Won’t connect, dropped, clicking, asking to be formatted? We recover all brands of external drives: Western Digital (WD), Seagate, Toshiba, LaCie and more, desktop and portable drives. Most times it is only the USB enclosure that fails. Searching for external hard drive recovery near me? The bench is located in central Newcastle and insured post can reach it from anywhere.
If your external drive starts beeping or clicking or no longer shows up on a computer, stop using it. A drop results in those sounds as the heads are touching the platters. Each power-on scratches away even more of your data. Do not format it, run repair tools or remove a WD drive from its case as the board encrypts the data. Send in the entire drive including cable, enclosure and everything.
The main types of external hard disk failure we see (and therefore recover from most often) include mechanical failure, logical failure and encryption. As well as those, there’s also bridge failure, where the USB bridge within the external enclosure fails but the actual disk itself is still functional.
Although we work with nearly every model of portable external hard disk and desktop external hard disk available today (USB, USB-C, etc.), including both new and older models, rarely is it the manufacturer (model) of the external drive that determines whether your lost files can be recovered. WD’s encrypted drives require a slightly different procedure than other manufacturers’ encrypted drives.
WD My Passport, My Book, Elements, Easystore and G-Drive · Seagate Expansion, Backup Plus and One Touch · Toshiba Canvio · LaCie Rugged · 2.5 inch portable and 3.5 inch desktop · USB 2.0, 3.0 and USB-C. Always include the entire enclosure and cable when sending an external hard drive to us, especially if it’s a WD product: the USB board contains the encryption key.
The process of recovering from an external hard drive begins with determining if there was a problem in the drive itself or in the casing. After ruling out issues with the USB circuit board, we access the drive (either fix it or remove it) and take an image of it in read-only mode so we can recover your files.
Please describe what occurred (not recognised, dropped, clicking noise, etc.) and we will determine if the issue lies with the enclosure or the drive. Then we provide you a written quote which typically occurs within 48 hours.
First we test the USB circuit board; frequently the internal drive is good but only the USB bridge has failed. In cases where the internal drive requires disassembly or other mechanical repairs such work will require payment of 50% of the fee prior to beginning.
If possible we replace or bypass the USB board, swap bad heads or free up stuck heads on our bench, or repair the electronic circuitry of the drive while maintaining any existing encryption keys.
We take a read-only image of the drive using specialised equipment. The images of the weak or damaged parts are taken carefully so as not to stress a failing drive.
If the drive has been encrypted with Western Digital’s (WD) own encryption technology and/or Microsoft’s BitLocker encryption, we will apply the decryption keys when provided and restore the original file system based upon the captured image. In cases where the customer does not provide their BitLocker recovery keys, no method exists to unlock the volume since the encryption itself prevents such access. This is how it was designed by Microsoft and there is nothing anyone can do about it.
We will locate all of your files and folders, verify each one opens correctly, and check to see if it is complete before sending it back to you.
Your recovered files and data are returned to you in the form of a new drive(s), or you may choose to directly download your data at no cost for recoveries that do not exceed 75 GB.
All types of removable drives (portable and desktop external drives made by WD, Seagate, Toshiba, LaCie, and other brands) have been repaired successfully by either fixing the outer case or enclosure of the drive or repairing the internal hard disk drive (HDD) and accessing whatever part of the drive contains data that can be accessed.
Tell us what happened and we’ll get back to you, usually within a working day.
We’ll be in touch shortly. If it’s urgent, call 0191 406 1051.
A single fixed cost per recovery of an external drive: we will provide you with a free diagnosis of your drive prior to commencing any work on it and also a written quotation of our costs before we do any work on it.
There have been several recoveries in the past few months from external drives as a result of bridge failure; dropping the device; encrypting the drive and corrupting the file system. We are unable to include specific information regarding each recovery; however all recoveries were verified.
The USB circuit board had failed and the hard drive was encrypted. We repaired the USB board, maintained the encryption key and successfully recovered all data.
The head(s) had failed after falling. We installed matched donor head assemblies onto the original platter(s), and were able to image those platters which allowed us to recover all of the data.
When the power was pulled too quickly, the file system became corrupted. Therefore we created a copy of it (read-only) and rebuilt it; we retrieved everything.
The heads had become stuck to the platter. On our bench, we freed them and then restored the data before further damage occurred.
Both the boards and bridges on this unit had been fried. We repaired the electronic components, loaded the original firmware onto the units, and we were able to recover every last bit of data from these units.
This unit was healthy and the data that had been lost remained intact on the platter. We immediately made a copy of it and recovered all of the deleted folders.
Nine times in ten, when you are looking for repairs what you are actually searching for are your missing files.
While some problems with external drives do require repair (a loose USB connection, a dead bridge board in the case or a bad power connector), we can often complete these types of fixes very quickly, as long as the internal drive itself is sound. The first step in nearly all data recoveries is to get the external drive readable. If the drive inside is good, then you may be able to have your problem resolved quickly after sending your drive to us.
