Hi, Can you guys recommend a shop where I can have my Lacie external hd repair or at least have my files recovered. I dropped it recently and I couldn't mount it on my mbp or on my windows laptop. Thank you.
+1 this time for a seagate wireless plus HD that my daughter knocked off the table. ) (preferably in Pampanga)
If you are looking for a place to get your drive replaced if still under warranty, you can visit the manufacturer's website and check if they have service centers here. Western digital has one in Makati and I think so does Seagate. But if you need data recovery services, I think you have to get it from a third party provider. Some drives that got dropped may cause the magnetic needle or the arm mechanism to get into a stuck position. There's a manual fix to this but requires opening the drive. A common symptom of this is clicking or whirring noise from the inside when powered on. This doesn't apply to SSD drives as they don't have movable parts inside. I tried some data recovery providers from OLX and tipidpc and they usually do the same procedure. But first they will connect the drive to different computers and different operating systems to see if it can be detected and read. Then they try data recovery software like what ronnel0918 suggested. If all else fails, they'll recommend a risky procedure, usually replacing the circuit board if that's an issue and if they happen to have similar components available and/or open up the drive and see if the mechanical parts are causing the problem and try to correct them. There's usually a 50/50 chance that the drive may get further damage or be successful enough to at least get the drive detected and read to backup its content. The manual fix is doable but a bit tricky. It requires careful hands, some tools and a clean place so an not to contaminate the magnetic platters of the drive with dust, dirt, moisture or anything that can cause friction when its starts to spin. You can search the video on how it is done in youtube. If you are not up to it, contact those who have experience. Try searching in OLX or tipidpc. The only catch is most of them will charge a fee whether they recover any data or not. I've tried the fix a handful of times with my own drives and some other's and can confirm it works under certain conditions. If your drive comes with its own enclosure that can't be easily opened, I suggest trying the recovery software approach first. I remember on older 500GB WD external drive that I had to saw on the sides to get the hard drive out. Hope this helps.
