As much as technology has evolved, hard disk drives are still delicate pieces of electronics. While solid state drives tend to be more able to withstand things like shock damage, hard disk drives still hold a substantial percentage of the marketplace, particularly in consumer electronics, because of their cost per megabyte. 

If you’re using HDD technology to store mission critical business data or precious family photos, you’ll want to know how to protect your data from the potential of damage. Here are some tips on how to prevent a data recovery emergency caused by physical damage to your hard disk drive. These tips apply to internal hard drives. External hard drives are designed with tough, protective outer cases that are manufactured to protect from this type of damage, although you should still exercise caution handling any hard disk drive. 

Transport Hard Disk Drives Carefully
If you need to transport a hard disk drive by car, train or courier service, use an anti-static bag. For airline travel, you can safely send your HDD (and your laptop or other electronics) through the airport X-ray machine. Again, use an antistatic bag for hard disk drives that are not designed as external drives and include their own casing. 

If you are mailing a hard disk drive, use an antistatic bag and mail the drive in a padded envelope. This infographic provides clear directions about how to mail hard disk drives, including mailing damaged HDDs to our facility for emergency data recovery service. 

Handle Hard Disk Drives with Care

Never slam hard disk drives down onto a desk or other hard surface, or hit drives with your fist, a hammer, or anything else. To be safe, treat unprotected internal hard disk drives as you would a carton of eggs — with extra care! 

Hold hard disk by the sides

not the top or bottom, to avoid putting unnecessary pressure on the magnetic heads or pushing the head onto the platter. Obviously, take care not to drop your hard disk drive. 

Don’t Stack Hard Disk Drives

Don’t stack internal hard disk drives (without a protective outer casing) on top of each other. This can push the magnetic heads of the bottom drive on to the platter, causing physical damage and possible data loss. 

Don’t Stock Hard Disk Drives Precariously

Never store hard disk drives in places where they could accidentally fall. 

You might be surprised at the damage we see to hard disk drives here in our certified data recovery facility. We treat every data recovery emergency with the same tact and care. No matter what happened to your drive, we will handle your case professionally and will do our best to recover your data quickly and completely, keeping all the details of your data recovery emergency strictly confidential. 

You can trust us with your data, and you can trust us to recover your data with fair and honest prices and the best in customer service.