He was resourceful and candid, and his honesty is important. His Seagate had "no operating system found errors", then stopped booting and gave "a repetitive sound for around a minute then stops": the drive spins. He "carefully removed the cover", found the heads parked, then "noticed large particles on the platen, which I carefully blew away (they may still be inside)", along with some smaller dust which was left behind, prior to placing the cover back over the device. The act of removing the cover of a disk drive in open air and blowing across the platters will introduce contaminants that can mar the surface of the platters. The current state is one of damage control: cleaning the contaminants that were let in and evaluating the condition of each platter prior to attempting a read operation.
| Media | Seagate 3.5-inch hard drive with a clicking/repetitive-sound fault — opened by the owner in open air, particles blown off the platter, cover replaced; contamination likely introduced. |
| Reported situation | "No operating system found" errors, then failure to boot · repetitive sound for about a minute on power, then stopping · drive spins up · cover removed by the owner, heads found parked · large particles blown off the platter, smaller dust remaining · cover replaced. |
| Fault class | An original head or firmware fault now compounded by contamination from open-air exposure and blowing across the platter — abrasive particles a risk to the surface, requiring clean-air decontamination and platter inspection before reading. |
| Equipment used | Drive not powered again after the exposure — spinning a contaminated drive risks scoring the platters · opened in a clean-air laminar flow environment, platters and heads inspected under stereo microscope for particles and surface scoring · platters cleaned under controlled conditions where safe · original fault addressed with donor heads or firmware work on PC-3000 UDMA as indicated · imaged gently on DeepSpar Disk Imager, data validated. |
His wish to find out what was happening was an understandable impulse, but opening the drive is where the risk came in. Hard drives are produced in a highly controlled factory environment and when completed they are sealed; this is due to the fact that the magnetic heads fly very close to the platters at the time of data access, and any particle on the surface of the platter would be an obstacle in their path. Once opened in an average room, airborne dust will deposit on the platter's surface. Blowing on it, however carefully, could push particles onto the surface and also stir up others. His candour about "they may still be inside" is correct, and it defines the current problem.
Contamination on a platter is dangerous because of how the heads function. Any time the drive spins (and the heads move to read data from the disk), any speck of dirt or other particulate matter on the surface can get hit by a head, scratching the platter and damaging the head, and the damage can spread from just a single scratch, as debris is flung outward and causes additional scratches. That is why simply blowing away the dust and re-powering the drive is considered to be one of the more damaging actions which can be taken: the very act of running it converts settled dust into an abrasive. The drive shouldn't be spun up again until it has been cleaned under the proper conditions.
The original fault is separate from the contamination, and both are addressed. Before it was opened, the drive had a genuine fault, as that repetitive noise and boot failure suggest there is something wrong with either one of the heads, or the firmware. That original fault will still have to be diagnosed, and repaired. Contamination is a secondary issue introduced as a result of the initial investigation at home. Recovery must take care of both issues: decontaminate and assess the platters, then deal with whatever went wrong with the drive in the first place.
Decontamination and inspection are done first, and they set the outlook. The drive is then taken to a lab bench where its housing is removed, and the platters and heads are examined under magnification for particulate contamination as well as any scoring the exposure may already have caused. Cleaning of the surfaces is performed in a controlled manner, where it is safe to do so. The main question, established prior to attempting any read, is whether the platters escaped scratching from the blowing or from any short spin cycles since.
The honest prognosis depends on the condition of the platters, and is given plainly. If there are no scores on the surface of the platters and the original fault is a standard head or firmware problem, then it will be possible to remove the contamination and restore the data with a proper repair. However, if particles have already scored the platters, data recovery can be achieved only from those areas which remain undamaged. Where the scoring is severe the outcome is limited, a real risk given the exposure the drive has had, and this is assessed with magnification and disclosed before any charges are incurred. The lessons learned are quite simple and straightforward: a sealed hard disk drive should always remain sealed, and opening it is best left to a specialist laboratory.
Following the exposure, the drive wasn't powered up again. On the bench the platters and heads were examined using a stereo microscope for particles and surface scoring and, where safe, the platters were cleaned under controlled conditions. The original fault was addressed with donor heads or with firmware repairs via PC-3000 UDMA, as indicated, and then the disk was imaged gently using the DeepSpar Disk Imager and its data verified.
Contamination was cleaned off on the laboratory bench, the platters were examined for scoring, the original problem was dealt with, and the hard drive was imaged. The diagnostic costs no money and will be completed within two working days of arrival. Additionally, the price quotation is one fixed, written figure with VAT already included in it. Opening a hard drive is an invasive operation, so 50% of the price quotation has to be paid by you upfront to cover the donor parts and our lab time. Only if your files are recovered would you owe the remaining balance. The decode: open-air exposure of the drive resulted in contamination entering the disk, and blowing across the platter put the surface at risk, therefore the first job is to clean this contamination up before anything can spin. Your honesty regarding this issue is what allows us to protect the platters properly.
Do not turn it back on again: a hard disk that has been opened to the atmosphere is probably going to have some dust on the platter, and when it spins around, these particles are turned into abrasive material which will scratch the surface of the platter as well as damage the heads. Never blow on the platter nor wipe off the platter, as both introduce contaminants onto the platter and force them deeper into the disk. Replace nothing and do not force anything. Get a quote first, and honestly advise the laboratory as to exactly what you did with your hard disk and what you saw, so the platters can be decontaminated and inspected on the bench prior to any attempt at reading them.
Our case files are written up from genuine enquiries our lab has handled for customers across Swansea and South Wales, anonymised to protect client confidentiality. Each one describes the diagnostic and recovery approach our engineers apply to that fault, using the equipment listed.
Diagnostic provided at no charge. Fixed quote. In most cases you only pay if we recover your data. Start now or call the freephone.