The most common reason a computer cannot recognize an external hard drive is because the external drive is poorly formatted or drivers need to be updated. But we must understand that miracles do not always happen. When the hard drive firmware is badly damaged, even the most experienced repair company will not be able to recover data on it.
Check for Damage
The firmware on the PC’s internal drive is software that is responsible for its basic functions, including access to data, as well as reading and writing to it. It is recorded in the system area of the drive and consists of a group of information modules that are responsible for certain functions. Some of them may repair others if they are damaged.
Sometimes you can not visually determine the status of the firmware of the hard disk, but there are some symptoms that indicate damage:
- The disk does not start.
- Noise at work.
- The disk responds slowly.
- The drive is not working properly.
- The disc is not recognized by the computer.
- Scratched platters.
- Deleted data.
- Clicks or beeps.
- Hard drive firmware update failed.
Often, repairing a hard disk requires special equipment that only a data recovery specialist has, but also requires expert knowledge and skills to learn how to identify and repair damaged modules.
Boolean errors
Failures of a logical type on the hard drive are those that are caused by errors or inconsistencies in the underlying file system, which prevents the user from accessing data. A logical drive with logical errors has the following symptoms:
- Several files or folders have disappeared without notice.
- When you try to access the hard drive, the system indicates that it must be formatted.
- The system denies access to certain files or directories.
These malfunctions can be caused mainly by computer viruses and other malicious programs, human errors, and may be the result of other common malfunctions in the hard drive firmware. There are also viruses that encrypt information; data recovery in this case becomes difficult or even impossible.
Circuit Board Failure
Malfunctions in the electronic circuit board or the printed circuit board of the hard disk prevent the hard drive from starting and replacing the firmware. This usually happens because the drive does not supply the necessary current signal to various parts, such as the motor, the microcontroller of the main or the entire printed circuit board. When a printed circuit board is damaged, in 99% of cases it is not replaceable. During the production of each disk there are microscopic differences in the shape, position and adaptation of the read and write heads, which require individual calibration of each device.
The results of this calibration are partially stored on the printed circuit board, and without them the disk does not know how to work, so it is very important to have the original printed circuit board. There are very complex cases when the affected electronic part is inside the hard drive. In these cases, the most affected component is usually a preamplifier of the signal coming from the heads, usually located in the internal mechanical arm.
Symptoms of lesion
These are more complicated cases for repair and diagnostics. Failures in the hard drive electronics board usually present the following symptoms:
- The disc emits smoke or a burning smell when turned on.
- The disk has noticeably burnt areas.
- The hard drive does not show signs of life or does not respond to electrical irritants.
- When the hard drive is connected to the computer, it does not turn on.
- The disk rotates, but the heads do not leave their parking position.
Failures in the circuit board and in the rest of the electronics can be related mainly to power surges, improper cable connections, disk operation, and sometimes also to shocks and falls.
Failed HDD firmware
When there are no symptoms of other failures on the disk, and the computer cannot recognize it or provide access to data, most likely the failure is related to the internal software and requires updating the hard drive firmware. A hard drive with firmware errors is difficult to diagnose because there are hundreds of firmware that can fail. Sometimes a small electronic malfunction could cause damage to some firmware module, as a result of which, after turning off, the disk will not be able to correctly initialize again.
It is also possible that the hard drive has a weak or defective head, either due to use or due to a small hit. The disk logs numerous bad sectors that overwhelm the defect tables, causing a general firmware failure.
Most of the cases of firmware-related failures are due to defective or damaged heads, as some of the modules needed to initialize the hard drive are damaged due to them. For successful data recovery in these cases, a modified hard drive firmware program is required.
The consequences of failed programming
An error in the firmware of the disk stops its operation. The firmware is a set of logical instructions that allow the disk to manipulate the information stored in it. The goal is to have the necessary instructions on the disk for reading and writing information. The firmware also controls electronic circuits. Firmware malfunctions should be interpreted as a problem in the internal disk software. The decision must be made by the expert responsible for reprogramming the faulty components so that the disk starts working again, at least temporarily, to back up the information there.
