Hard disk power surge - Possible to repair?


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David

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Mar 21, 2002
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Has anyone experienced smoke coming out of their hard disk and the computer shuts down?

I read that this could be due to a power surge. It happened to my 320GB Western Digital. :(

Just wondering if it can be repaired? The data inside should still be intact?

Any advice is greated appreciated! Thank u....
 

Has anyone experienced smoke coming out of their hard disk and the computer shuts down?

I read that this could be due to a power surge. It happened to my 320GB Western Digital. :(

Just wondering if it can be repaired? The data inside should still be intact?

Any advice is greated appreciated! Thank u....

no warranty?
 

Has anyone experienced smoke coming out of their hard disk and the computer shuts down?

I read that this could be due to a power surge. It happened to my 320GB Western Digital. :(

Just wondering if it can be repaired? The data inside should still be intact?

Any advice is greated appreciated! Thank u....

Likely to be difficult. If there is smoke, it means that some component has fried... and unless you get some technical guys to replace those parts, the data recovery is pretty unlikely. So costwise, it's gonna be on the high end.
 

Got warranty also no use. They don't do data recovery. They will just replace the hard disk.

What you can try is to find a similar good hard disk. Swap the circuit board and hopefully can recover the data. If not, you would need to get professional data recovery service to help you.
 

External or internal hard disk?

Usually a power surge will take out the power supply unit first before it has the chance to damage the hard disks.

Remove or disconnect the hard disk and see if the PC can boot up.
 

Try getting replacement parts, and see if it works, especially when you have valuable data on it.

Data recovery often costs a bomb, and even with warranty, they will just swap ur damaged hard disk with another refitted one.

My wd500gb got damaged by electrostatic discharge, panic. Lots of my photo archives in it, sourced out data recovery...all out of budget range and not worth it. Went down to Sim Lim got a casing, replacing the old one voiding the warranty...it's working again. :thumbsup:

Expenditure on hardware : two reds.

Expenditure otherwise : at least 5 browns + data lost
 

Can just change the casing like that meh? Don't you need a clean room to do it?

Try getting replacement parts, and see if it works, especially when you have valuable data on it.

Data recovery often costs a bomb, and even with warranty, they will just swap ur damaged hard disk with another refitted one.

My wd500gb got damaged by electrostatic discharge, panic. Lots of my photo archives in it, sourced out data recovery...all out of budget range and not worth it. Went down to Sim Lim got a casing, replacing the old one voiding the warranty...it's working again. :thumbsup:

Expenditure on hardware : two reds.

Expenditure otherwise : at least 5 browns + data lost
 

It can be done, usually, the Disks remain intact with the information stored. Since there was smoke, my best prediction could be that the mainboard has short circuited or malfunctioned. You can recover the data, but it's going to cost quite abit.


The HDD will be sent back to a recovery center for assesment. As long as there are no faults/damage on the discs, the information can be recovered.


GMAN
 

Can just change the casing like that meh? Don't you need a clean room to do it?

It's only changing the casing, not the internal parts where you can see the spinning disc.
It's safe, don't worry. If shops are just selling the casing, it probably means it can be d.i.y-ed. ;)
 

Oh chey, okay, then its the same as just putting a HDD into another external casing.

For troubleshooting, I normally prefer to use a Sata/IDE to USB cable so as to eliminate possible problems in the casing. If that doesn't work; then its time to bring to the recovery shop.

It's only changing the casing, not the internal parts where you can see the spinning disc.
It's safe, don't worry. If shops are just selling the casing, it probably means it can be d.i.y-ed. ;)
 

Thanks all.

sbs99,

Good that yours work now.

I'm still a bit confused. The so-called casing you're referring to is Not the SATA/IDE casing where the HDD becomes an external hard-disk? So what sort of parts did you actually buy?

I think mine may be more complex than that and may involve the electronic parts or circuit board. Not so simple to just change the casing?

Thanks.
 

Thanks all.

sbs99,

Good that yours work now.

I'm still a bit confused. The so-called casing you're referring to is Not the SATA/IDE casing where the HDD becomes an external hard-disk? So what sort of parts did you actually buy?

I think mine may be more complex than that and may involve the electronic parts or circuit board. Not so simple to just change the casing?

Thanks.

If you are using an external HDD, you could try taking the hard drive out of that enclosure and putting it into a new one.

The second method is actually opening the HD and putting the inside's into a new HD. I.e. taking a Western Digital, opening it up and putting it into another WD HD.
 

If you are using an external HDD, you could try taking the hard drive out of that enclosure and putting it into a new one.

The second method is actually opening the HD and putting the inside's into a new HD. I.e. taking a Western Digital, opening it up and putting it into another WD HD.

You cannot open up a drive. If you do, you will ensure the destruction of all data on the disks. (I worked at Fujitsu hard drive division so I know.)
 

Has anyone experienced smoke coming out of their hard disk and the computer shuts down?

I read that this could be due to a power surge. It happened to my 320GB Western Digital. :(

Just wondering if it can be repaired? The data inside should still be intact?

Any advice is greated appreciated! Thank u....

Smoke coming out of the drive itself? If it came from the PCBA, then you can probably just replace the PCBA. Good luck finding a spare PCBA though. I've never heard of anyone selling those.

If it's from INSIDE the drive, then your drive is as good as dead.
 

Smoke coming out of the drive itself? If it came from the PCBA, then you can probably just replace the PCBA. Good luck finding a spare PCBA though. I've never heard of anyone selling those.

If it's from INSIDE the drive, then your drive is as good as dead.
Not really, still can be fixed. :bsmilie: I don't those before, as long as the discs inside are not damaged, every other electronic component can be fixed, but you have to weigh out the value of the data with the price of the repair. In most cases, buying a new HDD is a better option, unless your data is so important, then there's shouldn't be a problem for you to pay the price of the repair


GMAN
 

Yes, of course, you have to factor that. And i've worked in a clean room before.

GMAN

To be sure, then. Unless you do the work in a Class 100 environment or better, the drive cannot be fixed.
 

What in the world does "GMAN" mean?
 

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