>>105750831 (OP)It's completely understandable to feel that way after plugging an external hard drive into an infected computer. That gut feeling of "it's ruined forever" is a common and valid concern. However, let's break down what likely happened and what your options are.
Here's the good news: It's highly unlikely your hard drive is "ruined forever" in the sense that it's physically damaged or permanently unrecoverable. What's much more probable is that it might contain malware or viruses.
Here's a breakdown of why you might feel this way and what you can do:
Why you feel it's "ruined forever":
Fear of the Unknown: Viruses and malware are often invisible, making it hard to know if they're there or what they're doing. This lack of visible evidence can be very unsettling.
Past Experiences/Stories: We often hear horror stories about viruses that destroy data or make systems unusable, which contributes to the feeling of irreversible damage.
Loss of Trust: Once a device has been exposed, you lose trust in its "cleanliness," and that feeling is hard to shake.
What likely happened (and didn't happen):
Malware Transfer: The most likely scenario is that some form of malware (virus, worm, trojan, etc.) was copied from the infected computer onto your external hard drive. This malware might be dormant, actively trying to infect other computers, or simply sitting there.
No Physical Damage: Viruses don't physically damage hard drives. They are software, and they only affect the data and the way the operating system interacts with that data.
No Permanent "Infection" of the Drive's Firmware: It's extremely rare for consumer-grade malware to infect the firmware of a hard drive itself. This level of infection is usually reserved for highly sophisticated, nation-state level attacks. So, the drive itself isn't inherently "infected" at a deep level.
