How to remove your Hard Drive
Removing the hard drive from your desktop PC is actually quite straight forward. The majority of computer cases are secured using screws. The removal of these allows access to the inside of the case. Below is an example of a case with "side doors". Only one of these needs to be removed to access the drive. Depending on where your drive sits inside the case you may need to remove both the left and right side doors.
The screws in this picture are called thumb screws. These can be removed using just your fingers or a Phillips screwdriver if you prefer. Most cases just use normal Phillips screws. You may even have a case that has no screws at all. Such a case is usually secured using clips or a handle with locking mechanism. The case pictured above also supports this feature; you can see the handle and key-hole about halfway down the door.
Once the case had been opened you will be able to see the hard drive. They are mounted in various different ways but 98% of the time you will find yours at the front of the computer. Remove the cables as shown, take care with this as the cables are often stiff. Gentle persuasion will often free them, just be patient. Don't worry if your drive looks different to this as it may be a newer SATA type drive. The cable removal procedure is still the same.
Once the drive has been removed you will need to write down all the information printed on the label. This is very important so I can provide you with a fast and accurate quote. In many circumstances is also enables me to source replacement parts before your drive arrives which can save a few days for both parties.
Specifically I am looking for the following;
- Manufacturer
- Part Number
- Model Number
- Serial Number
- Date Of Manufacture
- Total Capacity
- Cylinders Heads Sectors
It is possible that not all of this information will be available. In that case just send me everything you can see.
The most important part of all is preparing the drive for transit. Clearly neither party wants the drive damaged any further so it is important to place it in a good strong box. This should be filled with packing peanuts, anti static bubble wrap (the pink stuff), newspaper scrunched tightly into balls or foam padding as seen in the picture. I work on the assumption that you don't have any anti-static bags available. Obviously I recommend that you use them if at all possible as static electricity can be very damaging to sensitive components such as your hard drive. You can find a supply of all these materials on eBay or simply by searching Google.
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Video
This is a video displaying a CD-R that I recieved from a customer last year. Initially the cd refused to play with CRC errors. Understandably the customer thought the CD was dirty and proceeded to clean it. Unfortuanatly he pressed to hard and cracked the disc. After some lateral thinking I was able to extract a good portion of the data from the disc and luckily for us both, this just happend to be the portion of the disc that was not previously backed up. Many people think this kind of work cannot be done so I made this video to increase awareness.
The cost? This disc was recovered for £75 all inclusive.
