Water Damage Data Recovery
Flooded basement? Hurricane damage? Dropped a drive in water? The data on your platters is still there. We recover hard drives from floods, spills, and submersion every week in our Austin lab.
Do Not Let It Dry Out
This is counter-intuitive, but critical: keep your water-damaged drive wet until it reaches us. Once water evaporates, mineral deposits form on the platters and corrosion accelerates. Place the drive in a sealed plastic bag with a damp paper towel and ship overnight.
Call if you need guidance on shipping
What Happens When a Hard Drive Gets Wet
Hard drives store data magnetically on spinning metal platters. Water does not erase magnetic data. The problem is what water does to everything else: the printed circuit board (PCB), the motor controller, and the read/write heads.
When water contacts the PCB, it creates conductive paths between components that should be isolated. If you power on the drive while wet, electricity flows where it should not, burning out chips and accelerating corrosion. This is why the first rule is do not power it on.
The second problem is corrosion. Water contains dissolved minerals and oxygen. When water evaporates, those minerals remain as deposits on the PCB and, if water entered the drive enclosure, on the platters themselves. Salt water is worse because sodium chloride is both conductive and hygroscopic; it continues attracting moisture from the air and corroding the drive even after the initial water has dried.
What To Do Right Now
If your hard drive was exposed to water in the last 24-48 hours, follow these steps before doing anything else.
1. Do Not Power It On
Electricity through wet circuits causes short circuits and burns out components. Every power cycle risks additional damage.
2. Keep It Wet
Do not use a hair dryer or put it in rice. Drying causes mineral deposits to form. Wrap in a damp paper towel and seal in a plastic bag.
3. Ship Overnight
Time matters. Ship the bagged drive overnight to our Austin lab. Include a note describing what happened and what data you need.
4. Call If Unsure
Not sure what to do? Call us at (512) 582-0870. We can advise you on the safest way to package and ship your specific situation.
Types of Water Damage We Handle
Fresh Water (Spills, Leaks, Condensation)
Tap water, bottled water, and rain contain fewer dissolved solids than salt water. Corrosion is slower, but still occurs. The drive needs to be properly dried, the PCB cleaned or replaced, and potentially a head swap if water entered the enclosure.
Common scenarios: spilled drinks, roof leaks, pipe bursts, sprinkler systems, washing machines.
Salt Water (Ocean, Coastal Flooding)
Salt water corrodes metal faster than fresh water. Sodium chloride remains on surfaces after drying and continues attracting moisture. These drives need ultrasonic cleaning and often require PCB replacement and head swaps.
Common scenarios: hurricane storm surge, coastal flooding, boats, ocean submersion.
Flood Water (Mixed Contamination)
Flood water contains sediment, sewage, chemicals, and debris. Recovery depends on how long the drive was submerged and whether contaminated water penetrated the sealed enclosure. These are often the most complex cases.
Common scenarios: basement flooding, river overflow, hurricane aftermath, dam failures.
Fire Suppression Systems
Sprinkler systems and fire suppression chemicals can damage drives even when there is no fire. The water is often dirty from sitting in pipes for years, and chemical suppressants leave residue.
Common scenarios: office sprinklers, data center suppression, false alarms, adjacent room fires.
How We Recover Water-Damaged Drives
Controlled Drying and Cleaning
We dry the drive in a controlled environment to prevent further mineral deposit formation. The PCB is removed and cleaned ultrasonically to remove corrosion and contaminants.
PCB Assessment and Replacement
We test each chip on the PCB for damage. If the motor controller or preamp is burned out, we transplant the ROM chip containing your drive's adaptive data to a compatible donor PCB.
Head Assembly Evaluation
If water penetrated the sealed enclosure, the read/write heads may be corroded or contaminated. We open the drive in our clean bench environment (0.02µm filtration; exceeds ISO Class 5) and inspect the heads and platters.
Head Swap If Necessary
If the heads are damaged, we replace them with heads from a compatible donor drive. This is the same process we use for clicking hard drives with mechanical head failures.
Imaging with PC-3000
Once the drive is functional, we image it using PC-3000 professional data recovery hardware. This creates a sector-by-sector clone while handling bad sectors and read errors gracefully.
File System Reconstruction
From the cloned image, we reconstruct your file system and extract your data. We provide you with a file listing before you approve the recovery.
Pricing
Water damage recovery uses our standard data recovery pricing. The exact cost depends on what components need repair or replacement.
PCB Cleaning Only
$300 - $600
Water did not enter the enclosure; only the circuit board is affected. Cleaning and minor component replacement.
PCB Replacement
$400 - $800
Burned-out chips require a donor PCB with ROM transplant.
Head Swap Required
$800 - $1,500
Water entered the enclosure and damaged the heads. Requires clean bench head replacement from donor drive.
Evaluation
Free
We diagnose the drive and provide a firm quote before any paid work. If we cannot recover your data, you pay nothing.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can data be recovered from a water-damaged hard drive?
Is salt water damage worse than fresh water?
I already powered on my wet drive. Is it ruined?
Should I let my hard drive dry out before sending it?
How much does water damage recovery cost?
My drive was submerged in flood water for days. Is there hope?
Related Services
Water-damaged drive? Send it in.
Keep it wet, ship overnight. Free evaluation. No data, no charge.