Sometimes it happens that the hard disk drive stops working without any sounds of popping, screeching or clicking. If your hard disk shows the same symptoms and it contains some important data that is not backed up on any other device or computer, this guide may be helpful for you to troubleshoot and correct all the problems.
Inspect outside of the disk drive for any damage
· Firstly, stop using your laptop or your external hard disk.
· Disconnect your external drive or power down your computer.
· Remove the disk drive from the device or computer.
· Examine your drive carefully for the 'hot spots' or any other damage on external controller board.
· Closely examine if there are any broken parts.
Now replace the cables
Try plugging in the disk drive with new cables (data and power connection) that you think are functional and try again. Also note that you will need a certain flat-ribbon cable for an IDE drive.
If your computer has an IDE/EIDE (PATA) drive, switch the drive pin settings
· Switch it to "master", if previously it was "cable select" or "slave".
· Without keeping any other device or laptop on the same port, plug it in and try again.
Try another PCI controller or other IDs and try again
Just change your ID if you do not have any other controller or PCI card that can add ports to your laptop.
Plug it into the external driver case or an external disk drive adapter
If your hard disk does not spin up, you can try connecting the disk to some other power source. If it still does not work, the fault is probably related to your Printed Circuit Board.
Connect your hard disk to another computer or device and try again
If connecting the drive into any other device works, there is a possibility that your hard disk is fine and the motherboard of your computer is at fault.
Useful tips
· Keep in mind that you may permanently damage your hard disk by attempting to read damaged area of the disk again and again. It may damage the head assembly also.
· If you are not confident about what to do with your hard disk, seek a professional help to repair the hard drive as you may worsen the condition of your drive with lack of proper knowledge.
· Do not use RAID 0 to do anything but scratch all data. It is fast but it has no redundancy.
· You can see a partition table on the 1st sector of your disk drive. It contains the information about the organization of the drive. Without the partition table, your computer will just think that nothing is there.
Inspect outside of the disk drive for any damage
· Firstly, stop using your laptop or your external hard disk.
· Disconnect your external drive or power down your computer.
· Remove the disk drive from the device or computer.
· Examine your drive carefully for the 'hot spots' or any other damage on external controller board.
· Closely examine if there are any broken parts.
Now replace the cables
Try plugging in the disk drive with new cables (data and power connection) that you think are functional and try again. Also note that you will need a certain flat-ribbon cable for an IDE drive.
If your computer has an IDE/EIDE (PATA) drive, switch the drive pin settings
· Switch it to "master", if previously it was "cable select" or "slave".
· Without keeping any other device or laptop on the same port, plug it in and try again.
Try another PCI controller or other IDs and try again
Just change your ID if you do not have any other controller or PCI card that can add ports to your laptop.
Plug it into the external driver case or an external disk drive adapter
If your hard disk does not spin up, you can try connecting the disk to some other power source. If it still does not work, the fault is probably related to your Printed Circuit Board.
Connect your hard disk to another computer or device and try again
If connecting the drive into any other device works, there is a possibility that your hard disk is fine and the motherboard of your computer is at fault.
Useful tips
· Keep in mind that you may permanently damage your hard disk by attempting to read damaged area of the disk again and again. It may damage the head assembly also.
· If you are not confident about what to do with your hard disk, seek a professional help to repair the hard drive as you may worsen the condition of your drive with lack of proper knowledge.
· Do not use RAID 0 to do anything but scratch all data. It is fast but it has no redundancy.
· You can see a partition table on the 1st sector of your disk drive. It contains the information about the organization of the drive. Without the partition table, your computer will just think that nothing is there.
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