A drop or fall of a hard disk may cause the heads of the disk to collide with the disks themselves. This damage will make every power-up a risk of scratching further damage onto the disks. The engineers here remove the cover from the damaged unit, replace the damaged components from our vast library of 10,000 parts, and then carry out an internal recovery of your files.
When you hear a hard drive making clicking sounds, grinding sounds, etc., this indicates there is physical damage to one or more of the heads. With each use of the drive, these damaged heads have the potential to scrape against the disks which could potentially destroy data that could be recovered today. Do not attempt to run any recovery programs, and do not try again and again; simply turn off the device and contact us.
The design of hard drives is such that they are made to operate within very close limits; therefore, even a slight drop can result in serious mechanical failure. We see and recover from these types of failures most frequently.
Over the last two decades, we have successfully recovered drives from all major manufacturers that were impacted by falls and/or physical damage. Therefore, if you have data stored on a spinning disk drive, we are almost certainly able to assist you.
Internal and external · 3.5" desktop and 2.5" laptop · SATA, SAS, IDE/PATA and SCSI · from 40 GB legacy drives to the latest 24 TB helium models.
Recovering a drop-damaged or physically damaged drive is typically done as follows: First, we repair the drive physically. Then, once repaired, we retrieve your data. Again, we do this in the correct order.
Bring us your drive either in person or by post. Once received, we will evaluate the extent of damage to the head(s), platter(s) and motor. After completion of evaluation, we will provide you with a written quote outlining the cost to recover your drive, normally within 48 hours of receiving your drive.
We have your drive opened up by our engineering team to look at the heads & platter(s) with a magnifying glass so we can tell exactly which part was damaged due to the drop.
We are able to pull matching heads/motors/part(s) from our inventory as opposed to having to wait weeks for a “donor” drive to be acquired.
We then replace the crashed head assembly (which is most commonly damaged by an impact), as well as any other component that didn’t work after the crash.
We copy each sector of the fixed drive to a new location. This is done with patience as there could be areas that are weak or have scratches.
We create copies of your files using the imaging process, compare those files to a list of the original files, and then provide your restored data on new media.
Your data will be backed-up onto an external hard drive, and shipped back to you, or you will be able to access your restored data via our free download service for up to 75 GB.
Because we have all of our own matching heads, motors, etc., we can immediately begin repairs on most dropped and damaged hard drives. There is no need to wait for weeks while we search for a replacement hard drive to match your specific model.
Tell us about your drive and we will get back to you, usually within 30 minutes during the day.
We will be in touch shortly. For anything urgent, call 0117 332 1137.
There are no hidden costs and/or pressures, simply a complimentary examination and a detailed written quotation prior to commencing any repair.
A sample of some of the recent (and past) physical drop and damage recoveries we have successfully completed in-house. All names have been removed; all data has been confirmed.
The classic head crash resulting from being dropped. We located a head-stack from inventory which was identical to the one in this unit. We did a head-swapping procedure. On the second attempt we were able to image the drive.
Due to an impact to the drive, it caused damage to the heads and motor. We had both of these replaced using items from our inventory. Once we aligned the assembly, we were able to complete recovery of the entire volume.
Heads crashed as a result of being dropped. We found a donor head-stack that matched the original. After imaging the drive, we were able to retrieve almost every file.
All reviews posted on this website are based upon real customer responses; none have been created by us.
No invented reviews here — every testimonial we publish is genuine. Ask us to arrange a reference for a job like yours on 0117 332 1137.
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.
Some common questions that people ask us about recovering files when they have physically damaged their drive due to a drop.
If a drop causes the read/write heads to hit the platters (the heads will crash), the heads AND platters could be damaged. Clicking occurs when the head fails to read the information on the platter and resets back to its original position. This is a mechanical issue and therefore would require the drive to be opened-up, the heads replaced; NOT something that software can repair.
No, this is by far the most crucial step. Every time a drive that has been dropped and has damaged heads spins up again, it creates potential additional scratches on the platters, and what was potentially a recoverable job becomes permanently lost. Turn it off immediately and do nothing else with it until we have had an opportunity to see it.
Yes, most of them. As mentioned previously, we open the drive here at our facility, replace the failed heads, replace any other damaged components we find using parts we have in stock, and then create an exact copy of the data on the drive, rebuilding your files. There are many variables that determine how severe the damage is, but in general we consider dropped and/or banged hard drives as routine repairs for us.
No. If it only works sometimes after a drop, the heads are already failing, and attempting to continue accessing the drive increases the likelihood of scratching the platters. Therefore, continuing to try to use the drive is essentially the fastest way possible to lose all of your data. Disconnect power immediately and call us.
Standard price for a dropped/damaged hard drive: £300 + VAT. You receive a complimentary written diagnostic first; and in most cases you only pay if we recover your data. Higher critical recovery quotes (which may be needed for severe physical damage such as scratched platters) will vary depending upon the nature of the damage, but prior to any work commencing we always confirm the quote in writing to you.
Most hard drive recoveries due to drops take approximately 3 to 4 working days from the point where you approve our quote; and our initial diagnostics are typically completed within 48 hours. Emergency situations can frequently be expedited; simply advise us of urgency.
All of the large manufacturers for hard drives are represented; these include Western Digital, Toshiba, Seagate, HGST, Hitachi, Maxtor, Fujitsu, IBM, Quantum, Samsung, SanDisk, LaCie, G-Technology, Buffalo, Verbatim, ADATA, Transcend, Silicon Power, Iomega, UnionSine, ModusTech and Intenso, in both 3.5-inch desktop and 2.5-inch laptop and external form factors.
The item may be delivered to our office in Bristol (Monday to Friday, 9am to 5:30pm) where you will receive a complimentary diagnosis and a written quote prior to the initiation of any repairs, or sent by post insured. When sending by post please ensure that the device is well packaged, sealed, and includes all contact information for yourself within the packaging (name, address, telephone number and email address). This allows us to book the unit in for repair when we receive it.
A complimentary written diagnostic assessment; in most cases you only pay if we recover your data; and an inventory of 10,000 parts available for each repair. Begin recovering your data today!