Does your hard drive click when you turn it on? Or simply doesn’t show up anymore? We can recover data from any brand of hard disk, including Seagate, Toshiba, Western Digital, and many others. When a hard drive needs to be opened, we install matched donor heads and motor before recovering your information. This is the centre point of our data recovery in Newcastle, where everything else on the bench revolves around this task.
Is your hard disk drive making noise (clicking, grinding or beeping)? Unplug it immediately. All those noises tell us that the heads are hitting the disks and with each passing minute, you lose some of your data. Do not use any type of repair software, do not try to open the drive by yourself, and do not place it into the freezer. Nothing will help; almost all options may damage your data further. The sooner you stop a failing drive from working, the better chance we have of recovering your data.
Dropping a laptop, failing to spin… these are the types of hard drive failures we recover from most often: mechanical failures, electronic failures, firmware failures and logical failures.
We recover every make and model of hard drive available today (and many older models too). Whether an internal or external drive, the manufacturer of the drive does little to determine if your data can be recovered.
All brands and models of hard drives, including Barracuda, IronWolf, Exos, SkyHawk and FireCuda (Seagate) · Blue, Black, Red, Purple, Gold and Ultrastar (WD) · X300, N300, MG and Canvio (Toshiba); and both internal and external · all types: SATA, SAS and IDE.
Recovering a hard drive means making it stable enough so you could read information on it, making an image (copy) of everything on it by reading and never writing anything to it, then using that image to rebuild all your original files. A mechanical failure with a hard drive requires us to first make repairs to the hard drive before attempting recovery.
Please tell us exactly what happened: did it click? Did you drop it? Was it completely dead? Did your computer not detect it at all? We will identify the cause of the problem, create a written quote, and this will typically happen in 48 hours or less.
When an individual has damaged their hard drive’s mechanics such as bad heads or a motor that won’t spin, we open it up and replace those parts with identical parts from donor drives. We need 50% of the total price upfront to perform this type of repair.
When the circuit board of a hard disk drive fails we repair or rebuild the PCB and transfer the unique ROM chip. And if the error is due to faulty firmware we repair the service area modules until the drive will read again.
We take an image of every sector (read-only) on specialised equipment. This way the original is not changed and we don’t damage weak disks while reading them.
We will rebuild the file system from this image as well as retrieve your files and folders. This includes recovering data from damaged or difficult to read sections of the disk.
Once retrieved we’ll test that all files open correctly, making sure the file system has been restored to its previous state before returning your data.
You have several options to receive your data; either you get a new portable drive with your data on it or you can download your data for free if your recovery doesn’t exceed 75GB.
We recover data from every type of hard drive manufacturer, including Seagate, Western Digital, Toshiba and other manufacturers using a read-only image, with head replacement, motor replacement and/or board repair in-house.
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.
One fixed cost for recovery of a single hard drive, including a complimentary diagnosis and written quotation prior to commencement of work on your data.
An array of recent hard drive recovery successes resulting from various types of failure (mechanical, electrical, logical). Identifying details have been omitted; however, each job was confirmed by verification of results.
The drive’s heads had failed and were in contact with the platters. We installed matching replacement heads, repaired the firmware, and imaged the drive.
The crash had smashed the heads. We opened the drive, replaced the head stack and we were able to recover all files intact.
The problem was with the circuit board. We fixed the PCB, transferred the ROM from one to the other, and we were able to read the drive completely.
Corrupt firmware in the service area. We restored the modules that needed repair, and we were able to recover all data.
Water had entered into the internals. We removed all water, thoroughly cleaned and dried the drive, replaced damaged parts and were able to recover most of the data.
A bad file system. The data is good. We made an image of the entire drive as a read-only operation, and then rebuilt the drive so we could retrieve the files.
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. If it’s urgent, call 0191 406 1051.
