An inactive (or "dead") disk with zero spinning motion, no clicking or whirring sounds, and zero illuminated lights appears to be the ultimate failure; however, it's generally among the least harmful. Complete inactivity indicates the disk did not move far enough to harm it: the disks are not being abraded and the read/write heads are not moving erratically. Data remains intact behind one of three silent failures which have known fixes.
The PCB can fail when an electrical surge occurs or a high voltage spike travels through an inexpensive adapter, killing a protective TVS diode or the board outright. This is by far the most frequent cause of silence, especially for externals plugged into the incorrect connector. The spindle can also cause a silent state. Typically this will happen if the bearings have seized, often due to impact or excessive temperature over many years, and the motor cannot overcome the friction created. A faulty preamp circuit within the head assembly can also create a silent state. These are identical in appearance from the exterior and quick bench testing is required to distinguish which issue exists.
Sometimes it’s an even easier fix than that (a dead enclosure or adapter around a good hard drive), and this is exactly why we do diagnostics before we do any repairs.
The internet's favourite trick of replacing the board on a bricked drive with another matching board worked two decades ago and has since been broken by modern boards. Newer boards contain a ROM (read-only memory) chip containing a set of calibration data specific to each individual drive; these include things such as head maps and adaptive tuning data plus sometimes even encryption parameters. Using a donor board with no copy of your ROM will result in either your new board refusing to operate your drive or worse operating your drive incorrectly. The proper method of repairing a drive is by installing a compatible donor board but then transplanting your original ROM from your old board onto your new donor board: fine soldering work done here routinely.
If you’ve already swapped boards, don’t throw away your original board yet! That ROM (read-only memory) is what will help recover your data.
Reviving a failed hard drive is about being able to get your data off of that drive. Reviving a failed drive does not mean repairing a drive. When we revive a drive, we have stabilised an unstable patient (the drive) in order to complete just one procedure (get the data off). With the board replaced or the spindle freed, we send the drive straight to the imager for one gentle scan. We scan the weakest parts last so we don't risk losing even more data during this process. Once we have scanned all the areas of the drive we need to access in order to recover your files, we will then retire the drive completely. Your files are recovered from the image, so the drive never has to survive daily use again, only that one read.
If one single drive is affected it costs a fixed £300 + VAT regardless of the type or extent of failure. The rare chip-level exception is quoted in writing first. We offer a free diagnostic before any work begins and quote all costs in writing before proceeding. Most jobs will cost nothing if your files don't come back. There are no hourly rates, evaluation fees, or percentages of file value charged.
If you've got your machine to the firmware level and get no bootable device found, read the boot error guide first: your BIOS device list will tell you within a minute if you are dealing with a hardware issue or a simple setting.
Almost certainly not; voltage spikes and brownouts (losses of power) are the most common causes of death for all PCBs in drives, including the TVS diodes which protect against those conditions, but whose failure is an expected result of their operation. This is the most recoverable "silence" of the three; either we will be able to fix the board at that level, or replace it with another board with your ROM chip transferred to it, and then take a standard image. Do not attempt to try this again by simply using the same socket.
Most times. The high voltage from an incorrectly applied power source is more likely to kill the electrical components (in this case, the enclosure's internal electronics) than to burn out the hard drive's circuitry. However, there are times when all that is damaged is the outer casing of the hard drive; at other times the drive's PCB needs the donor-plus-ROM repair. In either event, you would need to ship the entire unit along with the original power supply or adapter if you have it, for us to assess the extent of damage.
This would indicate that the spindle is fighting and losing, i.e., stuck bearings or the heads are bonded to the platter and opposing the motor. The unit should be opened at the workbench to properly release the parts; if you attempt to force them externally (as in some of the "old" folklore of applying torque with your wrist twist), you risk damaging the surface(s). Treat it as a fully mechanical problem and stop trying.
The costs are exactly the same; i.e., a fixed band of £300 + VAT which will cover the cost of recovery irrespective of the nature of that fault, whether the problem lies in the circuitry on the PCB (printed circuit board), or in the mechanical components (spindle), or in the electronic read/write head (preamp). In fact, silent drives often prove to be the easier jobs simply because no part was actually damaged through grinding. A free diagnostic provides identification of silent issues prior to making any decisions.
Before you drop your device off or post it, please get a quote from us by phone or using the form first. Then there are two honest routes for dropping off and delivery. No vans. Hand in the device at Tay House, 300 Bath Street (right at Charing Cross, two minutes off the M8) Monday to Friday, 9am–5:30pm, without need of an appointment. Or wrap the device well and send by insured, tracked post from anywhere in the UK. All work is done in-house by our own engineers. We have documentation of the complete chain of custody and your data never leaves the UK.
Unplug it, retain the original board (if someone has already fiddled with it) and leave it to our bench to decide what type of silence you have, at no charge. Our dead hard drive recovery for Glasgow gets loud results from quiet drives.