Dropped and cracked External HDD

[biomanz]

Just dropped my WD My Book on the rug 2ft high and the corner cracked, with the internal panel (attached to the hdd and electronics) sliding out a bit. I shove them back in place and everything seems to work, but would there be any possible damage or corruption to the data?

I'm pretty sure half the bulk is just a big old case to hold a small internal hdd, but I'm worrying if the shock could've damaged it.

And if a disk does get corrupted data from a fall is it permanent, as in it'll be a waste of time to reformat and save stuff on it?

 

[Ausm]

I would backup the most important things off it and hope the drive keeps working properly. I myself have had horrible luck with external drives the last 5 I bought died on me.

 

[biomanz]

Bahh, trying not to back up my backup but I guess I'll look at some HDD deals... How did yours die? Did you drop them, show corrupted data, or just didn't power up?

 

[GaryJohnson]

If it wasn't running when it was dropped then it's less likely that there was damage than it if was on.

You should run a chkdsk on it. If it doesn't find any errors it might be ok.

 

[jagsrocknfl]

Eh, it really depends give a try

 

[Sam25]

Yeah, running Chkdsk should tell you of errors, if any.

 

[corkyg]

If it passes all tests, keep on keeping on. Patch the hole with duct tape. If the drive was OFF when it fell, chances are the heads were parked and no HDD damage occurred.

 

[Ausm]

Originally posted by: biomanz
Bahh, trying not to back up my backup but I guess I'll look at some HDD deals... How did yours die? Did you drop them, show corrupted data, or just didn't power up?

Mine just would seize up and quit working, probably because I move tons of files back and forth alot on my E-SATA drives.

 

[Laputa]

If it still works, you are lucky. I say best thing is to pull everything important off it while you can. If it was off when you drop it, probably the damage is just the casing. But there could be minor internal damages. If you get a problem later on, that will indicate that it did suffered some sort of damages that was not detected right away.

 

[L00PY]

Depending on the drive and how paranoid you are, you may want to check the S.M.A.R.T. readings on the drive. You'll have to use the eSATA connection (assuming your product has one) or pull it out and directly to the computer via a SATA or IDE cable. AFAIK, neither USB nor Firewire support S.M.A.R.T. signaling.

 

[biomanz]

I just used HD Tune to check for errors, and a block came up red (190mb each, but showed 0.00% of entire drive...). I used the Windows chkdsk to auto repair errors and recover sectors, but HD Tune still showed that same block. Guess I'll just use this drive for less important stuff.

I can't check the SMART settings as it only connects via a mini-usb cable to the PC and I don't have a conversion wire, if there's such a thing.

 

[GaryJohnson]

If you look for the diagnostic tool provided by the drive's manufacturer (ie: Data Lifeguard Diagnostic for WD drives, SeaTools for Seagate, etc) it should be able to read the SMART stuff over USB.