Dropped external HD D: help.

lorripop · 22 Jun 2010

(ok initially i didn't plan on asking this...but...= A =" sorry)

...ok the external HD wasn't exactly dropped...but it did get hit so...

ok i got an astone external HD (bought a new one after so long)

last night, while i was holding onto its outer leather casing (you know, sometimes external HDs come with some outer casing) and the wire, the external HD slipped out of the casing and hit against a wooden cupboard approximately 5-10 cm away. (thickness of wooden cupboard: approximately 4cm)

today, when i plug it into the computer, the computer is able to read it, there hasn't been any funny noises coming from the external HD, the computer can still read the external HD, it's not lagging, i can still transfer stuff in and out of the external HD, stuff can still be extracted from winrar. files without any errors and it still can be safely removed. i have yet to check if all the files in it have been corrupted, or whatnot.

1) should i still be worried that there's something wrong with it's insides?

2) is there anyway to ensure the internal health of my external HD?

3) (ok this might be a really strange question to ask but...)
how many times can an external HD be dropped from a table before any internal damage can be noticed?

4) usually when an external HD is dropped, will signs of internal damage start showing immediately (in less than 30mins), average (1-3 days) or a long time (a few weeks)?

Fumz · 22 Jun 2010

A few years back, to prove a point about HDD durability, HardOCP dropped one off the side of a building several stories high (5 I think?). The picked it up, brushed off the dust and debris, and installed it. Amazingly, it fired up just fine.

As long as it wasn't on when this (relatively minor jolt) took place, then I think you're going to be alright. That's not to suggest you can run around drop kicking HDD's when bored and looking for things to do, but, they're pretty durable, again, as long as the power is off.

lorripop · 22 Jun 2010

To Fumz:

lol, i'm not that weird to kill external HDs for fun. those things are really precious to me!! x.x

eh, what difference would it make whether it's on or off

Bill2 · 22 Jun 2010

If the impact is sufficiently strong, the disk can get shattered or the reader arm may break or a circuit board may get damaged. But normally, if any of these were to happen, you would know immediately after dropping the disk. However, to be safe, do a random check to ensure the integrity of your data. If you have some critical stuff, back it up to another media.

lorripop · 22 Jun 2010

To Bill2:

what do you mean by "random check" ._.

and another media...you referring to the computer or another external HD

Bill2 · 22 Jun 2010

By random check I mean, randomly pick a few data files on your computer and check they are readable.

Another media can be anything, whether another HD, computer or dvd/cd/usb drive. The idea is to have your data safe in case the dropped disk starts acting up.

Tews · 22 Jun 2010

How to Run Disk Check in Windows 7 This will show you how to run Check Disk or chkdsk in Windows 7 to check a selected hard disk for file system errors and bad sectors on it.

Fumz · 22 Jun 2010

lorripop said:

To Fumz:

lol, i'm not that weird to kill external HDs for fun. those things are really precious to me!! x.x

eh, what difference would it make whether it's on or off

If you jolt the drive when it's powered on and the heads actually touch the platter, you'll lose data and possibly corrupt the file system, etc etc etc. While the story I told was extreme, and it does say a lot about the durability of these drives, Bill2 is also correct.

I can't explain why the drive worked, because there's more to a drive than just a big round hunk of metal (IC's, spindles and heads). The guys over at HardOCP may have just been lucky and the drive hit "just right". It's not like I'm advising you abuse the drive, and dropping them off tall buildings isn't a common practice of HardOCP. Take care of your stuff. :)

lorripop · 22 Jun 2010

To Bill2:

ohhhh . A .
lol i quickly backed up everything on my computer.

To: Tews:

ok i can try running chkdsk.

To Fumz:

well...my external HD wasn't connected to the computer when it got hit...so...i guess it was off when it got hit, right? ._.

what's a head ._.

well, when i was trying to find solutions on google there were many stories where the external HDs dropped from a TABLE onto a CARPETED floor, and after a while there were problems...that's why i'm paranoid and posted this question x.x

lol, usually i take better care of my things, but this time the external HD slipped out of it's case...i'm not putting it in there anymroe = A =

Fumz · 22 Jun 2010

Drives fail for a variety of reasons. One cannot conclude that because a drive is dropped on the carpet that its failure x weeks later was a direct result of the shock. If it were immediate, then yeah sure, I'd buy that, but things become gray as time goes on.

I baby my gear. I buy excellent psu's, voltage regulating UPS systems, and do just about anything I can to ensure my stuff runs well; despite my safeguards, I've lost ntfs file systems. Why? Beats me? Stuff happens. The only thing I did was return to the machine several hours later. Conversely, I've got a stack of old no longer used hard drives that I do not take care of very well; mostly because they're always in the way of something else I need. Every so often they'll hit the floor, but, when I need to fire up a test rig, they all work just fine.

The best, and only, thing you can do is to check the integrity of the drive. As Bill2 and Tews have advised: run a check disk, go open up files randomly. I'm sure your drive will turn out to be just fine.