As a rule, firmware failures occur due to voltage peaks, which, although they do not damage the mechanical components or the boards themselves, are powerful enough for the firmware data. Other causes of firmware failures may be due to shocks or vibrations that damage the read heads. Faulty internal drive wiring is also a common cause of firmware failures.
Hard drive testing
Most hard drives do not require a firmware update. Firmware is defined as a computer program that is hard-coded on the hard drive and contains basic programming of RAM. It is a software intermediary that allows equipment to interact with the software and controls behavior and factory settings. Before updating the hard drive firmware, it is recommended to test the device well.
All latest-generation drives come with SMART monitoring technology (self-monitoring and analysis technology). This tool is designed to continuously monitor a certain number of parameters on the hard drive. Using SMART, you can effectively track various parameters, which also include read and write error rates, spin-up time, search error rates, temperature, and other important elements.
The best software to check if you need to restore the hard drive firmware:
- IOLO System Mechanic Pro.
- HD Tune.PassMark DiskCheckup.
- Samsung HUTIL.
- Seagate SeaTool.
- CrystalDiskInfo.
- Bart test.
- GSmartControl.
- Fujitsu is a diagnostic tool.
- HDDScan.
Drive Reprogramming Algorithm
Before updating the software, you need to know the serial number of the drive and enter it in the Download Finder to find out if an update is available for the product. If the user finds the update, then all the instructions on the PC monitor must be followed.
Flashing Algorithm:
- In Windows, select system properties. This screen will display information about which version of the OS is installed - 32-bit or 64-bit, as well as the processor brand of the motherboard - Intel or AMD.
- Before you find out the firmware of the hard disk, open the Device Manager in the upper left corner and Disk drives.
- Open the disk by clicking it with the mouse, and select the properties.
- Check for firmware updates, it should correspond to the device manager.
- If update is required, open a web browser and go to the website of the manufacturer of the hard drive.
- They gain access to the support or download section, and find the desired model number of the computer or hard drive.
- Click on the link to download the firmware update.
- Transfer the firmware update file to a floppy disk, USB, or other external drive that the PC accepts.
- Double-click the downloaded file and follow the on-screen instructions to install the ISO program.
- Open the program after installation and following the procedure to get a copy of the firmware update on a rewritable CD.
- They restart the computer and wait for the appearance of a new menu screen, and sort through the options using the arrow keys on the keyboard.
- Select the hard drive and press the Enter key.
- After the operating system completes the download, open the "Computer" icon on the desktop.
- Go to the external drive.
- Double-click the executable file stored on the disk and follow the instructions that appear on the screen to update the firmware of the hard disk.
Professional Tips
If the user is not a hardware engineer or is not knowledgeable in technology, he should more care about how to restore valuable files, instead of figuring out the exact reason why the firmware of the hard disk has flown. The most important advice for ordinary users to avoid data loss is to always use a backup system that saves the document file separately from the originals.
If a dead hard drive contains an operating system, you need to connect it to a PC. Desktop owners can open the case and turn on the damaged drive using the SATA cable, which is a computer bus interface that connects the host bus adapters to storage devices. You can buy a SATA cable online or at your local hardware store. One end of the cable goes to the hard drive, and the other to the motherboard. The connection design is made in such a way that there is no way to connect something wrong, so users do not need to worry about this.
Notebook owners can purchase an external USB cradle designed for all types of hard drives. The advantage of such a base is its convenience. The hard drive just gets inside, and the base itself is connected to the laptop via a regular USB cable. When a failed disk is connected to a working PC, the user has everything necessary to assess the degree of damage. In some cases, it will appear as another storage device, you can transfer all files from it. This can happen if the hard drive is not faulty, but the operating system installed on it. Unfortunately, most data recovery cases are not so simple. The contents of the hard drive are often visible, but Windows or Mac OS X cannot transfer data from it. Worse, the drive may be empty.
When all options fail, Disk Drill comes to the rescue. The software is characterized by a huge number of programs and applications for file recovery thanks to its carefully honed user interface, which allows anyone to recover files from a damaged disk or SD card or simply from any other storage device.
In fact, it only takes a few seconds to tell Disk Drill what to do, followed by a short wait for the program to apply its advanced data recovery algorithms for more than 200 file types for all occasions.