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External Hard Drive Recovery: From Repairing to Data Retrieving

Inside of external unit there is nothing more than a standard hard drive. Hard drives are used more often than Solid State Drives in external units, and preferable for application when writing speed and big capacity are the key factors. Plus, almost every failed HDD can be recovered in contradiction to SSD.

Most of all problems with accessing data from external device are caused by its internal drive. Power supply, cables, and internal adapters are extremely rare failure causes. Those components can be easily tested and replaced, but a hard drive as the actual storage of you files is irreplaceable and must be inspected with particular caution (or not at all for physically malfunctioning, clicking, water-damaged) to prevent an extensive data corruption or even total disks destruction due to overusing HDD over exhausting test run-outs.

By the way, never test the dropped external drive for the same reason. Those dropped, clicking or silent, inaccessible or unstable external drives must go directly to the clean room for the professional data recovery treatment.

Since the external drive inherits all kind of problems of a typical HDD or SSD, Data Lab 247 quote them equally, despite some additional complexity in file extraction process contributed by build-in encryption for specific models of WD My Passport and WD My Book, or network layer for NAS units. The most advanced data recovery technologies, precision mechanics applied to every internally damaged drive in controlled environment in the Clean Room, and over two-decade experience in Data Recovery allows us to retrieve data from any failed external hard drive.

My Pssport, Backup Plus, Adata, and more

Vast variety of different designs and HDD models used in the external units require the large stock of parts for repairing operations. For decades we have collected and store for re-using virtually all models that had gone through the lab. Most often external drives repaired and recovered in our lab in the past years have been of Western Digital (My Book, Passport), Seagate (BlackArmor NAS, FreeAgent Desk/GoFlex/XTreme), LaCie (Ethernet Disk RAID, 5big Network, 2big Triple).

Other devices such as Toshiba, Fantom (G-Force, GreenDrive,Titanium). HGST (TOURO Mobile, TOURO Desk), Iomega (StorCenter, UltraMax), Kano, SimpleTech, Ximeta NetDisk, VOX (BlackBox, V1, M1, N1, Mini), Kanguru (Eco Family, SonicSTOR) are less frequent visitors to our lab, not because of better durabilitybut rather to their small market share.

Desktop type of External Hard Drive

The Lab provides data recovery service for all types of external devices, including desktop/ book-size units with 3.5" disk-platters, as well as for mobile or portable externals with 2.5", 1.8", and even 1" Micro-Drives.

We also support all network attached drives or servers (NAS), as well as external RAID devices.

About Complex Recovery

So far we do not plan to add extras to service plan for any of additional data retrieving complexity related to network layers for NAS-servers or unlocking the encrypted data in models like WD My Passport for MAC or PC.

Instant Quote for External Drive Data Recovery

To learn about the real data recovery price for external drive service in Data Lab 247 use this Instant Quote Calculator. It is also a starting point to get your failed unit in for the data recovery process.

Data Lab 247 guarantees that any data recovery service case will not exceed the price from the quote regardless of the complications and problems that can be encountered during the data recovery process.

Recent Problem Solved

Damaged Seagate FreeAgent Desk 1.5Tb external from Flight Centre Canada

I have a FreeAgent external box and it dropped from a small height. After the accident the computer didn't detect it anymore and it makes a noise like ticktock with quiet buzzing. The hard drive was removed from the external enclose and tested separately in computer repair shop.
The technician told me that the abnormal clicking sound from the hard drive is not a good sign. It's possible the spindle or reading heads may be damaged.

I thought I was going to lose my data. Thank God I was wrong.

Dropped Seagate FreeAgent Go external from Armen S. State College, PA USA

The hard drive is not spinning; there was a power surge during a storm.
The drive made clicking noises for a week, and then stopped spinning. Drive was unplugged and no further recovery attempts.

Thanks a lot! Armen

Broken HGST Travelstar Z5K1000-1000 1Tb external mobile from New Jersey Institute of Technology

The data access problems started with the computer slow down until its complete freeze. The black screen was following right after the booting screen which keeps resisting from starting the system.
Now we believe this error happens internally into the hard disk due to very faint but clearly noticeable clicking sound from the drive.

All requested files were completely recovered.

Seagate Backup Plus
Seagate External
WD My Passport & My Book