External Hard Drive Recovery

External Hard Drive Recovery

No Fix - No Fee!

Our experts have extensive experience recovering data from external hard drives. With 25 years experience in the data recovery industry, we can help you securely recover your data.
External Hard Drive Recovery

Software Fault £199

2-3 Days

Mechanical Fault £299

2-3 Days

Critical Service £795

1 Day

Need help recovering your data?

Call us on 01273 964902 or use the form below to make an enquiry.
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Expert External Hard Disk Recovery Brighton

External hard drives are essential for data storage and backups, but data loss can occur due to physical damage, logical errors, or firmware issues. With 25 years of experience, our Brighton-based recovery services specialise in restoring data from all types of external hard drives, including USB 2.0, USB 3.0, USB-C, NAS, Desktop, and Portable drives. We support all major manufacturers, including Western Digital (WD), Seagate, LaCie, Transcend, and Synology.

Common Causes of Data Loss in External Drives

1. Physical Damage

  • Examples: Dropped drives, damaged connectors, water exposure.
  • Symptoms: Clicking noises, unresponsive drive, or partial data access.

2. Logical Errors

  • Examples: Accidental deletion, formatting, file system corruption.
  • Symptoms: Missing files, unrecognized partitions.

3. Firmware Issues

  • Examples: Corrupted firmware, bricked drives, inaccessible partitions.
  • Symptoms: Drive not recognized, erratic behaviour.

4. Malware or Ransomware Attacks

  • Examples: Files encrypted or maliciously deleted.
  • Symptoms: Unreadable files, suspicious file extensions.

Types of External Drives Supported for Recovery

  1. USB 2.0 Drives
    • Standard drives for older systems.
  2. USB 3.0 and USB-C Drives
    • High-speed storage solutions with faster data transfer rates.
  3. Desktop External Hard Disks
    • High-capacity drives for personal and professional use.
  4. Portable External Hard Disks
    • Compact and lightweight drives for on-the-go storage.
  5. NAS Drives
    • Network-attached storage devices for home and business setups.

Understanding Firmware Issues in Hard Disks

Firmware acts as the software that controls a hard disk’s hardware functions. If corrupted or damaged, it can prevent the drive from functioning properly. Common symptoms include:

  • Drive not detected by the computer.
  • Unresponsive drive after powering on.
  • Continuous clicking or spinning sounds.

Firmware issues can result from power surges, improper updates, or hardware aging. Professional tools like PC-3000 can repair damaged firmware and restore functionality.

Bad Sectors on Hard Disks

What Are Bad Sectors?

Bad sectors are portions of the disk that are damaged and cannot reliably store data.

Types of Bad Sectors

  1. Physical Bad Sectors: Caused by physical damage to the disk surface.
  2. Logical Bad Sectors: Caused by software errors and often repairable.

Symptoms include:

  • Slow performance or freezing during file access.
  • Files becoming corrupted or inaccessible.

Advanced tools can remap bad sectors or isolate damaged areas to recover the remaining data.

BitLocker Encryption and Recovery Challenges

BitLocker provides robust encryption to protect data but poses challenges if recovery keys are lost or metadata is corrupted.

  • Recovery Requires Keys: Without a recovery key or password, accessing encrypted data is difficult.
  • Corrupted Headers: Damage to the BitLocker metadata can render the drive inaccessible.

Specialized software can repair BitLocker headers and recover encrypted data with valid credentials.

Password-Protected Drives and Data Access

Password protection adds another layer of complexity to data recovery.

  • Firmware-Level Protection: ATA passwords can lock the drive at the hardware level.
  • Software Encryption: Tools like TrueCrypt or VeraCrypt add file-level encryption.

Professionals can unlock drives using decryption keys or advanced techniques, ensuring data confidentiality.

Cost of External Hard Disk Recovery Services in Brighton

Typical Pricing

  • Logical recovery: £199.
  • Physical recovery: £299.

Factors Influencing Costs

  • Drive type: USB, NAS, Desktop, or Portable.
  • Extent of physical or logical damage.
  • Volume of data and urgency.

