A client contacted Belfast Data Recovery after their Acer laptop suddenly stopped working following a power outage. The reported issues included:
- The laptop would not turn on, and the hard drive was not detected in BIOS.
- The failure occurred immediately after a power surge, suggesting electrical damage.
- The hard drive contained important personal and work-related files.
- No backup was available, making professional data recovery essential.
Since power surges can damage the hard drive’s PCB (Printed Circuit Board), controller chip, or internal components, a forensic electrical repair and data extraction approach was required.
Our Expertise in Acer Laptop Hard Drive Recovery
With 25 years of experience, Belfast Data Recovery specialises in:
✔ Recovering data from laptops affected by power surges and electrical failures
✔ PCB board repairs, micro-soldering, and power circuit restoration
✔ Forensic data recovery using Acelabs PC3000, DeepSpar, RapidSpar, and Atola Insight Forensic tools
Diagnosis & Recovery Process
Upon receiving the Acer laptop hard drive, our engineers conducted a detailed forensic assessment. The key findings included:
- Electrical failure had damaged the drive’s PCB, preventing power from reaching the storage system.
- The data platters and read/write heads were intact, meaning data recovery was possible.
- The drive’s firmware chip was undamaged, allowing for PCB donor replacement.
To successfully recover the client’s lost files, we implemented a multi-step forensic hard drive recovery strategy:
Step 1: PCB Repair & Micro-Soldering
- Identified the faulty components on the burnt PCB.
- Sourced an identical donor PCB board and transferred the original firmware chip to restore functionality.
- Successfully powered the hard drive without further damage.
Step 2: Drive Cloning & Data Preservation
- Used DeepSpar Disk Imager to create a sector-by-sector forensic clone of the repaired drive.
- Applied adaptive read techniques to extract data from degraded sectors.
Step 3: File System Repair & Data Extraction
- Repaired damaged NTFS file system structures to restore missing directories.
- Extracted and validated all personal and business-critical files.
Step 4: Secure Data Transfer & Future Protection
- Conducted final validation checks to confirm all recovered files were intact.
- Successfully transferred the restored data to a secure external SSD, formatted for client use.
- Provided guidance on surge protectors and backup solutions to prevent future failures.
The Result
We successfully recovered 98.7% of the client’s lost data, including:
✅ Personal documents, work files, and projects
✅ Photos, videos, and archived emails
✅ Software configurations and system settings
The client was able to restore their essential files and transfer them to a new hard drive, preventing permanent data loss.
Why Choose Belfast Data Recovery for Acer Laptop Hard Drive Recovery?
✅ 25 Years of Expertise – Specialists in electrical damage & power surge recovery.
✅ PCB Repairs & Donor Board Matching – Advanced techniques for restoring power to damaged drives.
✅ Forensic Data Extraction – Recovering files even from non-functional drives.
✅ Fast & Secure Process – Ensuring complete confidentiality and successful recovery.
If your Acer laptop hard drive has failed due to a power surge or electrical damage, contact Belfast Data Recovery today for expert hard drive recovery services!