmware chip is damaged however, only a professional data recovery company would be able to get the job done (which would be quite expensive)

 

[jpuzas80]

Thank you for the feedback.
I am hoping it is just the caddy that has fried as I can't see burn marks on the pcb itself.
If that fails I'm just going to save up my pennies and get the data recovered.
Again thank you all