Just because it’s packed in a little tighter and harder to find, hard drives in laptops work like hard drives in desktop computers, which also means they’re capable of failing the same ways! If your laptop hard drive dies and you need to recover data off it, you can send DriveFish the entire laptop, or simply remove the disk from the laptop – it’s only a few small screws!

We are of course not limited to desktops and laptops either. We are capable of recovering from external hard drives like Western Digital, Seagate, Hitachi, Samsung, and Toshiba. We even recover camera memory cards like Canon and Nikon, so whatever your media format is, don’t hesitate to let DriveFish be the company to recover your data!

But also don’t power up your computer again!

Does this mean you have lost everything? Not necessarily!

We have discussed this in earlier blog posts as sometimes relating to a head crash. This is when the read/write heads literally strip the magnetic material off the platters of a drive, permanently taking the data with it.

However it is important to remember that a clicking drive does not always mean a head crash, as clicking can be caused by a number of other much less serious problems. It is very important to remember that when a disk clicks, you should never power the computer or drive up again, or you may cause permanent data loss!

The best idea is to send it to DriveFish for a free diagnosis. We know how important your data is to you, and we will always protect it and use the utmost care with your drive. If it does turn out your drive is suffering from a head crash, we will help you every step of the way in determining the best advanced recovery options if that is what you choose to do.

At DriveFish, we get personally invested in our customers and do everything we can to help get their data securely back to them.

Western Digital, often referred to as WD,  has been making hard drives since the early 80′s and make good hard drives. Western Digital data recovery isn’t needed any more that any other brand of drive in our experience. We do have great experience with Western Digital (WD) drives because of how common they are in the marketplace.

If you have a Western Digital hard drive in need of data recovery simply fill out our easy web form and send us the disk. If you have a warranty situation we are happy to RMA the disk for you after recovery – just let us know what the RMA number is and pay shipping. Western Digital accepts drives directly from DriveFish and our labs do not invalidate any warranty so you can rest at ease.

Western Digital Data Recovery? Click here!

It could also just be a problem with the electronics, motor, actuator arm or any number of problems. You best bet is to pack it carefully and send to us so we can give you the best chance of recovery. Don’t give up hope – if we recover your data you pay a reasonable flat fee!

A hard drive is somewhat like a record player in that there are spinning platters (records) that are read by read/write heads on an actuator arm (the tone arm and needle). Instead of the r/w heads actually touching the platter though, it hovers just above it reading the data magnetically. Sometimes it’s a small bump or jarring of the disk, sometimes it’s a small piece of dirt or other particulate on the disk surface. Whatever the cause, if the read/write heads touch and chip or scratch the magnetic coating of the spinning platter(s), that is a head crash!

A head crash has to be handled carefully as once it happens and some coating has been scratched off the platter(s), the problem become worse very quickly. You have to catch it quick before all of your data is literally scratched off. A common disk speed is 7200 RPM – that’s almost 75  mph! A head crash occurring at that speed can be catastrophic.

Be smart. If you hear clicking, clunking, grinding or any other odd noises you could possibly have a head crash. We suggest you pack it up and send it to a company that you know will give you the best chance of recovery.

If you want to order online, here are some good prices:

The only thing you need to be concered with when buying is the connection type of your hard drive.  Generally they are either SATA or PATA (IDE). You need to buy the type that supports your type of hard drive.

PATA (IDE) is on the top, SATA is on the bottom.

Once you connect your disk, simply plug the USB cable into your computer to access (or attempt to access!) the data.