Hard Drive Data Recovery Services
When your critical data is trapped in a failed hard drive, trust Fixfactor’s expert team to recover your files with industry-leading technology and specialized HDD recovery techniques.
HDD Data Recovery Expertise
We specialize in recovering data from all types of hard drives, regardless of the failure type
Mechanical Failures
Recovery from hard drives with physical damage, clicking sounds, head crashes, spindle motor failures, and other mechanical issues.
Electronics Problems
Recovery from drives with PCB damage, burnt components, short circuits, or other electronic component failures.
Logical Issues
Recovery from corrupted file systems, accidental formatting, deleted partitions, and other software-related problems.
Firmware Problems
Recovery from firmware corruption, service area damage, or manufacturer-specific firmware bugs causing drive malfunction.
Accidentally Deleted Data
Recovery of accidentally deleted files, folders, or partitions with specialized file reconstruction techniques.
Overwritten Data
Recovery attempts for drives with partially overwritten data using advanced data carving and reconstruction methods.
Service Priority Levels
Choose the turnaround time that meets your needs for HDD data recovery
Our HDD Recovery Process
A transparent, step-by-step approach to recovering your valuable data from hard drives
Initial Consultation
Contact us with details about your hard drive and urgency level. We’ll provide an initial assessment and price estimate.
Professional Diagnostics
Our technicians perform thorough assessment using specialized equipment to identify the exact cause of failure.
Detailed Quote
We provide a comprehensive report outlining the issue, recovery chances, and precise costs within 1-3 days.
Recovery Procedure
Our specialists use advanced tools and cleanroom facilities to safely recover your data with regular progress updates.
Data Verification
We provide a file listing and snapshots for your review to verify that your critical files are intact.
Safe Data Return
We transfer your recovered data to a new external drive with secure backup for your peace of mind.
Why Choose Fixfactor For HDD Recovery
London’s trusted hard drive data recovery experts since 2014
Specialized Equipment
Industry-leading tools including PC-3000, Deep Spar, microscopes, and a cleanroom environment for safely handling hard drive components.
Expert Engineers
Certified specialists with extensive experience in mechanical repair, circuit-level repair, and advanced data recovery techniques for all hard drive models.
Donor Drive Library
Extensive collection of donor hard drives allowing us to source compatible replacement parts for even the most difficult recovery cases.
No Recovery, No Fee
If we cannot recover your data, you only pay the £39 diagnostic fee. Full costs apply only when we successfully retrieve your files.
Fast Turnaround
Standard service: 5-10+ days, Priority: 3-5 days, Emergency: as little as 24 hours for critical situations.
Proven Track Record
Over 1000 positive reviews with a 4.9/5 rating on Google and Trustpilot – our reputation from satisfied customers speaks for itself.
Common HDD Failure Scenarios
We can recover your data from most hard drive failure situations
Clicking Hard Drive
Hard drives making repetitive clicking or ticking sounds indicate a serious mechanical issue, often with the read/write heads or actuator assembly.
- Repetitive clicking or ticking noise
- Drive not recognized by computer
- Intermittent access to data
- Beeping or grinding noises
- Drive spins up but won’t mount
PCB Damage
Electronics failure on the printed circuit board (PCB) due to power surges, short circuits, or component failure.
- Drive doesn’t power on at all
- Failure after power surge
- Burning smell from drive
- Visible damage on circuit board
- Drive spins but isn’t detected
Motor Failure
Spindle motor problems causing the platters to not spin properly, making data inaccessible.
- Drive not spinning up
- Grinding or whining noises
- Intermittent spinning
- Stuck platters (seized motor)
- Burning smell during operation
Logical Corruption
Software-level failures including corrupted file systems, partition damage, or accidental formatting.
