If you begin to notice a clicking or grinding noise while running your computer, it is due to an actual mechanical failure of some sort within the drive. The harder you run the drive, the higher the chances of additional loss of information each time it is powered back up. We remove the casing of the drive, replace like for like parts (boards, motors and heads) from our 10,000-part inventory, we take all of your files out of the damaged drive on site and deliver everything back to you in one piece.
Most often, clicking or grinding indicates a problem with the drive’s mechanical components. Each time you try to boot the drive again, the heads have another opportunity to damage good data that could still be recovered if they just didn’t get damaged during this next restart. Please stop running recovery software, please do not put it in the freezer and do not continue to restart it: turn it off now and bring it to us.
The clicking and grinding sounds made by a failing hard drive are its internal mechanism falling apart. It’s this type of mechanical failure we see almost every single week at our facility and fix routinely.
Since 2002 we’ve been recovering (clicking & grinding) hard disk drives (from the major players in the storage industry). If your data resides on spinning platters, there’s likely a way for us to recover it.
Internal or external · 3.5-inch desktop and 2.5-inch laptop · SATA, SAS, IDE/PATA and SCSI · from 40 GB veterans to the newest 24 TB helium drives.
Clicking / grinding hard disk drive recovery is physically intensive; it involves physically taking apart the drive, replacing any damaged components and then only after that reading your data back. All while being careful enough to get it in the correct order.
Post your hard drive to us or bring it in. Our team will inspect your drive to see what has gone wrong and give you a written quotation (with no obligation), usually in under 48 hours.
Your drive is opened up by our engineers so they can view your heads, platters and motor etc. and identify which part(s) of your drive have failed.
When we replace the faulty components (usually just the headstack), matched parts come from our 10,000 item stockroom. There is no waiting for a donor drive to arrive. This allows us to start working on your drive immediately.
The damaged components (most often the head stack) are swapped over and once completed your drive should be able to read its platters again.
Once completed, we clone your entire drive sector by sector to a high quality drive. We take care when cloning your drive and do so slowly and carefully to avoid damaging any remaining fragile areas of your original drive.
Using this clone we rebuild your files, compare them to the original file list and then transfer them to brand-new media.
We put your data onto an external drive and post it to you, or for anything up to 75GB, send it as a free download.
Most clicking and grinding hard disk drives need replacement parts (heads, motors and/or circuit board) that are already stocked here. As such, many hard disks go straight into repair without having to wait weeks for a donor drive to show up.
Tell us about your drive and we’ll come back to you, usually within half an hour during the working day.
We’ll be in touch shortly. If it’s urgent, call 01483 901310.
A free diagnostic and a written quote come before any work starts, so you never receive an unexpected bill and there is no pressure to go ahead.
In house examples of recent clicks & grinds with identifying details removed from each example. All results verified. Full writeups included: the clicking Acer Aspire.
Heads had failed after the knock. We had a donor head assembly in stock. Swapped that on site, and the clone worked on the second try.
Spindle motor seized. Transferred the platters to a matched donor base unit. Realigned the heads. All data came back intact.
Dropped, the heads had bonded to the platter. Swapped out head assembly from stock. Cloned drive. Had all files back and on time.
Simply send your device to us for a free diagnostic and describe briefly what happened. An engineer will review it and confirm your exact quote in writing before any work begins.
The first step to getting your data back is sending the device to us. Pack it safely, put your contact details inside the package and send it in. Once we have completed the free diagnostic, we will confirm the exact cost in writing before any work starts.
Sending it by post? We’d recommend a tracked, insured service. Dropping it in? No problem: Monday to Friday, 9am to 5:30pm. Please package the device as described above first.
Would you like more information first? Complete the form with further details about your issue, and one of our engineers will review it and send you a tailored quote.
We’ll be in touch shortly. If it’s urgent, call 01483 901310.
Most common questions we receive regarding clicking/grinding drives.
Typically this type of problem is caused by mechanical failure: either the read/write heads have crashed or worn out, or the spindle motor has begun to seize. Each reset of the drive causes the “click of death” and the drive will need to be opened & fixed in a lab environment. Simply connecting it to another computer will do nothing.
No. Powering up any drive with failing heads can potentially scratch the platters and make possible recovery impossible. Turn off the drive immediately and call us as soon as possible before you lose your data permanently.
Usually yes. We open the drive on site, replace the defective parts (head stack, or motor) from our own store, clone the drive and restore your files. The drives others send away to repair are routine, normal work for us.
The standard price for recovering a clicking / grinding drive is £300 + VAT. A free diagnostic report is given first, therefore no surprise costs. In most cases you only pay if we recover your data. A parts-and-labour charge will apply to drives that have been damaged (scratched, etc.) due to being dropped, or have had the casing removed prior to reaching us.
If you accept the quote provided, most clicking-drive jobs are usually completed within two working days. Diagnostic testing typically takes less than 48 hours. If you require an urgent job done, please inform us and we may be able to give it priority.
We are compatible with all main manufacturers including those listed below. Mechanical: Western Digital, Seagate, Samsung, Toshiba, Hitachi, HGST, Fujitsu, Maxtor, Quantum & IBM. External/flash: LaCie, SanDisk, Buffalo, G-Technology, Transcend, Verbatim, ADATA, Iomega, Silicon Power, UnionSine, Intenso and ModusTech. All of these are compatible with both internal (3.5inch desktop / 2.5inch laptop) and external drives utilising SATA/SAS/IDE/SCSI interfaces.
You can either deliver your item directly to us at our Guildford office (Monday to Friday 9am to 5:30pm), or post it to us fully insured. Ensure that your item is properly packaged (wrapped/secured), labelled and sent with your full contact information contained within a note inside the parcel: name / address / phone number / email. Upon receipt, a complimentary diagnostic will take place, followed by a written quote detailing what will be charged before any work starts.
Every single recovery is allowed access to our 10,000 piece donor stock area. Each one begins with a complimentary diagnostic report. In most cases you only pay if we recover your data. Get started now.