Repair or Recover data from portable external hard drive?

Question

I accidentally dropped my 500gb Bufallo Ministation portable hard drive on the ground. It was still sorta working, just EXTREMELY slowly. I then ran the mac hard drive repair. It ran for about 5 minutes and then said it cannot repair it. Now, the hard drive wont even mount and i cant use it at all.

Anyone have any suggestions?

Answer 1

Using recovery software in case of physical damage may increase the damage. If you consider to freeze drive you should read this before do anything:

http://skeptics.stackexchange.com/questions/4868/freezing-your-hard-drive-to-recover-data

Answer 2

The answer depends on the value of the data.

If the data is irreplaceable, don't try anything more. Take the drive to a recovery specialist and they can use their (expensive) tools and techniques to do the recovery. Expect to pay hundreds to a couple grand and there's no guarantee that they'll be successful.

Otherwise you might want to remove the drive from the enclosure and try a different one. If you're lucky, the drop is a coincidence and it's really an electrical problem.

Answer 3

Place it in a zip-lock type bag and remove as much air as you can. Place it in the freezzer for several hours or longer. Remove the drive and wrap in a towel or something to insulate it for a bit. Connect and try.

You may need to do this for longer periods.

This does not always work but it has worked for me a number of times. One recovery had the drive on the freezer for several days.

If the electonics on the Buffalo case are damaged, you may need to open the case and freeze just the drive. Then connect with some sort of adapter(USB-SATA, etc)

While some may say freezing causes more issues, many are recovery companies/employees. All I can say is that it has worked many times and that there was no intention of using professional recovery. Risk was low for me.

After that, it may be necessary to have a professional recovery done. That can cost to the thousands of US dollars. Note that some will not charge if no recovery