A drive that will not spin up or power on is almost always an electronics or motor fault — not lost data. Our engineers repair the failed board, transfer the firmware, and recover your files in-house.
$ bdr diagnose /dev/sda → Device: Seagate ST3000DM001 (3 TB) → Status: NO SPIN-UP — shorted PCB / blown TVS diode → Client: Whitfield, A. · Redland BS6 $ bdr engineer-working → Donor board matched: from stock · 0 days wait → ROM / firmware: transferred to donor PCB → Imaging: 2.61 TB / 3.00 TB (87%) $ bdr verify → ✓ family_photos — 96,402 files → ✓ documents — 12,880 files → ✓ everything else — powered back up
Repeatedly powering a drive with an electrical fault can burn out the motor or worsen the board damage. And never fit a replacement circuit board yourself: modern drives store unique calibration data on a ROM chip that must be transferred, or the drive can be lost for good. Switch it off and talk to us.
A dead, silent drive is nearly always an electrical or motor fault. These are the causes we see — and recover from — most often.
In over 25 years we have brought dead drives back from every major brand. If it stores data on spinning platters, we can almost certainly help.
Internal and external · 3.5" desktop and 2.5" laptop · SATA, SAS, IDE/PATA and SCSI · from 40 GB legacy drives to the latest 24 TB helium models.
Recovering a won't-power-on drive means repairing its electronics first. We get it powered up safely, then read your data back — carefully, in the right order.
Bring in or post your drive. We assess whether the fault is the board, the motor or the power supply, and send a written quote — usually within 48 hours.
We examine the board under magnification for shorts, blown diodes and burnt components — and on external drives, bypass the enclosure to test the bare drive directly.
We replace blown diodes and failed components, or fit a matched donor board from our parts inventory — no waiting weeks for one to arrive.
We move the original ROM chip to the donor board so the drive recognises its own unique calibration data and powers up correctly.
Once it powers on, we clone the drive sector by sector to stable storage, working patiently around any weak areas.
We rebuild your files from the image, check them against a file listing, and return your data on fresh media.
We backup your data to either an external drive and ship it back to you, or we also offer a free download service for your data up to 75GB.
Matching boards, ROMs, motors and heads in-house means most won't-power-on drives move straight to repair — no waiting weeks for a donor to be sourced.
Tell us about your drive and we will get back to you, usually within 30 minutes during the day.
We will be in touch shortly. For anything urgent, call 0117 332 1137.
No hidden fees and no pressure — just a free diagnostic and a written quote before any work starts.
A snapshot of recent won't-power-on recoveries, handled in-house. Names redacted, results verified.
Shorted board with a blown TVS diode. We matched a donor PCB from stock, transferred the original ROM chip, and imaged the drive on the first pass.
The fault was a failed USB bridge, not the drive. We bypassed the enclosure, connected the bare drive directly, and the drive itself was perfectly healthy.
Burnt motor controller on the board. We fitted a matched donor PCB, transferred the firmware, and recovered the full volume.
Reviews from real clients whose dead drives we brought back to life.
My drive suddenly would not turn on after a storm. They found a blown component on the board, repaired it and recovered all of our family photos. Brilliant, honest service.
Our external backup drive went completely dead — no lights, nothing. It turned out to be the enclosure and the drive itself was fine. They had our files back in two days.
I thought my laptop hard drive was finished when it stopped powering on. They rebuilt the electronics and got every file back. I cannot recommend them highly enough.
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 drives that will not power on.
In most cases it is an electronics fault — a failed circuit board, a blown protective diode or a burnt motor controller — rather than lost data. The platters that actually hold your files are usually completely intact, which is why these drives are so often recoverable.
No. Repeatedly applying power to a drive with an electrical fault can burn out the motor or worsen the damage to the board. Switch it off, unplug it and get in touch — the less power it sees, the better your chances.
In most cases, yes. We repair the failed board or fit a matched donor board, transfer the drive's firmware, then image the drive and rebuild your files. A drive that looks completely dead is routine work for us.
We strongly advise against it. Modern drives store unique calibration data on a ROM chip on the board. Fitting a donor board without transferring that chip will usually leave the drive unreadable — and can turn a simple repair into a far harder recovery.
Often not. On external drives the fault is frequently the power adapter or the USB-to-SATA bridge board, not the drive itself. We bypass the enclosure and connect the bare drive directly, and in many cases it is perfectly healthy.
Our standard price for a won't-power-on hard drive is £300 + VAT. You get a free, written diagnostic first so you know exactly where you stand, and on most jobs it is no fix, no fee — some jobs we charge a parts and labour fee where a board has to be sourced or the motor has seized.
Most won't-power-on recoveries are completed within 3 to 4 working days once you approve the quote, and the initial diagnostic is usually finished within 48 hours. Urgent cases can often be prioritised — just let us know.
Every major manufacturer, including Seagate, Western Digital, Toshiba, Samsung, HGST, Hitachi, Maxtor, Fujitsu, IBM, Quantum, SanDisk, LaCie, G-Technology, Buffalo, Verbatim, ADATA, Transcend, Silicon Power, Iomega, UnionSine, ModusTech and Intenso — in both 3.5-inch desktop and 2.5-inch laptop and external form factors.
You can drop it off at our Bristol location Monday to Friday, 9am to 5:30pm, or post it to us fully insured. Ensure the drive is packaged and sealed, include your full contact details inside the package including Name, Address, Phone Number and Email Address so we can fully book in your drive. Once we have it, we will run the free diagnostic and send you a written quote before any work begins.
Free written diagnostic, no fix no fee on most jobs, and a 10,000-part inventory behind every repair. Start your recovery today.