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Can HDD platters theoretically be interchanged that one could recover data from a HDD in which something else might be damaged? I am interested if it is technically possible, whichever effort is needed for that. This might also be of interest for forensic research.

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It's probable possible, but would be very, very expensive – Amazed Mar 12 '12 at 10:58
In theory its possible. Since you are even asking this question its nothing you will be able to actually do. – Ramhound Mar 12 '12 at 11:35
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Seriously, who is voting this down and why? – bamboon Mar 13 '12 at 9:25

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Yes, platters can be removed and re-installed, given you do it in a clean environment and the platter origination matches the platter destination (e.g. it is transferred into the same type of module).

Of course, this can be a DIY project, but ultimately, it should be for professionals, and in circumstances that you refer to. A platter is a platter at the manufacturing plant, the disk doesn't care which ones it gets. But again, it must be clean and it must be careful and still, there's no guarantee.

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Theoritically speaking, yes, if you aren't serious about getting the data and just want to experiment. Practically speaking, no, not for doing this in your basement in an attempt to get real data recovery. In addition to the required clean room, you also need identical hardware. The platters need to be maintained in the same relative position. Replacing platters is simple for data recovery companies that have the equipment. The cost is typically around USD$1,000. Serious data recovery, where the platters are physically damaged is still possible, but at astronomic costs.

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I am not planning to do this, I am just technically interested in the effort which is needed to do it. Where did you get that 1k$ figure from? – bamboon Mar 12 '12 at 12:05
We had an older maxtor drive that died (would spin up and then stop after a minute). It had some important marketing proposals that were in progresss that our company deemed critical. We sent it to a data recovery company in the Boston area, and they returned the files on DVD for approximately $1k. Search for "Disk Data recovery services" and you'll find similar rates ($300 to inifinity) depending on the problem/damage. – jdh Mar 12 '12 at 15:02

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