When a hard drive fails, the sense of panic can be overwhelming — especially if the drive contains years of photographs, important work documents, or files that cannot be replaced. The good news is that in the vast majority of cases, hard drive data recovery is possible, and the sooner you act and stop using the device, the better your chances of getting everything back. At Mojoo Limited, our engineers have been recovering data from failed hard drives since 2000, and we are here to help.
Signs Your Hard Drive Has Failed
Hard drives often give warning signs before they fail completely. If you are experiencing any of the following, it is important to act quickly:
- Clicking or grinding noise — this is a classic sign of a head crash or mechanical failure. Switch the drive off immediately and do not turn it back on.
- Drive not detected by Windows or your laptop — the computer cannot see the drive at all, even in Disk Management or Device Manager.
- “Sector not found” or “I/O device error” messages — these errors suggest bad sectors or file system corruption that is preventing normal access.
- Very slow file access or frequent freezing — the drive is struggling to read data and may be in the early stages of failure.
- Files and folders appearing corrupted or missing — you can see the drive but your data appears damaged, incomplete, or simply gone.
- BSOD (Blue Screen of Death) on startup — Windows is crashing because it cannot read critical system files from the drive.
- Drive detected but shows 0MB capacity — a firmware fault or severe partition corruption is preventing the drive from reporting its true size.
- Laptop fell or was dropped — physical impact can damage the read/write heads or platters inside the drive, even if the laptop appears to boot normally afterwards.
If you recognise any of these symptoms, the most important thing you can do right now is stop using the device. Every time a failing drive is powered on, it risks further damage that can reduce or eliminate the chances of a successful recovery. Contact us on 07958 468 173 for free advice on the safest next steps.
What Types of Hard Drive Do We Recover?
Internal Hard Drives
We recover data from all types of internal hard drive, including 2.5-inch laptop drives and 3.5-inch desktop drives. Our engineers work with all major brands, including Western Digital (WD), Seagate, Toshiba, Samsung, Hitachi, and Maxtor. Whatever has gone wrong with your drive, we have the tools and experience to handle it. Common scenarios we deal with every week include accidental deletion of files or folders, accidental formatting of a drive, file system corruption, firmware failure, failed sectors, and physical head crashes. Whether the problem is logical (the drive hardware is fine but the data cannot be accessed) or physical (the drive itself is damaged), we assess every case carefully and give you an honest appraisal before any recovery work begins.
External Hard Drives
External hard drives are just as susceptible to failure as internal ones, and in some cases more so — they are dropped, knocked off desks, and unplugged mid-write on a regular basis. We recover data from all popular external drive brands, including WD My Passport, WD My Cloud, Seagate Backup Plus, Samsung T-series portable drives, and LaCie. Common causes of failure that we see regularly include dropped or physically damaged drives, drives that the computer refuses to recognise via USB, drives that have been accidentally formatted or had their partitions deleted, and drives that have suffered damage from a power surge or faulty USB cable. If your external hard drive is not showing up or your files have disappeared, bring it in or send it to us and we will take it from there.
Our Hard Drive Recovery Process
We keep the process as simple and stress-free as possible. Here is what to expect when you come to us for hard drive data recovery:
- Free diagnosis — bring your drive into our West Bromwich workshop or send it to us by tracked post from anywhere in the UK. We will examine the drive thoroughly and identify the cause of the failure at no charge whatsoever.
- Written quote — once we know what we are dealing with, we will send you a clear, itemised quote with no hidden fees and no surprises. You decide whether to proceed, and there is never any obligation.
- Recovery — if you approve the quote, we get to work. Logical faults (deletion, corruption, formatting) are handled using industry-leading specialist software. Physical damage is dealt with using professional cleanroom-level techniques to prevent any further harm to the drive and its platters.
- Delivery — when recovery is complete, your files are transferred to a brand-new USB drive, or made available via a secure encrypted download link if you prefer. We check every recovered file set before handover to make sure you have what you need.
Hard Drive Recovery Prices
All pricing starts with a free diagnosis. You will never be asked to pay anything until you have seen a full written quote and agreed to proceed. Here is a general guide to our pricing:
| Recovery Type | From | Typical Turnaround |
|---|---|---|
| Logical recovery (deleted files, accidental format) | £80 | 1–2 days |
| Mechanical failure (clicking, not spinning) | £180 | 2–5 days |
| Severe physical damage (fire, flood, impact) | £300+ | 5–10 days |
| Emergency same-day priority | +£80 surcharge | Same day where possible |
All prices include the initial diagnosis. If we cannot recover your data, you will not be charged. For a full breakdown of all our pricing, please see our data recovery pricing page. If your situation is particularly urgent, ask us about our emergency same-day recovery service.
