Not showing up, dropped, clicking or asking to be formatted? We recover external drives of every make — WD, Seagate, Toshiba, LaCie and more, portable and desktop. Often it is only the USB enclosure that has failed and the drive inside is fine.
$ bdr diagnose /dev/sdb → Device: WD My Passport (2 TB, USB) → Status: NOT DETECTED — USB board failed → Client: Hayes, M. · Fishponds BS16 $ bdr engineer-working → USB board: repaired · drive healthy → Encryption: key preserved · unlocked → Imaging: 1.9 TB / 2 TB · 100% read $ bdr verify → ✓ photos — 24,800 files → ✓ documents — 11,200 files → ✓ drive recovered — data back
If your external drive is clicking, beeping or no longer showing up, stop plugging it in. After a drop those sounds mean the heads are touching the platters, and every power-on scrapes away more of your data. Don't format it, don't run repair tools, and don't shuck a WD drive out of its case — the data is encrypted at the board. Keep the whole drive, enclosure and cable together and send it in.
From an enclosure that has died to a drive dropped and clicking, these are the external drive failures we recover from most — bridge, mechanical, encrypted and logical.
We recover every make of external drive — portable and desktop, USB and USB-C, current and old. The brand rarely changes whether your data can be saved, though encrypted WD drives need a little more care.
WD My Passport, My Book, Elements, Easystore and G-Drive · Seagate Expansion, Backup Plus and One Touch · Toshiba Canvio · LaCie Rugged · 2.5 inch portable and 3.5 inch desktop · USB 2.0, 3.0 and USB-C. Always send the full enclosure and cable, especially with WD — the USB board holds the encryption key.
External drive recovery starts by working out whether the fault is the enclosure or the drive inside. We rule out the USB board first, then reach the drive — repairing it or removing it — and image it read-only before rebuilding your files.
Tell us what happened — not detected, dropped, clicking, asks to format. We work out whether it is the enclosure or the drive and send a written quote, usually within 48 hours.
We test the USB board first — often the drive inside is fine and only the bridge has failed. Where the drive needs opening or mechanical repair, that work needs 50% of the fee upfront.
We repair or bypass the USB board, swap failed heads or free stuck ones in our clean bench, or rebuild the drive's electronics — keeping any encryption key intact.
We take a read-only image of the drive on specialist hardware, reading weak or damaged areas gently so a failing drive is never stressed.
Where the drive is WD-encrypted or BitLocker-protected and you have what is needed, we apply the key, then rebuild the file system from the image. If you don't have a BitLocker key, contact us about our decryption service.
We recover your files and folders and check they actually open and are complete before anything is returned to you.
We return your data on a new drive, or you can download it free for recoveries up to 75 GB.
We recover every make of external drive — WD, Seagate, Toshiba, LaCie and the rest — portable and desktop, repairing the enclosure or the drive and reading the platters wherever the data can be reached.
Tell us what happened and we will get back to you, usually within one working day.
We will be in touch shortly. For anything urgent, call 0117 332 1137.
One fixed price to recover a single external drive — with a free diagnostic and a written quote before any work starts.
A snapshot of recent external drive recoveries across bridge failures, dropped drives, encryption and corruption. Names redacted, results verified.
The USB board had failed and the drive is encrypted. We repaired the board, kept the encryption key and recovered everything.
The heads had failed in the fall. We fitted matched donor heads and imaged the platters to recover the data.
The file system was corrupt after an unsafe unplug. We imaged it read-only and rebuilt it, recovering all the files.
The heads were stuck to the platters. We freed them in the clean bench and recovered the data before any damage spread.
The board and bridge were both fried. We rebuilt the electronics, transferred the firmware and recovered the lot.
The drive was healthy and the data still on the platters. We imaged it and recovered the deleted folders straight away.
Reviews from real Bristol and South West clients whose external drives we recovered.
My WD My Passport just stopped showing up with all my photos on it. They explained it was encrypted, repaired the board and got every photo back. I cannot recommend them enough.
