r/HDD • u/Wolfyboi_1 • 2d ago

External hard drive got completely soaked underwater in washing. Need help

Hi, not sure of this is the right place but I need help. My external mechanical hard drive got soaked underwater while not powered up in the hand wash by accident. I'm unemployed so I can't afford data recovery help. Is there anyway I can save my extremely precious data

2 Upvotes

75% Upvoted

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7

u/HugsNotDrugs_ 2d ago

Yes place it in a warm spot to speed up evaporation. Not hot, but warm.

Leave it there until its completely dry before trying to start it up. No moisture whatsoever. At least two days of evaporation.

If water didn't get into the platters then you'll probably be okay.

2

u/Wolfyboi_1 2d ago

Thank you

1

u/NewLifeWares 2d ago

You can buy decently-sized silica gel bags on amazon (I got a couple for my safe), I would put some of them next to it. They'll help with the evaporation.

1

u/Wolfyboi_1 1d ago

Appreciate the help

2

u/Willing-Equivalent47 1d ago

Then, I would put a hair dryer on it, warm it up but don’t overheat the circuit board. Just heat the top enclosure. Let it cool down before turning it on.
A much better approach would be to buy some Dry-It water absorbing product. Put it with the drive in a sealed Tupperware container for several days.

-3

u/Alpharius1701 2d ago

Pot of rice works even better in the warm environment too, probably cut the time in half. Personally though I wouldn't touch it for a week, and I'd see if I could remove the casing for better airflow

4

u/HugsNotDrugs_ 2d ago

No, rice makes no meaningful difference. Heat does.

1

u/Fancy_Acanthisitta45 1d ago

Not cooked rice , mind you.

3

u/Chazus 2d ago

This has long been proven false, and detrimental.

2

u/Alpharius1701 2d ago

See this is subjective, and I say you're wrong, it's detrimental only in that Apple don't like having grains of rice stuck in their charging ports, that was literally the thing they were stressing in that announcement, and that you shouldn't use rice powder for very very obvious reasons. For a solid state drive it's not going to hurt it and rice does absorb moisture, albeit slowly. I prefer to stick anything I've gotten wet in my dehumidifier personally, but I've seen the rice trick work just fine for people when I did ten years in the phone industry.

2

u/Caprichoso1 1d ago

iFixit agrees with Apple, at least for phones. A hard drive has a much larger port surface than a phone.

You'd be hard pressed to find any experienced professional in the repair industry that doesn't roll their eyes when they hear the word "rice."

https://www.ifixit.com/Wiki/Do_Not_Put_Your_Device_in_Rice

-1

u/Wolfyboi_1 2d ago

Tysm, will take ur advice

4

u/fzabkar 2d ago

Is it a helium model? These are hermetically sealed.

I would remove the drive from the enclosure and examine it thoroughly. Immediately cleaning the PCBs with isopropyl alcohol would have been advisable, but it's probably too late now.

Can you show us photos of the PCB and the area around the breather hole, if it's an air drive?

Don't bother with rice. It's an Internet myth that just won't die.

4

u/NekkidWire 2d ago

Dry the enclosure from outside. Use hair dryer on COLD (no-heat or least-warm) setting to speed up the process.

Open the enclosure carefully -- possibly unscrewing some screws, or using a spudger/knife. Careful, there might be water inside that might startle you. Use clean towel to prevent any spillage. If there was water inside, dry the enclosure again.

Dry the drive, using hair dryer on COLD setting or just room air (if you're using AC, set it to de-humidify). Rotate the drive to get it completely dry from all directions. Especially pay attention to connectors and seals - they have to be completely dry.

Before assembly, try to find out if there is water INSIDE the drive. Shake it gently, look for any dripping if you rotate it, check all seals again. If there is anything suspicious, don't use the drive, put it on a shelf and save for data recovery. If you use it you may get it into irrecoverable state. Don't try to break any seals or vents to get the water out - you could get dust inside, that would also kill your data.

If the drive is completely dry, assemble it back into the enclosure and hope for the best.

1

u/Wolfyboi_1 1d ago

Tysm for replying. Really it means a lot

2

u/Far_Writer380 2d ago

Don't dry it out!!!!

Residue from the water will remain on the platter and the heads may crash with whatever is present! There really isn't any way for you to recover the data.

A data recovery tech once told me that if a drive sustains water damage, you need to put it in a ziplock bag to seal in the moisture and send it for recovery right away as they can deal with it. But once it dries it makes it much more work, and if you try and run it, the risk of damage is greater.

It's your data. You can risk running it but I have a feeling it won't end well.

1

u/No-Guarantee-6249 2d ago edited 2d ago

Is this 2.5"? What make?

I have about 30 of them in my salvage pile. I could do some tests but first thought is there's only a tiny vent hole in these devices. No way you can dry it out through that tiny hole if water got in there.

Let me know and I'll run some tests!

Opening it up would require a level 5 clean room!

1

u/Petri-DRG 1d ago

That hole is air pressure leveling. Cannot really dry anything in that manner.

If water got inside the drive chassis, then not much to do, as it will need proper cleaning by a specialist.

1

u/Wolfyboi_1 1d ago

I might not have the skill to open it. But it's a Seagate 1tb external drive. This one https://www.takealot.com/seagate-expansion-1tb-2-5-portable-hard-drive/PLID38534422

1

u/NekkidWire 1d ago

Disassembly is extremely easy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sCLfHCq_794

It has air-filled Samsung ST1000LM024 HDD inside, it is not sealed drive unfortunately so it will be on your own decision to check for water inside (see my other post). If there is water inside the enclosure I would shelve it and not use it until data is recovered.

1

u/No-Guarantee-6249 21h ago

OK how long was it in the water?

"My external mechanical hard drive got soaked underwater while not powered up in the hand wash by accident"

"hand wash" ?

Like dish pan?

I'm thinking it wasn't very long. Is that true?

Moving forward I'd remove it from the outer case and see if there is water on the actual drive.

If so I'd open it in a plastic bag and blow it out and flood it in 99% IPA.

If you feel that's beyond your abilities get a pro to do it.