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If you require assistance with setting up a data recovery case, or have any additional questions, please contact one of our qualified recovery specialists toll-free at 1-800-388-388-1266

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External Hard Drive Data Recovery

External hard disk drives (HDD) are used as a secondary form of storage and a reliable backup method. Portable and easy to use, external hard drives typically consist of a standard 2.5" or 3.5" hard drive in a simple enclosure with an external port that connects to a computer or other media devices, most commonly via USB. When an external hard drive fails or becomes damaged, Secure Data Recovery has qualified recovery experts with industry-leading and professional external HDD data recovery services.

Some of the external hard drive manufacturers we work with are:

Seagate
SanDisk
Western Digital
Toshiba
Samsung
G-Tech, and many others

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Call our 24/7 toll-free hot line to speak directly with a data recovery specialist. If you have a data loss emergency, click here for an overview of our emergency services.

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Types of External Hard Drive Failure

There are three basic types of external hard drive failure that can result in data loss:

Physical Failures

Hard drives have internal parts moving at high speeds and they can become less reliable as they age. A hard drive's read/write heads hover just above the surface of the platters that store your data, and if they come into contact with the platters, data loss may occur. In addition to internal wearing out and scratching the platters, other common physical failures include:

Spindle that controls hard drive spinning locks up
Actuator arms don’t work properly
Grinding, clicking, or beeping noises on the drive due to read/write head failures

Electronic Failures

If an external hard drive has an electronic issue, it may stop working entirely or it may report an error message, depending on which of its components have failed. Electronic failures are potentially as serious as physical hard drive failures and should only be handled by experienced data recovery professionals. Some external hard drives experience electronic failure due to:

Faulty fans on the drive
Power cords not plugged into grounded, surge-protected outlets
Power surge, preventing your hard drive from being disconnected properly

Logical Failures

External hard drives can also lose data due to non-physical errors that affect how the drive operates. Some of these failures include:

Corruption due to a virus attack
Accidental Deletion
Host system won’t recognize the media

Clicking Heads

The clicking sound of a failing drive often indicates problems with the movement of the drive's read/write actuator.

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Dead Heads

This clicking sound is made when the actuator arm continuously resets itself because the read/write heads have failed.

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Torn Heads

This clicking and buzzing indicates damage to the HDD read/write head(s), which processes data stored on the disk platter(s).

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Scratched Platter

This high-pitched whine usually signals scratches in the disk platter(s) that prevent read/write heads from processing stored data.

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Stuck Motor

A buzzing or chattering sound coming from your HDD device could indicate a stuck or damaged spindle motor.

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The Challenges of External Hard Drive Data Recovery

Some of the factors that can affect your chances of successful data recovery on an external hard drive include:

File System - Depending on the operating system used, an external hard drive can be formatted in different file systems including FAT, NTFS, HFS+, EFS and XFS. Our engineers work with all operating systems on external hard drives including Windows, Mac, and Linux.
Hard Drive Size - Some newer external hard drives hold 8TB of data or more, and data recovery is often difficult on larger drives. Our engineers create full clones of repaired external hard drives before using our proprietary software, to recover the data without damage to the external drive.
Failure Scenarios - As mentioned above, the type of failure scenario affects the chances of recovery, and therefore the recovery tools and procedure that are needed. All physically damaged external drives need to be treated in our certified Class 10 ISO 4 Cleanroom to prevent any danger of media contamination.

Secure Data Recovery thrives on challenges in data recovery, so whether your external drive has logical data issues or a severe spindle failure, we have the capabilities, experience and tools to give you the best possible chances of a successful recovery. We have specialized file utilities designed for virtually every file system and file type, and as a result, we offer high success rates for external hard drives.

The Secure Data Advantage for External Hard Drive Recovery

Secure Data Recovery is the most certified data recovery company in the industry. We were the first company to earn SSAE 18 Type II Certification for the highest levels of security and have Class 10 ISO 4 Cleanrooms in each of our six labs across North America. We boast an overall 96% success rate for recovery on external hard drives.

After receiving your external drive, we evaluate the damage and complete a diagnostic report that includes a list of recoverable files, price quote, and turnaround time. After you agree to the recovery, our decades-experienced engineers use advanced proprietary tools to bring your external media to a working state enough to image the drive and work to recover your data from a copy of the media. This keeps your device in its original condition.

Secure Data Recovery customer service is available 24/7 to start a case for you and also offers emergency data recovery for external hard drives with a 48-hour turnaround. We promise you that if we are unable to retrieve the files from your external hard drive, no other company will have the tools or experience to do it. That’s why we stand by our “no data, no recovery fee” guarantee. You don’t pay the recovery fee if we don’t retrieve your files.

When you need external hard drive data recovery, choose the certified experts at Secure Data Recovery. Call 1-800-388-1266 to start your case.

Customer Reviews (82)

Average Rating:

5.0

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This service was rated 5.0 out of 5.0 based on 82 review(s)

Berenice Albuquerque

Reviewed on Sep 11 2022 | Fort Lauderdale, FL

Recovering files

Jake Gambatese was very professional and communicative in the process of recovering my files from my WD driver after i dropped it.
Shaquaja Washington

Reviewed on Jul 14 2022 | Olando, FL

Hard Drive Recovery

Eric Dvorin was absolutely phenomenal in communicating the overall process of recovery and understanding the stipulations of my financial situation as well as the urgency of the situation in general. The turnaround time altogether was about 12 days and actually surprised me! I shipped off a 4TB drive with failed writing/reading heads and Secure Data managed to lose only 32 files, which was shocking to me. Eric did advise that I would lose a very small amount of data so I prepared myself for the worst, but I was very pleased with how much they were able to recover. Definitely recommend and will be sending my colleagues in the film industry to them based on Eric’s willingness to help and the quick turnaround time.
Shelley Schutte-Cathey

Reviewed on Jun 14 2022 | Greensburg, IN

Great Service

Scott had great communication through out the whole process. He was quick to answer any questions. The process was very quick and easy. I would recommend this service again to family and friends. I hope to never need this service (because who wants their drives to crash!) but wouldn''t hesitate to use them again.
Hilary Edwards

Reviewed on Jun 13 2022 | Nampa, ID

Excellent Service That Saved My Memories!

Scott was extremely friendly, helpful and responsive while assisting me in saving precious memories that would have otherwise been lost. Scott absolutely went above and beyond and was very transparent and knowledgeable throughout the entire process; he made it very simple and painless. I would recommend Scott and Data Recovery Services to anybody who has lost their data and needs experts to help them navigating the recovery process.
Kimberly Lloyd

Reviewed on May 3 2022 | RICHMOND, VA

Quick Recovery

I''m so thankful Secure Data Recovery was able to save the priceless files and photos from my damaged external hard drive. Jake Gambatese made the process easy and was very communicative. I selected the slowest return option to save some money and the files were sent back to me much quicker than I expected. I''m working on uploading these files to the cloud so this doesn''t happen again!
Martin C. Levergood II

Reviewed on Apr 19 2022 | Escondido, CA

Saved when others claimed there was no such option

After being dupped into paying 750.00 by a local shop, to get half my data and returning the drive only to be told it was damaged, I called Secure Data Recovery on a prayer. SDR was able to restore even what someone other than me or mine deleted! I Await the drive to gain access to files that could not be replaced for any amount of money as well as irreplaceable, and all are accounted for on the document they provided. I will never go anywhere else ...

the same price could have been paid only once had I known what I know now!

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