Not showing up, dropped, making noise or wanting to be formatted? Our lab has the capability to recover from all types of external drives: WD, Seagate, Toshiba, LaCie etc., and both mobile and desktop. Typically the issue lies with the external casing, but the actual internal drive remains intact. There is also a variety of ways in which this could happen, and we cover data recovery external hard drive cases of every kind. Examples of data recovery external drive jobs include WD, Seagate, LaCie and Toshiba portable devices which are making noises, been dropped or won’t be recognised by the computer.
If you find that your external drive is producing noise (clicking/beeping) or isn’t being recognised by your computer: STOP PLUGGING IT IN. Once a drive has been dropped it usually starts to produce noise like this as it indicates that the heads of the drive are hitting the platters. Every time the device is powered on it will scratch more of your data off the platters. Do not format your external drive and do not attempt to run any repair software. And please do not try and remove a WD drive from its case because your data is encrypted on the board. Send us the entire unit including the enclosure, the cables etc.
Here are the most common types of faults we recover from with regards to external drives: Enclosure Bridge Faults/Enclosure Failure/Mechanical Failure/Encrypted Drives/Logical Failure.
We recover all brands of external hard drives: desktops, portables, USB and USB-C; new and old. Although there are a few brands of external hard drives that may look different from others, their ability to save your data is rarely impacted unless your WD hard drive is encrypted, which needs a little more care.
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 send the full enclosure and cable, especially with WD — the USB board holds the encryption key.
First step when recovering an external drive is to determine if the problem lies with the housing (the enclosure) of the drive or the internal hard drive. Once we eliminate the possibility of the USB board being the cause of the issue, we will then evaluate the internal hard drive for problems. If it requires repair or removal, we create a read-only image of the internal hard drive before attempting to restore your files.
When providing information regarding the failure of your external drive, please explain the symptoms you experienced (dropped, not recognised, clicks, asks to format). We will then be able to assess whether the failure occurred due to a problem with the enclosure or the internal hard drive and provide a written quote which typically takes less than 48 hours.
First evaluation performed by us is assessment of the USB board as most commonly, only this component fails while the internal hard drive remains functional. In cases where the internal hard drive may require disassembly or mechanical repairs; a payment equal to 50% of the total cost for such services will be required prior to beginning such repairs.
Repairing or bypassing the USB board; replacing failed heads or freeing up stuck heads on the bench; and rebuilding electronic components associated with the internal hard drive, all while maintaining any existing encryption keys.
Next, we perform a read-only backup/image of the internal hard drive utilising specialised equipment designed specifically for this purpose. These devices allow us to carefully read weak and/or damaged sections of the disk without causing additional stress to a failing drive.
For drives encrypted via WD’s proprietary encryption method, or protected by Microsoft’s BitLocker program and possessing the required information necessary to unlock these programs; we will utilise this information to decrypt your drive and subsequently build your original file structure from the image created in the previous step. If you do not possess the BitLocker encryption key, we recommend contacting us regarding our decryption service.
After successfully recovering your files/folders and verifying each file is capable of opening and is complete; we will return them to you.
We will either ship your recovered data back to you on a new drive or provide you access to download your recovered data free via an internet connection for up to 75 GB.
We successfully recover files from virtually all types of external portable/desktop hard drives including but not limited to: WD, Seagate, Toshiba, LaCie and others; regardless of whether your drive is experiencing issues related to its housing (enclosure), internal hard drive, or both; we will either repair the housing/enclosure of your drive or remove your data from your failing drive/platter(s) and transfer that data onto new media.
Tell us what happened and we will get back to you, usually within one working day.
We will be in touch shortly. For anything urgent, call 0117 332 1137.
A single flat rate to recover ONE (one) external hard drive, with a complimentary diagnostics analysis, and a detailed written quote for services prior to commencement of the recovery process.
A small sampling of some recent successful external hard drive recoveries. This includes examples from bridge failure, being dropped, and having been encrypted or corrupted. All names have been removed. And verification has been confirmed on each result.
The USB board failed, and it is an externally encrypted drive. We repaired the board, saved the encryption key, and recovered all your data.
Heads were damaged during the drop. We installed donor heads that are a match for the original heads, and successfully imaged the platters to allow us to recover your data.
File system became corrupted due to an improper disconnect. We created a complete image of the drive in read-only mode, and were able to rebuild the file system, which allowed us to recover all of your files.
Heads were bonded to the platters. We freed the heads on the bench, allowing us to recover your data before further damage could occur.
Both the board, and the bridge were completely destroyed. We rewired/rebuilt the electronic components, loaded your original firmware onto the new board, and were able to recover all of your lost data.
It was in good condition, and all of the original files were still available from where they’d been written to the physical media (the disk platter). So we were able to do an image and retrieve the lost directories immediately.
True client testimonials from our two-decade archive.
We had a portable Western Digital Passport hard drive that was dead and would not connect to PC. I would like to say that the Recovery service was perfect from start to end, they managed to recover most of the data that we needed which was great.
Nine times out of ten, search efforts for a repair are simply a search effort for your lost files.
Some external drive failures are indeed fixes that can be made quickly, such as a bad USB connection, a broken bridge board inside the unit, or a bad power connector. These are fixed frequently and once the disk is able to be accessed, this is the beginning of every file recovery process. When the internal drive is good then the entire process can be completed in less time.
