Recovering Data from External HDs

[Eltoshen]

So I had a Hitachi external harddrive that just malfunctioned on me. It's happened in the past when I dropped it. This time is the same.

First time the data seemed to be wiped completely. This time, I was able to get it (the harddrive and its files) to show up for a bit until I restarted and it refused to show up at all.

It's been making weird sounds when I try to boot it. What would be the best possible way to disassemble it and possibly restore the data? If anybody has ever had to do this before, any advice would be appreciated.

[Teapot]

I'm technologically stupid, but I've used Recuva to try rescuing some of my files after they've been accidentally deleted. You might want to try that? Iono, otherwise.

[Wist]

That doesn't sound like fun. What kind of sound is it making, a clicking, a whirring like it's constantly trying to read data, or something else? Is the drive being detected by the computer? I'm aware of a few basic things you could try out depending on what might have malfunctioned or suffered damage, but to be honest I've never had to actually try any of them myself.

[Click This]

Do not disassemble unless you have the rights tools and a vacuum room. If your data is important, bring it to a data recovery center for professional repair. It'll cost you $$$, but you'll have your data. If it's not too important, if the disk still detects, try running data recovery software on it. It'll be hit or miss, though.