- Drive appears as RAW file system
- Missing or inaccessible partitions
- Error messages when accessing files
- Recently formatted drive
- Files with 0 byte size or corruption
HDD Recovery Case Studies
Real examples of successful hard drive data recovery projects
Seagate Barracuda Head Crash Recovery
A professional photographer contacted us when his 3TB Seagate Barracuda started making loud clicking noises and became unreadable. The drive contained years of client photoshoots and personal photography with no recent backup.
The Challenge
Our diagnostics revealed a severe head crash where the read/write heads had made contact with the platters, causing physical damage to both components. The drive also had platter surface damage in several areas.
Our Solution
Using our Class 100 clean room, we carefully replaced the damaged head assembly with a matching donor part from our inventory. We then used specialized recovery software to work around the damaged sectors, creating a complete image of the recoverable data.
I thought all my photos were gone forever when my drive started making those clicking sounds. The team at Fixfactor were incredible – they explained the entire process, kept me updated, and most importantly, recovered almost everything. The few files they couldn’t recover were in the physically damaged areas of the drive. I now have a proper backup system in place thanks to their advice!
Western Digital PCB Failure Recovery
A small accounting firm experienced a power surge that damaged their Western Digital hard drive containing critical financial records and client data. The drive showed no signs of life when connected.
The Challenge
Visual inspection revealed burnt components on the PCB. However, modern WD drives store unique calibration data on the PCB, making a simple board swap impossible. The client needed their data urgently for tax season deadlines.
Our Solution
We sourced an identical donor PCB and performed a complex ROM swap to transfer the unique calibration data to the replacement board. After the repair, we imaged the entire drive and verified all financial data was intact and accessible.
After the power surge, we were devastated thinking we’d lost years of client financial records right before tax season. Fixfactor not only recovered 100% of our data but did it in just three days with their priority service. Their expertise saved our business from a potential disaster.
Toshiba External Drive Recovery After Drop
A documentary filmmaker dropped their 4TB Toshiba external drive during a field shoot in Scotland. The drive started making grinding noises and couldn’t be mounted. It contained irreplaceable interview footage for an upcoming documentary.
The Challenge
Examination showed that the impact had damaged the spindle motor bearings and caused the heads to partially contact the platters. The drive would spin up but with excessive vibration, preventing proper reading of the data.
Our Solution
Working in our clean room, we carefully disassembled the drive, replaced the damaged spindle motor assembly and the head stack. Using specialized equipment, we were able to recover 95% of the data. The unrecoverable portions were from areas with physical platter damage.
When I dropped that drive, I thought my entire documentary project was gone. The interviews were one-of-a-kind and couldn’t be recreated. Fixfactor was able to save nearly all the footage, including the critical interviews we needed to complete the film. I’m now backing up everything in triplicate thanks to this experience!
LaCie Rugged Drive Logical Corruption Recovery
A video production company accidentally formatted their 2TB LaCie Rugged drive containing several client video editing projects and raw footage. The mistake was noticed immediately, but not before the drive had already been formatted.
The Challenge
The quick format had destroyed the file system table but had not overwritten the actual data. The challenge was to reconstruct the file systems and directory structure to recover the complete video projects with their original organization.
Our Solution
Using advanced file carving techniques and specialized recovery software, we were able to reconstruct the complete file system. By analyzing file headers and fragments, we restored all video projects with their original folder structure and file names.
We had a junior editor who accidentally formatted the wrong drive, and we nearly lost multiple client projects worth thousands of pounds. Fixfactor didn’t just recover our files – they restored them with the original folder structure and file names, which meant we could immediately continue working without having to reorganize everything. Worth every penny of the priority service!
HGST Enterprise Drive Firmware Recovery
A financial technology company experienced a catastrophic server failure when one of their HGST enterprise drives suddenly became inaccessible. The drive was spinning and appeared to be mechanically sound, but could not be detected properly by the system.
The Challenge
Diagnostic testing revealed that the drive’s firmware had become corrupted in the service area of the drive. This prevented the drive from initializing properly despite having no mechanical issues. The company needed their server back online within 24 hours to avoid significant financial losses.
