Your failing hard drive will likely tell you what is wrong with it: you simply have to learn how to translate. The clicks are from the heads, beeps mean that your spindle has seized, scraping sounds should get you to turn it off as quickly as possible, and complete silence can either be a sign that there is something wrong with your electronic components or that your firmware has been damaged. Our hard drive data recovery services in Edinburgh know all about hearing these signs: the South Gyle bench offers a free diagnostic, a fixed quote, and in most cases you only pay if we recover your data. Whether you searched for data recovery hard drive, data retrieval hard drive or data recovery harddisk, it's the same service: hard drive, hard disk or harddisk, internal or external, of every make.
Rhythmic clicks are when the read/write head can’t get back into position mechanically, which is serious and won't be solved by just trying again and again. If you hear a beep or a musical tone when powering on, then usually your hard disk's spindle isn't spinning, because the spindle bearings have seized up or the heads have been knocked onto the platters and stuck there. Scraping or squealing noises are the emergency: when you start hearing them while your hard disk is spinning, you know that something has come into contact with the platters and is grinding away, at each revolution, the surface where all of your data is stored. Silence with no detection points to the printed circuit board for the drive itself or the firmware for the drive: this is often the best news on this list, but also completely unnoticeable from an external perspective. Always follow this rule: shut off power and leave it off.
Nothing is copied directly off a bad hard drive. That's a policy we've set for ourselves. The fault first needs to be fixed enough so the drive will read properly. This includes transplanting donor head assemblies on our lab bench, repairing the printed circuit board (PCB) of the bad unit with the original unit's adaptive data carried across, and rebuilding firmware modules as necessary when the bad unit's microcode has been corrupted. Once the bad unit is reading properly, an image or clone of the bad unit is made, sector by sector, with care taken not to overtax it and weak sectors left until last. From this image, all of your files are reconstructed and then verified. The bad unit does nothing but the minimum work possible; the copy does all the rest. While the process is slower than taking those shortcuts, it's why we get called after everyone else takes their shortcuts.
The bench accommodates every manufacturer: Seagate, Western Digital, Toshiba, Hitachi/HGST, Samsung legacy, as well as Maxtor and IBM; the older names still show up in old cupboards with a single irreplaceable file. Every group has their own idiosyncrasies (donor compatibility is tighter on some than others; firmware architecture will vary), and this is the exact type of knowledge that accumulates over two decades. Desktops with 3.5″ drives, laptops with 2.5″, drives from external enclosures and drives removed from NAS bays all end up on the same bench.
Yes, normally. Clicking indicates that the head unit was damaged, and transplanting heads from matching donor drives is standard bench work for us. The main thing that will continue to put your data at risk is powering up the drive, as with every click the heads fail on top of the platters. Off, drawer, call.
If your hard drive has been dropped, it will normally cause damage to the heads or seize the spindle, which is likely to render the hard drive inoperable (it may be undetectable by the system, or it may click). Do not repeatedly test the hard disk, and never open it to inspect. Platter surfaces and open air are poisonous when combined. If your hard drive has been dropped, recovery will be in accordance with all of our imaging guidelines, priced after the free diagnostic.
Absolutely, but with honest expectations: prior opening somewhere other than a specialist lab can cost some recoverable surface. We will tell you, during diagnostics, specifically what is realistic. Get a quote first, via telephone or using our contact form; then send us all that was returned to you (including any loose components).
First, a free diagnostic, then a fixed written quote before any work is done. This means no surprises on the invoice (because we don't give you an invoice until you approve the number).
Examples of some of our other work from the bench that are similar to this kind of job.
It will take only two moves to place your device at our service area, and once that has been accomplished, the clock on your free look starts.
First get a quote, over the telephone or using the online quotation form. When sending your internal drive, remove all cables, caddies and power supplies, as they will have little use when sent to us. But when sending an external drive, send the complete item, including its original casing, together with the supplied cable and power supply. Ensure that the device is securely wrapped and unable to move during transportation. Either post it insured to 4 Redheughs Rigg Westpoint, South Gyle, Edinburgh EH12 9DQ or call into our offices Monday to Friday, 9am to 5:30pm, with no appointment needed. Please include a brief description of how your device was damaged. If you have printed a shipping form, please attach it along with the device.
Once the arrival of your device has been confirmed, the diagnostic will run free of charge, and then when we make the phone call to you, we'll name the problem and tell you the fixed price to fix it. The bench will remain dormant on your device until you give us permission to proceed.
£300 covers recovery cost, with VAT on top, and there is no charge for the inspection that determines whether or not you need this service. Regardless of make, all drives arrive at the same workbench where they are completed from start to finish in-house. Hearing clicks or grinding sounds? Turn off power immediately before reading any further.