Are you the victim of a flood or major water damage? It is important to take immediate measures to treat wet, soaked, or submerged data storage devices. These devices can include: hard drives, solid state drives (SSD), flash drives, digital music players, and smart phones.
The quicker you get your water-damaged device to a trained professional, the more likely you are to regain access to your important data.
There is a great deal of misinformation available on the Web about what individuals and organizations should do when a data storage device gets damaged. Be aware that most do-it-yourself repairs are extremely risky. Trained professionals know how to properly and safely retrieve your data.
What is the main risk of DIY repairs?
Oxidation or corrosion damage. When you attempt to retrieve data from a water-damaged device without the assistance of a professional, you increase the risk of permanent data loss. Moisture allows oxygen in the air to combine with the metal components and electrical connections in your data storage device. The result is corrosion or oxidation. Oxidation causes the electrical connections that make data storage possible, stop working.
Counterintuitive measures sometimes work best
The natural instinct after discovering that your data storage device has been water-damaged is to immediately remove it from the water. However, the best way to slow down the process of water damage is to isolate the device from free oxygen molecules. Insert the data storage device into a sealed plastic bag, squeeze as much air as you can out of the bag, and seal the device in with the water in which it was submerged.
The next step to a successfully recovery of your important data is to partner with a professional at Cherry Systems. Using a combination of highly sophisticated techniques along with proprietary equipment and technology, Cherry Systems has gained the loyalty of organizations and consumers for successful data recovery since 1989.
Learn more about Cherry Systems and the data recovery process.
photo credit: I probably have more HDDs than you! via photopin (license)
