Reviving a dying hard drive
April 28th, 2006
Print this article
Dead hard drives are scary. Really scary.
The net is loaded with tips on reviving a dying hard drive. TechRepublic has posted a whopping 200 ways to revive a hard drive 
! I'm going to come right out and say that while some of these might work, some of these are voodoo while some run the risk of destroying your PC.
Having said that, if you have a dead drive, and you have no intention of paying for professional recovery then why not have a go. The three that I'd try first are:
- Tapping the drive
- Change the orientation of the drive (hold it vertical or upside down)
- Freeze it
Like most things in live, prevention is better than cure.
- Expect the unexpected. Hard drives don't last forever. Have a plan in place for what you are going to do when you have problems
- Back up your data regularly!
- If your drive starts to play up (noises, S.M.A.R.T errors, that kind of thing), replace it
- Back up your data regularly! This step is worth repeating!