I knocked my Seagate drive off the desk and it started clicking with my kids’ photos on it. They recovered every one. Worth every penny and lovely people to deal with.
My portable hard drive suddenly asked to be formatted with all my work on it. They rebuilt it and recovered the lot. Fast, fair and completely honest.
My WD drive was beeping and two other places said it was dead. These freed the heads and got my data back. Genuine experts.
Quoted a clear fixed price up front, no fix no fee, and kept me updated the whole way. Recovered my dissertation off a dead external drive. Brilliant service.
A power surge killed my external drive on holiday and I thought the photos were gone. They rebuilt the electronics and recovered them all. Honest, skilled and reassuring.
Send us your device for a free diagnostic, and tell us a little about what happened — an engineer will review it and confirm your exact quote in writing before any work begins.
Recovering your data starts with getting the device to us. Pack it safely, add your contact details, and send it over — after we run a free diagnostic, we’ll confirm your exact price in writing before any work begins.
Posting it in? We recommend a tracked, insured service. Prefer to drop it off? You’re welcome Monday–Friday, 9am–5:30pm — please still package the device as above.
If you need more information on our data recovery service, fill out the form with more detail about your issue and an engineer will review it and give you a custom quote.
We’ll be in touch shortly. For anything urgent, call 0117 332 1137.
The questions we are asked most about recovering an external hard drive.
Often not. On most external drives the USB board in the enclosure fails more often than the drive itself, so a drive that won't show up usually just needs the board repaired or bypassed. We test the enclosure first and, where the drive inside is healthy, recover your data straight from it.
Usually, yes. Clicking after a drop normally means the read/write heads have been damaged, while the platters holding your data are still intact. We fit matched donor heads in our clean bench and image the drive before the heads can do more harm. Stop powering it on — every spin-up risks the platters.
Usually, yes. WD My Passport and My Book drives encrypt everything at the USB board, even if you never set a password, so you can't just take the drive out and read it elsewhere. We recover through the original board and encryption key.
No — don't format it. That message usually means the file system is corrupt, often after the drive was unplugged without ejecting, but your files are still there. Formatting or initialising would make recovery much harder. Bring it to us and we'll image it read-only and rebuild it.
It is a fixed £300 + VAT to recover a single external drive, with a free diagnostic and a written quote first. If the drive has a mechanical or electronic fault and needs opening or board work, we take 50% of the fee upfront, so most jobs are no fix, no fee.
On most jobs, yes. For mechanical or electronic work we take a 50% deposit upfront and the rest is only due if we recover your data — so if we can't, you are not left with the full bill.
Every make — WD, Seagate, Toshiba, LaCie, Buffalo, Samsung, Maxtor and the rest, portable and desktop, USB and USB-C. The brand rarely changes whether the data is recoverable, though encrypted WD drives need a little more care.
We'd advise against it. On many drives — WD especially — the data is encrypted at the USB board, so the bare drive reads as gibberish and Windows will offer to format it, which destroys the data. Some enclosures also clip the board to the drive in ways that are easy to damage. Bring us the whole thing and we'll do it safely.
A drive that beeps usually has stuck heads — the heads have settled onto the platters and the motor can't break them free — or a seized motor. Both are mechanical and need opening in our clean bench. Power it off and leave it; running it makes the damage worse.
Most recoveries are done within 2 to 3 working days. Drives that need head work, motor repair or board-level work usually take a little longer — 3 to 4 working days — depending on parts. The free diagnostic is normally finished within 48 hours, and urgent cases can often be prioritised.
You can drop it off at our Bristol location Monday to Friday, 9am to 5:30pm, or post it to us fully insured. Send the whole drive with its enclosure, USB cable and power adapter — especially for WD drives, where the board holds the encryption key — and include your name, address, phone number and email so we can book it in and quote before any work begins.
Free diagnostic, a fixed £300 + VAT per drive, and no fix no fee on most jobs — every make of external hard drive recovered, portable and desktop, enclosure and all. Start your recovery today.