Hard Drive Recovery in West Bromwich & the West Midlands
Our workshop is located at 4 Atlas Grove, West Bromwich, B70 9EB. Walk-in appointments are welcome Monday to Saturday, 9am to 6pm — we recommend calling ahead on 07958 468 173 to book a slot so we can give you our full attention when you arrive. As well as West Bromwich, we regularly assist customers from across the West Midlands, including Birmingham, Wolverhampton, Walsall, Dudley, Sandwell, Sutton Coldfield, Solihull, Halesowen, and Stourbridge. If you are based further afield, our UK-wide mail-in service makes it easy to use us from anywhere in the country. Simply send your drive to us by Royal Mail Special Delivery or a tracked DPD courier, and we will email you a confirmation of receipt as soon as it arrives so you know it is safe with us.
Frequently Asked Questions About Hard Drive Recovery
Can you recover data from a hard drive that makes a clicking noise?
Yes, and this is one of the most common faults we deal with. A clicking noise usually indicates that the read/write heads inside the drive have failed or become misaligned — a condition sometimes called a head crash. The critical thing is to stop using the drive immediately, as continuing to run it can cause further damage to the platters where your data is stored. Once the drive is with us, we assess the severity of the fault and advise you on the best course of action. Physical head failures require specialist intervention, but data recovery is often still very achievable.
My hard drive isn’t recognised — is the data gone?
Not at all. A drive that is not recognised by your computer is not the same as a drive that has lost its data. There are many reasons a drive may not show up — a failed PCB (circuit board), a firmware fault, a damaged USB controller on an external drive, or corruption of the partition table — and most of them are recoverable with the right tools and knowledge. Bring the drive to us for a free diagnosis and we will tell you exactly what has gone wrong and what the realistic options are.
How do I safely send my hard drive by post?
Pack the drive in a padded anti-static bag if possible, then wrap it with at least two to three inches of bubble wrap and place it in a sturdy cardboard box. Do not use a jiffy bag on its own, as these do not provide enough protection. Send it to us at Mojoo Limited, 4 Atlas Grove, West Bromwich, B70 9EB using Royal Mail Special Delivery or a DPD tracked service, and keep your proof of postage. We recommend insuring the package for the value of the data if possible. We will email you as soon as it arrives.
What is the success rate for hard drive recovery?
For logical failures (deleted files, accidental formatting, file system corruption), the success rate is very high — typically above 90%. For mechanical failures such as clicking drives or drives that will not spin up, the outcome depends on the extent of the physical damage, but successful recovery is still very common in our experience. The most important factor in any case is acting quickly and not continuing to use a drive that is showing signs of failure. We will always give you an honest assessment before any work begins.
Can you recover data from an old hard drive (5+ years)?
Yes. The age of a hard drive does not prevent recovery in most cases, provided the drive’s platters (the discs where data is magnetically stored) are intact. Older drives are sometimes more prone to mechanical issues simply through wear and tear, but the data itself can remain perfectly readable for many years. We regularly recover data from drives that are a decade or more old, and we have access to the legacy tools and knowledge needed to work with older hardware and file systems.
I accidentally formatted my hard drive — can you get the files back?
In most cases, yes. When a hard drive is formatted, the data is not immediately erased — the file system is reset and the space is marked as available, but the underlying files typically remain on the drive until they are overwritten by new data. The most important thing to do after an accidental format is to stop using the drive immediately and avoid saving anything new to it. The sooner the drive reaches us, the better the chance of a full recovery. Accidental formatting is one of the most common jobs we handle, and the success rate is high when the drive has not been written to after the event.
Get Your Data Back — Contact Us Today
If your hard drive has failed, do not give up hope. At Mojoo Limited, we offer a completely free initial diagnosis with no obligation to proceed, and our No Data, No Fee guarantee means you will never pay for a recovery we cannot deliver. Call us on 07958 468 173 Monday to Saturday, 9am to 6pm, or use our contact form to get in touch. We also offer SSD data recovery if your device uses a solid-state drive rather than a traditional hard drive.