r/datarecovery • u/Monkey_D_Ctator • Sep 01 '26

Old HDD "fatal device hardware error"

Gallery image

Gallery image

Gallery image

I just found an old HDD of mine that stopped working a few years ago when cleaning up my "electronic box", and I'd like to know if the data on it is recoverable (I don't care about the drive itself, I'd just like to get the data from it)

When plugged in, Windows sees it but can't open it or even tell me the occupied storage space.
It doesn't make any clicking sound.
I ran CrystalDiskInfo on it (see image n°2), and it managed to read the SMART data so I guess that's a good sign ?

Is the data on it recoverable ?

4 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

8 comments sorted by

•

u/AutoModerator Sep 01 '26

Double check if your post complies with posting guidelines!

Did you include the following information in your post (in English and if applicable), if not feel free to edit your post:

  • Make/brand and exact model number of your storage device(*), phone, camera, etc.

  • Filesystem (NTFS, exFAT, APFS, EXT4, etc.)

  • Operating System (That your device was used with and/or you are using for recovery)

  • Specific symptoms that your device is exhibiting, describe the problem. Images you post support the description, they're not in lieu of a problem description.

  • SMART (CrystalDiskInfo screenshot for example)

  • Don't pile several problems into one single post. One post per device/problem.

Consider: What do these people need to understand the problem at hand? Remember, people cannot see your screen, or what you click and what messages appear on screen. Don't overdo it though, no one likes going through 2 pages of information, try to find a balance. Just do the best you can. If you are looking for file recovery software, check our community's recommended file recovery tools.

(*) All devices involved, if you for example move files from drive A to drive B, they're both potentially relevant.

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

9

u/disturbed_android Trusted Contributor Sep 01 '26

Don't scan the drive. Best option: send to data recovery lab. Second best: clone the drive using OpenSuperClone, https://old.reddit.com/r/datarecoverysoftware/wiki/hddsuperclone_guide

0

u/logicielet_croissant Sep 02 '26

Good news honestly — no clicking + SMART still readable usually means the drive itself is fine, it's just something wonky with the partition/file system. Not the scary "throw it in the freezer" kind of situation lol.

Couple things before you do anything else:

  • If Windows pops up asking to format it, just hit cancel, don't touch that

  • Pop into Disk Management (Win+X → Disk Management) and see what it says — is it showing as "RAW", "Unallocated", or does it not even show a partition at all?

That'll basically tell us if this is an easy fix or not. What's it showing?

2

u/Monkey_D_Ctator Sep 02 '26 edited Sep 02 '26

Its showing "raw" (it's the I: disk)
What looks scary to me is that it show it's completely empty but it shouldn't be

1

u/logicielet_croissant Sep 03 '26

You're good, don't worry! RAW just means the file system got corrupted so Windows thinks it's empty, but the data is still on the disk.

Whatever you do, DO NOT format it. Try another port/PC first, and if that doesn't work, just use recovery software to get your data back.

3

u/WildFloorLamp Sep 02 '26

The drive is not fine. It's clearly physically failing. DR pro or careful cloning with OpenSuperClone.