External hard drive recovery in Belfast.

Not necessarily — and often it isn't. A very common cause is the case's USB bridge failing while the drive inside stays healthy. Try another cable and port first; if it's still invisible, don't keep retrying it. We'll establish whether it's the case or the drive and recover the data either way.

Usually, yes. Clicking after a drop means head damage, which is recoverable with a donor head swap — as long as the drive hasn't been run for long while damaged. Switch it off and stop testing it; that's what protects the platters.

Yes. Many My Passport and Elements drives encrypt through the case's bridge, so a dead bridge locks the data behind it. We recover the drive and work through that hardware encryption to bring your files back readable.

Not if it holds anything you want back. That message means the file system is damaged (RAW), but your data is still there — formatting only begins to overwrite it. Let us recover it first, then format the drive afterwards if you want to reuse it.

Expect £300 + VAT for one external drive, diagnosed free beforehand, with no fix, no fee applying to most jobs. Physical repairs carry a 50% deposit that goes toward donor parts and bench hours; the rest is due only when your data is recovered. The figure is confirmed in writing before we begin.

For most work, yes: no recovered data means no recovery fee. Jobs that need donor hardware are the one exception — a deposit covers the parts and the bench hours — but even then the remaining balance is only ever billed on success.

All of them — WD, Seagate, Toshiba, LaCie, Samsung, Buffalo, G-Technology and the rest, in every capacity. Whatever the case, we recover the drive inside, whichever make it turns out to be.

We'd rather you didn't. On many drives the case's bridge is tied to hardware encryption, so removing the drive can make the data harder to reach, and prising a case open risks damaging the disk. Send it as it is and we'll handle the enclosure safely.

A beep on power-up is usually the motor straining against seized bearings or stuck heads, drawing power it can't turn into spin. It's a mechanical fault that needs the drive opened in clean-air conditions — and it's very recoverable, provided the drive isn't forced to keep trying.

A logical recovery is often done in 1 to 3 working days; a physical repair and image typically takes 3 to 7, depending on the drive's condition. The diagnostic itself is usually finished within 48 hours, and urgent cases can normally be prioritised.

Bring the unit to Cromac Square any weekday, 9am–5:30pm, or ship it insured. Post the complete enclosure with its cable, padded so nothing shifts in transit, and tuck a note inside carrying your name, address, phone and email — we’ll log it, run the free diagnostic and send your written quote.