The term "dead" encompasses many things: a drive will either not spin, will not turn on, or simply cannot be found. Most of the time, however, the information (data) contained within the drive remains intact, thus can still be retrieved; the drive itself has failed, while the data has not been destroyed. We'll explain further below as well as show you what possibilities exist.
The majority of times a person refers to their "dead" drive, this is due to hardware failure, rather than erasure of the data. As long as someone hasn't damaged the drive prior to recovery efforts being initiated with proper equipment and replacement parts, files may generally be recovered from such a "dead" drive.
People refer to a hard drive being “dead,” and what they’re often referring to is one of several items: It doesn’t start spinning or will not power-up, it starts to spin but no device sees it, it makes clicking or beeping noises, or it appears to be seen by your computer but is unavailable. Surprisingly, in virtually all instances where a hard drive is referred to as being “dead,” the information stored on the drive remains unaffected. Only the portion of the drive used to present that information has failed. This is why “dead” drives get successfully recovered every single week. The task is not to restore the drive to working order; it’s to stabilise it sufficiently so that all of its information can be copied cleanly onto another healthy piece of media.
There are several common causes for most “dead” drives, and each cause places the data somewhere else.
If there is no response when plugged in, it's very likely because of a defect on the circuit board, possibly a small component designed to protect against voltage spikes that has become defective (blown), or because the spindle motor has stopped functioning.
If the hard drive boots (powers) up, but your computers will not see it, this indicates an issue likely located in the drive's "hidden" firmware area, and/or a failure of the heads (which stops the drive from initialising).
Clicks repeatedly when booting, or beeps softly upon booting indicate a problem mechanically. In other words, faulty heads, stuck heads, or motor problems. This is the one to shut down the quickest.
Drive appears at startup but cannot be opened, or shows up as “RAW”. That is known as a “logical failure”, indicating either physical damage in some form (bad sectors), and/or damage to the file system, but data is typically intact under these conditions.
Spills, fires, and rough impacts can immediately disable a drive. But in many cases the platters remain readable after cleaning and stabilisation on the bench.
Data loss is rare with a dead drive. Hard drives store your files by creating magnetic patterns on their platters. Regardless of whether the drive will turn on or not, these patterns will remain intact. When a board fails, or a firmware module fails, or a head fails, they sit between you and data that remains intact on the disk. To recover data, we repair or bypass what failed, read the platters one clean time, and move your files to good media. The only true exception is when a badly damaged drive was left powered-on for a very extended period before recovery (long enough for the damaged heads to scratch the disk surface). Therefore, with a dying drive, the single most important action you should take is to stop powering it on to check it.
A "dead" hard drive can usually still be recovered, right until some person uses an incorrect DIY fix.
Powering up a physically "dead" (mechanical failure) drive will likely not bring it back online but does put the recovery at greater risk. The moment you are absolutely certain that the drive is dead, stop attempting to run it.
Did you experience a power outage, a fall, did something get spilled on your computer or has your machine been slowly dying? This information will help identify which areas of the system we need to inspect to determine which donor components may be required.
Drop it off or send the item to us via insured post and prior to spending one penny, we will inform you what failed and which sections can be recovered.
The steps depend on what killed it but the shape of the job is always consistent (stabilise, image, rebuild) and all done in-house.
We determine if the issue with your hard disk is due to an electronic problem within the circuitry, a firmware error or a mechanical failure; we will also verify that your hard disk platters are still good. First, you receive a definitive diagnosis and a fixed, written quote for the work needed.
If there has been damage to the control circuitry (the main board) of your hard disk, we can either repair this board or copy all information on a "unique" ROM (Read Only Memory) chip from this damaged board onto a "donor" board of identical specifications. The result is that your original hard disk maintains its original identity and adaptives as opposed to using those of another similar hard disk.
In cases where the "hidden service area" on your hard disk has become corrupted, we will attempt to repair or replace the module(s) required by this service area in order to allow your hard disk to properly power-up and identify itself.
When one of your hard disk's heads fails, becomes locked up or sticks, or when other components have seized or become jammed, our engineers will disassemble your hard disk and repair or replace the affected component(s).
After your hard disk has stabilised again, we create a complete read-only, sector-by-sector image of all data contained within it. This image is then used to rebuild the file system and we provide you with a detailed report listing every single item that was recovered during this process prior to receiving payment.
Most common questions regarding recovering data from dead hard disk drives.
Yes. In many cases, when a hard disk drive fails due to a faulty electrical circuit board (the logic board) or when the drive's motor has seized, the platters remain undamaged. The repair process is considered a "bench" type repair as opposed to being a "software" type repair. Repairing a drive that will not power on is one of the more routine types of repairs to recover data from a failed hard disk drive.
Typically no. Each hard disk drive includes its own firmware, calibration information and other proprietary information specific to each individual drive. Therefore, swapping out the failed circuit board with an identical spare circuit board would likely not work and could result in further damage to the drive. Instead, the recovery tools used to recover data from a failed hard disk drive use the exact original ROM to transfer to the new donor circuit board to avoid this potential problem.
Yes, frequently; whether or not the surface of the platters is damaged depends upon how long the drive was powered up after failing. If the drive has not been run for several hours after failure, the platters may be perfectly clean and simply exchanging the heads could provide access to the data. However, running the drive after it has failed is generally counterproductive to recovery efforts. Repeatedly attempting to turn on and test the drive can continue to cause additional damage and should be avoided until the recovery effort is complete.
No. External hard disk drives are nothing more than internal hard disk drives packaged in plastic enclosures. Therefore, repairing an external hard disk drive follows the same procedure as repairing an internal hard disk drive. Occasionally, instead of damaging the actual drive inside, the enclosure housing the external hard disk drive contains damaged electronic components which are easily replaced.
Initial single drive price starts at £300 + VAT, plus a complimentary diagnostic. In most cases, you will only pay if we recover your data. For all physical repair work, a 50% deposit is required for both parts and bench time. And you will only need to pay the remaining 50% if we recover your data.
Don’t try to turn it back on and just send it. We’ll do a diagnostic at no charge and let you know honestly what can be recovered: most “dead” drives contain every one of your files on their respective platters.