You have two options if your hard disk drive (HDD) has failed mechanically. One option involves repairing your HDD only as far as it needs to read (specifically, we will replace donor heads or repair all electronic components as needed) but we do not intend to restore your HDD to its former status as a functional unit intended for use every day. What we deliver to you will be a confirmed copy of your files stored on new storage media. In this case, the term “recovery” is truly the appropriate description for our actions and both paths start with a complimentary diagnostic.
Regardless of how you framed the enquiry (i.e. “external HDD data recovery”, “external drive data recovery” or “data recovery from an external hard drive”), all enquiries lead to performing the exact same function in our lab using the identical free diagnostic tool.
When you send the unit in for its free diagnostic, let us know what happened with the unit. An engineer will review the unit and confirm your quote in writing prior to starting on your recovery.
Before you post or drop off your device, please get a quote from us by phone or with the form. Once we receive your device, our recovery process can start. Safely pack your device, include your name and contact information within the packaging and ship it to us. After performing your free diagnostic, we’ll send you a written confirmation of the exact price of our services prior to starting any work.
If you decide to post it, we would advise using a trackable and insured postal service. Or if you prefer to drop it off, we are open Monday to Friday, 9am to 5:30pm, and you don’t need an appointment. Just pack the unit as described in step one before dropping it off.
Would you like a little more background information prior to sending it? Fill in the form to provide more details about your problem; an engineer will evaluate it and reply with a customised quote.
We’ll be in touch shortly. For anything urgent, call 0191 406 1051.
These are some of the questions we get asked the most when it comes to recovering an external hard disk.
In many cases, no. More commonly, the USB circuit board within the housing of an external HDD fails more frequently than the HDD itself. Therefore, when an HDD does not appear, there may simply be a need to repair or bypass the failed circuit board. We will test the housing before attempting to access any information contained within the HDD. If the HDD itself is operational, we will recover your files directly from it.
Yes, usually. Clicking once you’ve dropped your hard disk normally indicates that the read/write heads have suffered damage whilst your data bearing disks remain unscathed. On our bench we will be able to match up donor heads and image the disks (before they get further damaged by the heads) from the original drive. Please don’t turn it back on as each time you power the drive up there’s a chance of damaging the disks.
Usually, yes. WD My Passport and My Book drives encrypt their entire contents at the USB board level, even if you never set a password; therefore, you cannot simply pull the drive out of its housing and expect to be able to access those contents somewhere else. We will recover your data directly off the original board and using the correct encryption keys.
Don’t format it. This typically indicates that the file system on the drive has been corrupted, generally because the drive was removed while not properly unmounted or ejected. Although formatting or initialising may destroy many of your recovered files’ potential for restoration, your files remain intact. Send the drive to us and we’ll create an image of your entire drive read-only, then we’ll rebuild it.
A standard recovery price for one external hard disk is £300 + VAT. We start with a free diagnostic followed by a written quote. If the hard disk suffers from a mechanical fault or electronic fault and requires a board level repair or opening of the hard disk then we ask for a deposit of 50% of the job cost; therefore in most cases you only pay if we recover your data.
In most cases, yes. However when dealing with mechanical or electronic repairs we ask for a 50% deposit up front and request the remaining balance once your data has been recovered. Therefore should we fail to recover your data you won’t be charged the full amount.
All brands. Western Digital (WD), Seagate, Toshiba, LaCie, Buffalo, Samsung, Maxtor, etc., portable and desktop hard drives (internal and external), USB and USB-C. Brand usually has minimal to no effect on whether or not the data can be recovered; however some WD drives with encryption may have a slightly different procedure.
We would discourage you from doing this. Many drives (WD especially) have encryption at the board level, thus when the drive is removed and inserted into your computer the operating system will think it is an unformatted disk and ask if you want to format it. When you choose to do this, it will erase all of your data. In addition some of these cases also hold the boards to the drive with clips that can easily bend the pins on the board. Please bring both parts to us and we will properly remove the disk securely.
If your external drive just starts beeping, then either there’s something wrong mechanically (like the head(s) have got stuck on the disks) or the motor has stopped working. Either way, this will need to be looked at by opening the drive on the bench. Don’t try to turn it back on as this may cause further damage.
Usually most recovery work is completed in about 2 to 3 working days. Work requiring head replacement, motor repair or board level repairs usually require 3 to 4 working days to complete. This may vary depending upon part availability. Normally we will provide you with a free diagnostic report within 48 hours of receiving your media. In some cases, we may be able to prioritise your case if it is urgent.
We accept deliveries of hard drives Monday to Friday, 9am to 5:30pm, at our office in Newcastle. Alternatively you may send your hard drive by post to us fully insured. When sending the entire drive, including the casing, a USB cable and a power adapter (as is the case with WD drives, which have the encryption key on the circuit board), please also provide your name, address, phone number and e-mail so that we can make contact with you and provide a quotation prior to beginning work on your drive.
Free diagnostic. Fixed price £300 + VAT per drive. In most cases you only pay if we recover your data. We recover all makes of external hard drives, portable and desktop, enclosure included. Begin your recovery today.