FAQs About External Hard Disk Recovery Services

  1. Can data be recovered from physically damaged external drives?
    Yes, cleanroom environments and advanced tools enable recovery from damaged drives.
  2. How long does external hard disk recovery typically take?
    Recovery times vary from 2-3 days for logical issues to 3-4 days for physical damage.
  3. Is it possible to recover data from formatted external drives?
    Yes, provided the data hasn’t been overwritten.
  4. Can encrypted external drives be recovered?
    Yes, recovery is possible with proper decryption credentials.
  5. What should I do if my external drive is not recognized by my computer?
    Avoid repeated attempts to access it and consult a professional to prevent further damage.
  6. Is professional external hard disk recovery expensive?
    Costs depend on the complexity of the recovery but are often worth the value of the lost data.

Conclusion

External hard drives are vital for storing and transferring data, but issues like physical damage, logical errors, or firmware problems can lead to data loss. Our Brighton team provides expert recovery services for all types of external hard drives, ensuring secure and efficient restoration of your valuable files. With 25 years of experience, we are the trusted choice for recovering data from WD, Seagate, LaCie, Transcend, Synology, and more.

Contact Us

Tell us about your issue and we'll get back to you.

Yuri Findon, Portslade

I run a local PC shop in Portslade and client had a problem with a Buffalo Linkstation Drive. We have used your data recovery service for several of our clients. 100% record so far in recovering data.

Yuri Findon, Portslade

Layla Ashurst, Falmer

A dropped Buffalo External Hard Disk that contained my final years university research work, recovered within 48 hours. Professional service.

Layla Ashurst, Falmer

Stewart Barnham, Newhaven

A HP Raid 5 Server that had two failed disks. The HP Proliant server contained critical data for a factory, recovery was completed over a weekend so that we could reopen factory on Monday morning. Great work from you guys.

Stewart Barnham, Newhaven

Katie Hastings, Lancing

I am a teacher at Lancing College and I dropped my Toshiba laptop that contained 5 years of teaching resources and was broken beyond repair. All I had to do is drop it into Brighton Data Recovery who removed the HDD and worked on the data recovery. I’m please to report that they were able to pull all the data from the hard drive and I had it all back in my possession within 3 days. Thanks for your hard work.

Katie Hastings, Lancing

Joan Laughton, Eastbourne

The hard drive on our Apple iMac contained pictures and video of our grandchildren and would not start. Churchill Square Mac Store could not recover data, but recommended Brighton Data Recovery, who luckily could. Thank you so much.

Joan Laughton, Eastbourne

Nicola Rye, Worthing

After a small hiccup with a Seagate external hard drive and the kitchen floor, I needed an expert in hdd recovery. I found these guys on google and they did a great job in data recovery, sending me everything on a USB stick with exactly the same files and folders I was missing. Speedy service, great price, full file recovery. Could not have asked for more.

Nicola Rye, Worthing

Luke Shipley, Shoreham

You are a life saver, my business was on the Dell PC computer and I was hijacked by a ransomware virus. Thanks for keeping me calm and assuring me you could recover the data and advising me not to try myself at ransomware removal. I am so glad I trusted you, and I got all my data back and a completely clean PC again. A speedy service, 5 stars!!!

Luke Shipley, Shoreham

Ciaran, Hove

I have a Fashion Brand and the Macs in the office all started failing. Of course not everyone was using the dropbox link and only saving locally! Wasted loads of time removing the HDD and trying to do it myself with free online data recovery software, before conceding I needed a professional data recovery service. Brighton Data Recovery managed to get 99% of file recovery back, including all the designs for the new season and photoshoots images. Worth every penny and very happy with their services in HDD File Recovery and heartily recommend them.

Ciaran, Hove

Trina Pennybridge, Lewes

I needed some urgent help with a sd card recovery after my camera got knocked into a stream doing a photoshoot by an over-exuberant groom. It was tears all round as the Bride had lost her wedding pictures and my rather expensive Canon had gone for a swim. I tried some data recovery software but it didn’t really work so I had to take the plunge to find a local file recovery expert. I am so lucky I found Brighton Data Recovery on google, who managed to restore pretty much everything to a USB stick for me. One happy Bride, but the Groom is still in the Doghouse. We all thank you!

Trina Pennybridge, Lewes