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Crashed disk drive - advice

journeys
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Crashed disk drive - advice

I bought a new external disk drive from Currys, used it for about a month, then it failed to boot-up.

Contacting Currys, they have agreed to replace it under warranty.

BUT the disk now has confidential information on it.

Is there a way to ensure the disk is not readable if I return it? (I've read popping it in a microwave for 2-3 seconds should scramble any data)

7 REPLIES 7
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Crashed disk drive - advice

Do NOT put it in the microwave. If you have access to a Linux type machine try connecting it to that then format it from there. If you can and it won't invalidate a warranty remove it from its case and connect it that way either to a Windows or better a Linux PC. The disk may not be mountable but it may still be read able and if it is it can be formatted.

Mav
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Re: Crashed disk drive - advice

One trick which has worked for me to enable to recover some data so may allow you time for a delete/reformat is to pop the drive into a sealable static bag or similar and place in the freezer for an hour or so. 

 

Worth a try and nothing to lose. 

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St3
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Re: Crashed disk drive - advice

So the data yells sod this im freezing im getting off here ?

VileReynard
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Re: Crashed disk drive - advice


@journeys wrote:

I bought a new external disk drive from Currys, used it for about a month, then it failed to boot-up.


Moral: Don't buy anything from Currys, PC World etc

 

 

"In The Beginning Was The Word, And The Word Was Aardvark."

ReedRichards
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Re: Crashed disk drive - advice

PC World/Currys know that they give bad advice and sell quite a bit of junk so they don't usually put up a fight if you do try to return something.

If you want to return the failed disk you have to trust that nobody will take the trouble to attempt to repair it and actually succeed.  I don't think that there is any way you can gt rid of data on a failed hard drive whilst leaving the hard drive intact.  

 .  

VileReynard
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Re: Crashed disk drive - advice

Remember the infamous Gary Glitter debacle?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/517604.stm

The judge, Mr Justice Butterfield, described the pictures in Glitter's vast library as "filthy and revolting" and of the "worst possible type".

 

[ image: Glitter as glam-rock star]
Glitter as glam-rock star

The charges came after a member of staff spotted the material on Glitter's computer, in for repair at PC World in Bristol.

 

Mr John Royce, QC, told the court that a technician tried to correct the fault and in order to see if he was successful had to look into a file. But what he found, said the QC, was "disturbing".

A police sergeant arrested Glitter when he returned to collect his computer.

 

 

"In The Beginning Was The Word, And The Word Was Aardvark."

paul_blitz
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Re: Crashed disk drive - advice

A hard disk can fail in one of two ways:

- catastrophically: usually this means the electronics has died, or there has been a "head crash", and data is not (easily) accessible

- Operating System failure: in this case, whilst the disk can not actually boot, it IS readable as a second disk. In that case, either connect it with a second SATA cable, or put it into a USB caddy. If you ARE able to read the drive, then it can be "reformatted" (which doesn't actually DELETE the data: Data recovery companies could recover data, most people would not. )... better still down load some sort of "data shredder" software that over-writes the data.

 

Re-reading your message, you say it "an external drive", so I'm guessing it's USB, and when you say "it will not boot-up" you aren't trying to load Windows from it, but it's data is simply not accessible. In that case you are probably stuffed: unless you open the casing, and remove the drive, and test it outside the drive enclosure (it's possible that the USB interface is dead, the drive is ok),l you can't do a lot.

 

How important is that confidential data? You might decide it's worth the cost of the drive, so just buy a new one, and put a drill through the old one!