Logical Failure Of Hard Drives

By Author: James Walsh
Total Articles: 68
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It means that the hard drive is in normal working condition but has got files damaged due to overwriting, virus attacks or wrong formatting.

In a logical failure, the hard drive is functional but reads an error when certain files cannot be accessed due to incorrect partitions or accidental deletions. Consequently, logical data recovery is defined as the rebuilding of damaged or corrupted files. It involves the reconstruction and repair of those data files which have suffered damage due to user error or virus attack. Logical data recovery does not aim to repair the entire hard drive. The recovery is narrow focusing on the repair of corrupted data files within the hard drive.

Reasons for Logical Failure

Master Boot Record Failure: The master boot record is located in the first sector of the hard disk. Logical errors occur when this master boot record becomes contaminated resulting in faulty operating system instructions. This can take place due to:

Shutting down the computer improperly

Sudden power surges i.e. ESD

Virus or worm attacks

Boot Sector Failure: ...
... Logical failures can occur as a result of boot sector corruption. This usually takes place due to:

Hardware malfunction when a hardware component turns out faulty and has the potential to damage functions

When that particular sector is hit by virus or worm attack

Operating System Malfunction: An operating system malfunction occurs when the drive software is faulty damaging the master boot record. Operating system malfunctions need to be detected early for fear of widespread contamination.

Deleted Data: Logical failures can take place due to user error or accidental deletion of data. Deleted data does not mean permanent erasure of the data from the hard drive. The path to the data in the drive has been deleted but the actual data still exists within the drive.

Corrupt File System: A corrupted hard drive file system also leads to logical failures. Corrupted file systems can be caused by:

Improper computer shutdowns

Virus or worm attacks

Physical causes of maintenance, handling and temperature control

Cross-linked Files: Improper shutdowns and system crashes can lead to the creation of logical errors of cross-linked files. Cross-linked files have the same reference point and are vulnerable to virus attacks and formatting errors.

Improper Shutdown: User error primarily involves intentional or accidental improper shutdown of the computer. This can lead to a multitude of software errors resulting in logical failure. Operating systems can crash as the drive and related software face problems of booting. In addition, improper shutdown can also cause viruses and Trojans to spread throughout the system undetected.

Disk Repair Utilities: Running disk repair utilities on a regular basis can also lead to logical failure. They should not be used without a proper reason. Disk utilities if not run under suspicious circumstances of data loss can lead to permanent loss of data. It is advisable to shut down the computer properly to avoid running disk repair utilities unnecessarily.
Repartitioned or Reformatted Hard Drive: Reformatting the hard drive destroys originally saved data. Similarly, deleted partitions should be reconstructed or reformatted. This may lead to logical failure as new functions and new data can cause permanently hard drive errors.

Logical Data Recovery

Disk Imaging: Logical data recovery is usually conducted through the technique of disk imaging. This involves Imaging or copying the drive onto another data storage device using commercial imaging software. Disk imaging is used for data recovery from based or lost sectors, partitions including reformatted partitions. There are two ways to do disk imaging. The common way is to download the imaging software onto another computer and simply copy the damaged drive. The imaging process can take up to 30 minutes to several hours. It depends on the number of bad sectors existent on the damaged drive.

There is an alternative way of attaching an external USB drive to the faulty computer. This external USB drive becomes the secondary slave drive. It is better to use IDE ports on the motherboard. Motherboard ports have a better error handling rate.

Consistency Checkers: This technique involves scanning and checking the entire disk for errors. The technique comprises of the functions of CHECKDISK and SCANDISK. These two functions provide the user with data protection and security against logical errors of virus and worm attacks. CHKDSK and SCNDSK are able to contain the logical error from spreading. They are often inbuilt and usually function automatically on booting. The utilities can be stopped from running every time the computer boots by manually inputting in such a command. Running these disk repair utilities also has the risk of permanent data loss.

James Walsh is a freelance writer and copy editor. For more information on computer crime and Computer Forensics see http://www.fieldsassociates.co.uk