External hard drives that fail mechanically are different and do need to be fixed far enough to read (donor heads, replacement of faulty circuitry, etc.). However, these units are never refurbished for use again. In these cases, what is delivered is a copy of your files (verified) onto new storage. When files are the end goal, the correct term is recovery, regardless of which path you choose. And all paths start with a free diagnostic.
Regardless how you have framed the search (external HDD data recovery, external drive data recovery, or data recovery from an external hard drive), this is essentially the same project here at our facility and the first step towards completing the project will always be that free diagnostic.
Send us your device for a no-obligation free diagnostic and let us know what went wrong. One of our engineers will inspect it and confirm your exact quote in writing prior to doing any work.
To get started with recovering your data, first get your device to us. Wrap it securely, write your contact details on a slip of paper inside the package, include a brief description of what happened and post it to us. After running a complimentary diagnostic we will write to you confirming the exact price prior to starting work.
Do you want to post the device to us? We highly recommend using a trackable postal service with insurance. Would you prefer to deliver it yourself? That’s fine too. Our office hours for accepting deliveries are Monday to Friday, 9am to 5:30pm. Please make sure to wrap the device as described previously.
Need some additional information regarding our data recovery services? Fill out the form and provide further detail about your problem and one of our engineers will review it and offer you a personalised quote.
We’ll be in touch shortly. For anything urgent, call 0117 332 1137.
The questions asked most about recovering an external hard drive.
Often not. More commonly than not, the USB board in an external enclosure fails before the actual drive does. So if an external drive won’t appear, it’s probably just a matter of fixing/bypassing the board. That being said, we check the enclosure first and in many instances, we can recover your data directly off the internal drive in the enclosure.
Generally yes. Normally, when a drive clicks after a drop, the read/write heads have failed, but the data remains on the platter(s). Therefore, we install a “matched” donor head on our lab bench and capture the images from that head prior to its damaging the platter(s). Do not continue to power up this unit; each time you turn it on, you risk damaging the platter(s) further.
Generally yes. WD My Passport and My Book drives will encrypt all of the user’s files at the level of the board (even if they’ve never created a password for the drive), so simply removing the drive and attempting to view it elsewhere won’t work. In order to retrieve those files, we must recover them using the original board and encryption key.
No, do not format this drive. The message displayed indicating that you should format this drive generally indicates that the file system has corrupted itself. Typically, this happens when you unplug the drive without properly ejecting it, however the files remain intact. By formatting or initialising this drive, you will significantly complicate recovering your files. Please bring it to us and we will create a complete image of your drive as read-only; then we will rebuild it.
The cost for data recovery of a single external drive is a flat rate of £300 + VAT, including complimentary diagnostics and a written quotation. If the drive requires mechanical or electronic repair (i.e., opening or board work), we require 50% of the quoted fee in advance of commencing repairs, therefore in most cases you only pay if we recover your data.
In most cases, yes. For mechanical or electronic repairs for your hard drive, we are going to request a 50% deposit at the start; the rest will then be due upon completion of recovery (so if we are unable to recover any data from your damaged hard drive, you won’t have to pay the remaining 50%).
All brands: Western Digital, Seagate, Toshiba, LaCie, Buffalo, Samsung, Maxtor, etc., both portable and desktop models, as well as those using either USB or USB-C connectors. The brand name is usually irrelevant when determining if data is recoverable although WD’s encryption does require slightly more attention.
We would strongly recommend against attempting this yourself. Many of these drives (WD especially) encrypt the data with an onboard chip, so when you simply remove the drive from the enclosure and plug it into another computer, the operating system will automatically recognise the drive as “unformatted” and prompt you to format it. Formatting the drive will destroy all of your data. Some enclosures also clip the board to the drive in ways that are easily damaged. If you bring both the drive and the enclosure to us, we will extract the data from the drive using methods specifically designed for safely recovering data from damaged or corrupted drives.
When an external drive starts making loud noises such as beeping, chances are one of two things has happened. First, there could be a problem with the heads of the drive becoming stuck on the platter(s). Second, the drive’s motor may have seized. In either case, this requires removal of the top of the drive in our lab. For safety reasons, please turn off the device immediately if it starts beeping, as running it will make the damage worse.
The average time frame for completing most recoveries is 2 to 3 working days. Recovering drives that require head work, motor repair or board level repairs takes longer, typically around 3 to 4 working days. This is dependent on availability of replacement parts. Your free diagnostic report should be completed within 48 hours, and we can also provide expedited service for emergency recoveries.
Drop-off times are available Monday to Friday, 9am to 5:30pm at our Bristol office. Alternatively, you can post us your entire external drive including enclosure, USB cable and AC power cord fully insured via postal delivery. For WD drives especially, the onboard board contains the encryption keys used by WD for their products. Please send your full drive including enclosure, along with your contact information (name, address, phone number and email), so we can get started on booking your recovery and quoting prior to commencing any work.
Free diagnostic included with every order; fixed price of £300 + VAT per drive; in most cases you only pay if we recover your data; we recover data from all types of external hard drives including portable and desktop models in addition to their enclosures. Start your data recovery today.