The bench runs at platform level as opposed to brand utilities; therefore, we almost never see a difference in method due to the “make” on the label: Seagate (Barracuda, IronWolf, Expansion, and drives sold under the Seagate Rescue nameplate), Western Digital (Blue, Black, Elements, My Passport), Toshiba, Hitachi/HGST, Samsung and legacy Maxtor units are all fed into the lab on a weekly basis, from the latest helium-based drives back to the earliest IDE-era hardware. Although they belong to different firmware families, we don’t have to worry about that since we always image first.
Things you will want to know when trying to recover your failed hard drive.
Usually, yes. Just turn it off immediately. The grinding or clicking noise is what’s left of the read/write head(s) failing and scraping against the disks’ surfaces. Every time it gets spun up, the disk loses some of its remaining surface. We fit donor heads matching them to your failed drive and recover your data; therefore the best thing you can do is stop using this device.
Not necessarily. Dead drives (no spin, no sound) generally have a bad circuit board, often after a power surge; there’s typically nothing wrong with the disks or your data. The board can be repaired or rebuilt; the board’s ROM can be transferred into a new board; and the data from the disk can be recovered.
Generally. When a drive does start to spin, but doesn’t appear as a volume or reports an incorrect capacity, this is likely due to corrupted service area firmware, not because your data is lost. We will repair these service module(s), which allows access to your files.
Yes. When a drive fails internally (bad head, bad motor, etc.), our engineers will remove the damaged parts and replace them by opening the drive using a donor drive with matching specifications. When we need to open a drive, we will always confirm the price with you before proceeding with repairs.
The cost to recover one hard drive is £300 plus VAT. We offer all customers a free diagnostic and will provide them with a written quote. If there is a mechanical fault on the drive then we require a 50% deposit at the time of booking (this amount includes 50% of the costs for parts and labour in relation to opening the drive), with the rest only if we recover your data.
In general yes. However, as mentioned above, for faults caused by mechanical failure we would ask for a 50% deposit when we book a job (you are only required to pay the rest if we are able to recover your files; otherwise you don’t have to pay the full bill). As previously mentioned, jobs requiring the opening of the drive work slightly differently. For these types of jobs we charge you 50% of parts and labour costs upfront.
All makes: Seagate, Western Digital, Toshiba, Hitachi, HGST, Samsung, Maxtor, Fujitsu etc., internal and external, SATA, SAS and IDE, and the chance of successful recovery rarely depends on the manufacturer of the disk.
No, do not run any recovery software if the drive makes some sort of noise or does not show up at all. Running any kind of recovery software will keep the drive spinning and the head moving, which may physically damage the platters and totally eliminate the possibility of recovering the data. Additionally, if the issue is a physical one, the recovery software won’t even be able to find it. First call us.
No. This is an out-dated myth which has destroyed many disks. Condensation forms on the platters when they are cold and then corrodes them when warmed up. So keep your disk switched off and dry, and send it in.
In most cases, the time frame for logical recovery is 2 to 3 business days. Recoveries that require parts from the donor unit generally will take a little longer (3 to 4 business days) depending upon the parts required and the overall condition of the drive. Free diagnostic testing typically takes approximately 48 hours or less. Urgent cases may also be expedited.
Bring the drive into our Newcastle office Monday to Friday, 9am to 5:30pm, or post it (fully insured). Wrap the drive well; seal it up. Include your name, address, phone number and email inside so we can schedule it. We will perform a free diagnostic on the drive and send a written quote before we do any work on it.
Seagate Rescue is Seagate’s own recovery plan that comes bundled with some retail drives; if your drive has coverage under this plan then it’s worth using first. If your drive does not have coverage or the coverage has expired and/or the claim was denied, we also recover the same type of drives in-house. Recovery here is completely independent of any hardware warranty. We return your data and the replacement cover for the drive remains a matter between you and the manufacturer.
Free diagnostics, each disk recovered at a cost of £300+VAT (in most cases you only pay if we recover your data). All types of hard disk recovered in-house. Start recovering now.