Our Solution
Using our PC-3000 system and specialized firmware tools, we were able to access the drive at the lowest level, bypassing the corrupted firmware modules and rebuilding the critical service area. This allowed full access to the data without needing any mechanical repairs.
When our server went down, we were losing thousands of pounds per hour in trading capabilities. Despite the complexity of the firmware issue, Fixfactor delivered on their emergency service promise and had our data back to us within 24 hours. Their technical expertise with enterprise drives was impressive, and they saved us from what could have been a catastrophic business loss.
HDD Recovery FAQ
Common questions about our hard drive data recovery services
You contact us and we ask you for the type of the device, story of the problem, approximate size of the data in GB and how quick this needs to be done. We give price estimate and if you decide to go ahead, we ask you to bring the device / storage to our office and we start the proper diagnostics. After 24 hours we should know all possible options and the accurate cost. Once you approve our quote, we start the job and keep you informed until your device has been fixed or the data has been recovered. If anything changes during the process, we will ask you for approval. The whole process we keep as simple as possible keeping you away from the technical aspects unless you want to know more. We believe that whole experience should be easy for you so you concentrate on what you are doing the best. We do the rest.
Since each data recovery job is different, one may take less than 1 day and another needs more time, sometimes weeks. If we are not limited by the budget or time, we can provide fully successful data recovery in 90% of cases. We have a number of repair partners that can help us with the most mysterious repairs. Sometimes, it may not be possible to recover the whole portion of your data but for example 80%. That may be because the structure of the drive storing the data may be severely damaged. In such a case, we contact you and try to establish if the files that you mostly need are recoverable.
We need to know first the type of the device and the story of the problem. After we recognize the problem, we should be able to give you the estimated repair time. We provide 3 service levels based on the urgency: Normal, Priority and Emergency. In general, Normal plan aims to recover your data within 5-10 working days, Priority within 3-5 working days and the Emergency 1-2 working days. Please note this is an estimate and we could give you exact time after we diagnose your hard drive.
Yes, we charge £39 diagnostics fee if you change your mind after we have started the work. If you contact us, describe the problem, type of the device, required speed of service, we will give you the price range which is only estimate but should explain the worst scenario. If your decide to bring your device and agree to start the deep diagnostics, we will spend few hours on localising source of problem. The exact price and report will be provided. If you decide to cancel at this point, we will ask you to cover the diagnostics fee which is £39.
We ask you for £39 fee in case that the data cannot be recovered. We have potentially spent many hours trying to sort it, invested in donor drives, donor parts and the set of procedures of which we have followed, was there to help. We can provide a report of what has tried to be done. In case where the job could not be completed because of an error on our side, we don’t charge anything. All in all, considering that we spend hours trying to recover your data, in case when the job cannot be succesfully completed, you only risk £39.
The diagnostics starts in our main office in Wimbledon. If we find that we need to send off, we will ask for your permission first. We try to avoid it but we have established partnership with few data recovery laboratories that specialise in particular cases and we can do more together! We always use dedicated couriers for transferring your devices between locations.
We are professionals and handle terabytes of data everyday. We understand importance of your files. We strictly follow our procedures that we have worked out over 6 years. That minimises the risk. However please note we don’t guarantee to recover your data same as we cannot guarantee that the data are there when you bring your device / storage in. Before we start the job, we ask you to sign the agreement that you are willing to take full responsibility and will never take our company to liability for losing your data or damaging the device.
This is extremely individual. We always evaluate the cost before we start the job. We never start without your approval. Price depends on type of the device, capacity of the storage / number of data to be recovered, type of problem and required speed of service. For example, data recovery from a broken external hard drive may cost £150 for normal plan if the electronics of the drive is not damaged or £450 if the drive is damaged and requires sourcing donor parts. If that particular service needs to be done quicker than 10 days, the cost may go up to £750.
Get Your Free HDD Recovery Quote
Fill out the form below for a no-obligation assessment of your hard drive data recovery needs