The fault · the disk never appears
Because electronics have a far higher failure rate than the surfaces inside the disk, when a hard drive goes missing in the case of a computer located in Maidenhead, there's a good chance that the data stored on the device will still be intact. When looking for faults, work through each level (BIOS, Disk Management, Explorer) and the first point where an error occurs indicates whether the problem lies with the drive's board, the firmware within the drive itself, or with the file structure.
Describe the fault to an engineer
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| The signs | The likely cause | Start here |
|---|---|---|
| Disk Management: Unknown, Not Initialized | The drive responds to commands, but Windows can't find the disk signature, nor can it read the partition table | Don't initialise it |
| The Initialize Disk prompt: “…before Logical Disk Manager can access it” | Windows offers to write a new signature across all of your files | Respond 'No', shut it down |
| No Media shown in Disk Management | The controller responds, but there are no responses from anything connected to it; essentially, this is going to be a hardware issue, not a logic issue | Disconnect it |
| No disk listed in BIOS | Electronics or firmware: a burnt board, fried due to a power spike; or a fried diode that took the hit; or bad service area code in the firmware | Bench work and soldering-iron repair as necessary |
| BIOS reporting incorrect size of the disk: 1TB shown as 8MB | Damage to the firmware or translator; the drive cannot report how much storage space it has | A job on the firmware, well beyond what any software can do |
| Not working, silent, dark and still not spinning | Dead board; the TVS diode has normally taken a surge | Strong prospects |
Nothing is chargeable until you say yes. Every item gets a case number of its own immediately upon receipt, an engineer determines what has failed, and you get a clear picture of which files have a real possibility of being recovered. The single quote that follows is fixed, written down and does not cost anything.
None of these require opening up your drive nor running it for extended periods. Taking minutes to step back through BIOS, Disk Management and File Explorer usually determines whether you're looking at a board to repair, a damaged service area, or a logic issue.
When the failed diode is unsoldered and replaced, or a board that's past helping gets a donor, the ROM chip from your drive is used to ensure that the adaptive data is correct, since the values it holds were measured against your platters and no other chip has the right information.
When the unit responds, a full image is created, and then the file system is rebuilt from that image while the drive itself remains idle on the shelf.
You don't get charged anything until you've confirmed and authorised that everything is fine after seeing the entire list of what was recovered. Any recovered items are returned via brand-new storage media and the postage costs for these are covered by us. We do not consider a project complete here until we receive confirmation that you have been able to successfully access and review every item you received back.
It's also worth remembering that the vast majority of undetected drives arriving at the bench have seen their electronics or firmware fail, which is the apparatus built around your data rather than the data itself. Not being present and being non-existent are two entirely different things.
This was an overnight supply failure for our customer's desktop. When they turned their desktop back on after the loss, the system did boot but there were no signs of life (no activity) for their second disk. No spin. The disk was missing from BIOS. The board burned out at the TVS diode. We took the ROM chip and put it into a donor board. We then successfully imaged the disk within two days of receiving it.
Often yes. Electronic components can be fixed/replaced and what is behind those electronics (platters or flash), usually is not affected by what killed the electronic component. Some of the best success rates come from drives with no power whatsoever.
Refuse it: The initialisation process lays a new signature over the structure that records where everything on the disk begins. Decline it, turn off the drive, and have it checked.
Not really: If it is a disk that BIOS cannot see, then it is not communicating anymore, which points to the board or the service area; there is nothing to signal that there is an issue with the data itself.
Most likely it is: The normal way that an overload is prevented is through the use of the protection diode that is found on the drive's board, a part fitted precisely so that it fails first. The PCB is lost; the data is not.
Every additional power-up asks for even more of a drive that is already starting to fail. First open a case with us, and let the free diagnosis tell you how much remains.