Physical Causes of Defective Hard Drives / Storage Devices
If "human error" (e.g. deleting / overwriting important data) is not to blame for missing files, mechanical causes must be considered. Also read about logical defects as another possible cause. In addition to manufacturing defects, defective read/write heads (e.g. as a result of a drop / head crash), overheating, power surges due to lightning strikes, and water damage can lead to defects and consequently to data loss.
The Most Common Mechanical Causes
- Power supply failure, power surge from lightning strike or reverse polarity
- Manufacturing defects
- Water damage (ingress of liquids)
- Overheating (e.g. due to contamination of the fan / heat sink) or sun exposure
- Contamination due to dusty environments
- Fall, drop, impact, tipping over of external hard drives / notebooks / tablets / smartphones
- Severe force / abuse by third parties
- Flooding, fire, earthquakes, and other natural disasters
First Steps for a Defective Hard Drive
Turn off the external storage device or the computer (internal hard drive) and disconnect it from the power supply to avoid power surges and overheating. Also avoid strong temperature fluctuations, vibrations, and do-it-yourself data recovery measures with free tools from the internet. Instead, contact a professional data recovery specialist on-site. Learn more about the symptoms of defective hard drives and our data recovery process.
Lars Müller