Will an electrical surge destroy an external hard drive?

johnnymk · 08-19-2009, 07:12 AM

A friend of mine called last night from a gig that he DJs from. He uses a computer with an external HD to play the music. There was a storm last night and the electric burped for a second. He claims he has a surge protector.

After that, he couldn't access the songs. The drive no longer appears in My Computer on that computer and a standby unit he has.

Is it fried?

LPMiller · 08-19-2009, 07:19 AM

it can be - certainly a surge can fry a drive, especially if the surge protector is a cheap one.

I'm going to guess though that the power blip just killed the boot record or partition table. He might be able to restore that and save the data, or at least reformat the drive.

johnnymk · 08-19-2009, 07:52 AM

I know how to reformat. How do you restore the drive?

Prngr44 · 08-19-2009, 08:54 AM

Did he try a different (I'm assuming) USB cable?

brainsmile · 08-19-2009, 09:13 AM

Hmmm... if it's not recognized by the computer you may have problems. Try another computer. Try the free version of Acronis True Image Home.

johnnymk · 08-19-2009, 09:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Prngr44

Did he try a different (I'm assuming) USB cable?

What does the USB cable have to do with it??

cheapie · 08-19-2009, 10:01 AM

it could have fried before the surge reached the hd

johnnymk · 08-19-2009, 10:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cheapie

it could have fried before the surge reached the hd

OK, that makes sense..thanks

DarkFury · 08-19-2009, 10:33 AM

Pretty much an electrical surge can destroy any electrical equipment that is attached to it... given enough power. Hopefully he truly had a "surge protector" and not just a glorified power strip. (It amazes me that people actually think that a $10 power strip from Wal Mart will actually protect their computer from a massive electrical spike.)

Hopefully his drive didn't fry. As others have stated, I'd first try to plug the device into another computer to see if it will read. If that doesn't work, then you might have to open the casing (if possible) and try to hook the drive directly to a computer without the external casing to see if it is truly fried (unless this action will void the warranty... check first before attempting).

Storage drives don't have to have a boot sector in order to be readable, so you may be able to recover the files off of the drive and move them to another location manually.

johnnymk · 08-20-2009, 09:17 AM

Eh, he took the HD back to Sam's Club and they gave him a new one.

Prngr44 · 08-20-2009, 09:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by johnnymk

Eh, he took the HD back to Sam's Club and they gave him a new one.

Bah!

The tech in us all is screaming!!

DarkFury · 08-20-2009, 12:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by johnnymk

Eh, he took the HD back to Sam's Club and they gave him a new one.

Well if it was a new drive with nothing on it, maybe that was the best fix.

johnnymk · 08-20-2009, 12:52 PM

Actually, it was a 1 TB drive and it was completely filled.

DarkFury · 08-20-2009, 01:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by johnnymk

Actually, it was a 1 TB drive and it was completely filled.

Well turning it in didn't get the data back off of it...

I would have tried to get that off if possible before returning it.

johnnymk · 08-20-2009, 01:11 PM

He already had a backup HD with all the songs (170,000) on them.

08-19-2009, 07:12 AM	#1
johnnymk Chief of Naval Operations Join Date: May 2000 Location: LEVITTOWN< PA> USA Posts: 13,621	Will an electrical surge destroy an external hard drive? A friend of mine called last night from a gig that he DJs from. He uses a computer with an external HD to play the music. There was a storm last night and the electric burped for a second. He claims he has a surge protector. After that, he couldn't access the songs. The drive no longer appears in My Computer on that computer and a standby unit he has. Is it fried?

08-19-2009, 07:19 AM	#2
LPMiller Chief News Editor & Master of His Domain Join Date: Aug 2000 Location: Minnesota Posts: 8,161	it can be - certainly a surge can fry a drive, especially if the surge protector is a cheap one. I'm going to guess though that the power blip just killed the boot record or partition table. He might be able to restore that and save the data, or at least reformat the drive. __________________ lpmiller Chief News Editor Nobel Prize Nominee Reverend in the Universal Life Church Once Shot A Man For Snoring Too Loud Way Too Lazy To Change His Signature "The strength to change what I can, the inability to accept what I can't, and the incapacity to tell the difference." - Calvin and Hobbes

08-19-2009, 08:54 AM	#4
Prngr44 Rear Admiral Lower Half Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: St. Louis Posts: 2,620	Did he try a different (I'm assuming) USB cable? __________________ http://otthouse.blogspot.com

08-19-2009, 09:13 AM	#5
brainsmile Chief of Naval Operations Join Date: Jun 2000 Location: woah... why is welfareloser here with me so early in the morning and more importantly why am I wearing her clothes?!? Posts: 13,754	Hmmm... if it's not recognized by the computer you may have problems. Try another computer. Try the free version of Acronis True Image Home. __________________ ********************************** DCM #1 (Founder) "Nobody beats Vitus Gerulaitis 18 times in a row." - Vitus Gerulaitis on beating Jimmy Connors after 17 failed attempts.

08-19-2009, 10:01 AM	#7
cheapie Chief of Naval Operations Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: raising my pimp hand strong Posts: 13,038	it could have fried before the surge reached the hd __________________ 70% of the world is covered by water. The rest is covered by Bob Sanders

08-19-2009, 07:52 AM	#3
johnnymk Chief of Naval Operations Join Date: May 2000 Location: LEVITTOWN< PA> USA Posts: 13,621	I know how to reformat. How do you restore the drive?

08-19-2009, 10:33 AM	#9
DarkFury Secretary of the Navy Join Date: Feb 2001 Location: Chillin' N Da 'Hood Posts: 34,997	Pretty much an electrical surge can destroy any electrical equipment that is attached to it... given enough power. Hopefully he truly had a "surge protector" and not just a glorified power strip. (It amazes me that people actually think that a $10 power strip from Wal Mart will actually protect their computer from a massive electrical spike.) Hopefully his drive didn't fry. As others have stated, I'd first try to plug the device into another computer to see if it will read. If that doesn't work, then you might have to open the casing (if possible) and try to hook the drive directly to a computer without the external casing to see if it is truly fried (unless this action will void the warranty... check first before attempting). Storage drives don't have to have a boot sector in order to be readable, so you may be able to recover the files off of the drive and move them to another location manually. __________________ DarkFury's Pimptopia - Don't Hate the Playa, Hate the Game! Home of the Original OG Pimp (accept NO imitations)

08-20-2009, 09:17 AM	#10
johnnymk Chief of Naval Operations Join Date: May 2000 Location: LEVITTOWN< PA> USA Posts: 13,621	Eh, he took the HD back to Sam's Club and they gave him a new one. __________________ “Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy, its inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery.” (Winston Churchill)

08-20-2009, 12:52 PM	#13
johnnymk Chief of Naval Operations Join Date: May 2000 Location: LEVITTOWN< PA> USA Posts: 13,621	Actually, it was a 1 TB drive and it was completely filled.

08-20-2009, 01:11 PM	#15
johnnymk Chief of Naval Operations Join Date: May 2000 Location: LEVITTOWN< PA> USA Posts: 13,621	He already had a backup HD with all the songs (170,000) on them.

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