How a Fire Affects the Chances of Hard Drive Data Recovery

A fire can reset a family or business in a number of ways, but in an increasingly digital age, one of the more dire and unexpected effects of a fire is a loss of information. Computer hard drives store just about everything in our lives, from pictures to vital documents, and unfortunately, hard drives are one of the first things to go when a fire hits a computer.

Luckily, there are data recovery companies out there who devote a lot of time, money, and new technology to finding new ways to recover information from damaged hard drives. But unfortunately, this is is sometimes easier said than done, especially where fire is concerned.

What Happens To A Burned Hard Drive?

When fire hits a hard drive, it tends to roast everything from the platters which contain information to the heads and electronics that allow the drive to read information. The electronics of the drive are on the outside, and they're the first thing that gets fired up.

For data recovery companies, lost electronics are a serious issue, because hard drive electronics are incredibly specific. You can't just switch out the electronics of two hard drives--you used to be able to, but you can't anymore. Instead, the electronics need to be rebuilt after a fire, and that takes a lot of time, money, and special equipment.

Platter Damage

However, damage to the platters of a hard drive in a fire is a much more severe issue, because if the platters get burned too badly, data is completely unrecoverable. You probably know that hard drives contain magnetically stored information. This info is read by incredibly exact hard drive heads, and the heads can't do their jobs if the platters are in a different shape. Fire will warp plastic, glass, or metal platters, and it may burn away bits of the magnetic material that stores data. This means no chance of recovery on the sections that are burned away and a very small chance of recovery if platters are even slightly warped.

There are some advances in technology that can make data recovery possible from a fire-damaged hard drive, but only if the fire has not been severe enough to char the platters. Fire data recovery services are very expensive because of the low chances of success, and often cost two to three times more than a standard hard drive data recovery service.

Do you have any questions about hard drive data recovery? Post your thoughts in the comments section below.