Hi everyone,

I've got a Hitachi 1TB drive (Product No. 0F10383) which was in an external hard drive housing. I knocked the drive off a desk (it was on at the time but not reading or writing) and it hit the floor. I'm struggling getting the data off it or even working out what is wrong with it.

When connected (through the USB adapter) it spins up and does not click but is not recognised by either Windows or Ubuntu (doesn't show up in fdisk or the system log). I connected it up to a desktop using a SATA connection (not through USB) and the BIOS does not detect it either.

It (at least to me) sounds like a fairly healthy drive but is just not recognised by anything. I wondered if it would be worth getting a replacement PCB, found one here:
http://pcb-hdd.com/hitachi-0f10383-hds7 ... p-648.html

The drive contains mostly photos and I've managed to get quite a bit from my backup but inevitably I haven't backed up quite as often as I should have so I've still got quite a bit missing. I'm not going to send it off to get it fixed by a company (student budget!!) but I'd really love to get the rest off it if possible.

Any help or advice is gratefully appreciated.

Phil

Hi,

As you have mentioned that you had knocked the drive off the desk when it was on (but not reading or writing at the time) you most likely have damaged the heads inside the drive & maybe have some platter damage too.
You also say that it spins up so your PCB should hopefully be ok - Dont carry on powering up the drive as if there is internal damage you will make it worse & possibly lose all chance of a recovery.
Unfortunately this requires a DR PRO to diagnoise exactly what damage has occured (ie opening it in a cleanroom envoirment etc) You best option is to get a quote & if its more than you can currently afford at the moment then put the drive somewhere safe & save up until you can afford it.


All the best

Loki

I would contact PCImage here is close to you. He can give you a quote on this drive for your repair. Like Loki says it has damage now from the fall and a PCB will not help you get off your data on it. There is no DIY solution for a fallen drive. Sorry

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Iorana Haraharaini