A single drop, knock or fall can be enough to make the heads go down onto the platters. Every time you power up the drive afterwards, you increase the risk that the heads will score the platters deeper, further damaging your data. We have 10,000 replacement parts for the components inside the drive. Once we open the drive, we replace the failed component(s) and then perform a data recovery on-site.
If you have dropped a drive which is currently clicking, grinding or working at times, there are damaged heads within. Each time this unit spins around the damaged heads will give another opportunity to scratch into the platters destroying data that may still be recovered today. Do not attempt to use recovery software or try to access the data contained within, just turn it off and contact us when ready.
Hard drives are built using manufacturing techniques that include micrometric precision therefore even a small drop could create mechanical failure. These are the most common failures we see, and what we reverse.
We have been successfully retrieving data from dropped and damaged hard disk drives manufactured by all the major players in the industry since 2002. Thus, if your data resides on spinning platter technology, then we likely will be able to recover your data.
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.
The first step to get your data back is to perform a physical repair of the damage caused by the drop. After that, we will use a gentle method and follow the proper sequence of reading your data.
Bring the drive in to us or post it to us. We will inspect the damage to your drive’s heads, platters, and motor and provide you with a written quote, typically within 48 hours.
Once the drive has been opened at our location, we will look at the heads and platters using magnification to identify what components were damaged during the drop.
Matching heads, motors and replacement components are available to us from our inventory so we don’t spend weeks searching for a donor drive.
The crashed head stack and other failed components damaged by the drop will be replaced.
Your repaired drive will be copied sector by sector to healthy storage. We will take special care when copying any scratched or fragile areas of the original drive.
Files will be rebuilt from this copy, verified against a file listing and sent to new media.
Your recovered data will be returned to you on an external drive via insured postal service or for up to 75GB it will be provided to you as a free download.
Most drives damaged by falls can bypass the long, time-consuming process of finding a donor drive and go directly to recovery because we have the necessary heads, motors and replacement parts in stock.
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.
Some examples of recent recovery services provided by us on some damaged/dropped hard disk drives. All recoveries were performed in-house at our lab, with all identifying information removed and all results verified. Full write-ups: an Iomega knocked off the desk and a dropped Sony VAIO.
Head crash due to drop. Matching donor head stack was pulled out of inventory; swap was performed on-site; clone was successfully completed on second attempt.
Impact caused damage to both heads and motor. Both heads/motor were sourced from inventory, assembly was realigned; full volume was recovered.
Heads crashed after being dropped. Matching donor head stack was installed and successful clone was created of the drive; nearly all data was recovered.
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.
The questions we get asked most about dropped/impact damaged drives.
Most likely, the impact caused the read/write heads to fall down upon the platter(s), causing damage to both. What you hear is those heads attempting to read, failing and resetting repeatedly. This is a physical/mechanical problem: the drive has to be physically opened and new heads need to be installed. Software tools cannot fix this type of problem.
No, absolutely not: this is critical. As long as a drive with damaged heads continues to run, it may scrape the platter(s) slightly each time it spins, potentially making what would otherwise be a recoverable job irretrievable. Turn it off immediately and do not attempt to access it again until it is in our laboratory/work area.
In most cases, yes. In our own UK laboratory, the crashed heads and any other damaged parts are replaced from stock, then the drive is cloned and your files are rebuilt. How bad it is varies from drive to drive, but drops and knocks are everyday work for us.
No. A flickering access indicates the heads of the drive are near complete failure; each time you attempt to use the drive, there’s an increased risk of causing even greater damage to the platters. Do not use it: the more you do so, the more at risk you’ll be of losing what’s stored on the drive. Please turn it off and contact us.
We charge £300 + VAT as a standard fee for recovering data from a damaged or dropped hard drive. In addition to this, we provide a complimentary written diagnostic prior to performing any work. In most cases you only pay if we recover your data. However, on rare occasions (e.g., when platter damage exists), a higher critical-recovery quote may be required; in all cases, we obtain your approval in writing prior to initiating work.
Once you have approved our quote, we typically require three to four working days to complete a dropped-drive recovery; diagnostic times vary depending upon complexity but generally take no longer than 48 hours. Should your situation be particularly urgent, please notify us in advance and we’ll do everything possible to expedite the process.
All the leading manufacturers. On the mechanical side: Western Digital, Seagate, Samsung and Toshiba, plus Hitachi, HGST, Fujitsu, Maxtor, Quantum and IBM. Among external and flash brands: LaCie, SanDisk, Buffalo, G-Technology, Transcend, Verbatim, ADATA, Iomega, Silicon Power, UnionSine, Intenso and ModusTech, in 3.5-inch desktop, 2.5-inch laptop and external sizes.
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.