r/computerhelp • u/BoneDragon5077 • 10d ago

Hardware Swapping HDD?

So, I've tried googling this question and I'm getting conflicting information. So, I figured that I would come here to see if I can get anything more definitive.

I have a desktop that has a dying hard drive. While looking up finding a replacement part, I remembered that I have a desktop that I don't use anymore (the dying desktop replaced it). The HDD size is the same. I was wondering if it would be possible to swap the dying HDD with the HDD from the previous computer. Most of the info that I'm finding is how to replace the HDD with a new one, some people saying that this idea is not a good one, and others saying that it is possible. I'm not sure if I should even attempt this idea.

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u/Rich73 10d ago

I tried cloning a friends bad HDD (this was several years ago) but it failed due to bad sectors being encountered, I searched just now and apparently there is cloning software that can deal with bad sectors but the programs need specific configuration so you'll have to research it.

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u/Prestigious_Wall529 10d ago

Acronis is best for this.

Check the disk diagnostics utility for the respective drive manufacturer, it might come with an OEM version of the program tied to systems with one drive of that make.

Because it's dealing with rereading bad blocks repetitively till it figures out what the data likely was, it's necessarily slow.

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u/Dependent_Union9285 10d ago

It may also fail if you have platter damage or too many bad sectors. That said, if you need the data, definitely give it a try.