Repairing Your Hard Drive: DIY vs. Professionals

When your hard drive fails, you may be tempted to fix it yourself instead of taking it to a professional. If it’s a simple problem, then fixing it yourself will save you time and money. So you get online, research the symptoms and find endless advice about how to fix your problem.

Before you roll up your sleeves and dive in, there are a few things you should know. Some DIY methods are only temporary. There is no guarantee that the method you tried is a permanent fix to your problem. That can cause a lot more problems later on.

Some methods can make your problem worse. If you continue using them, you can wind up destroying your hard drive. Your computer won’t be able to boot up. You will have to spend more money than you’re comfortable with just to fix a problem that could have been solved by professionals.
How do you identify when you need a professional or when you can fix something yourself? Let’s take a look at some examples.

When You Can Do It Yourself

It is only advisable to try to fix an internal problem with your computer if you know what you’re doing. If you have never opened up a computer, or don’t know the insides of it, take it to the professionals.

If your external hard drive is acting up, check the connections first. It could be as simple as a cable is loose. First, turn off your computer. Then make sure the cables are plugged in firmly. When you turn it on everything should be working fine.

If that didn’t work, check to see if the computer recognizes your hard drive. If it doesn’t, there is likely some type of internal damage that is preventing it from being recognised. This is a problem that should be fixed by professionals.

When to Take It to the Professionals

If at any point your hard drive starts making any type of alarming noise, you should have professionals look at it. Likewise, if you cannot determine what the problem is, you should take it in to see a professional.

You may cringe thinking about how much money it’s going to cost to fix it. Stop and weigh the costs carefully. Is it cheaper to take it to a professional than to buy a new computer?

If you are on a budget, find a company that specializes in external hard drive repair. The company shouldn’t charge you a lot of money to diagnose your computer. They should only charge you a full fee if they can fix your problem.

Pick a company that has a long record of recovering data and satisfied customers. The company should also specialise in data recovery, such as retrieving data from SD card. They should be able to pull files off of your hard drive even if it’s damaged.