Repairer needed in Wellington for WD Passport hard drive

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indapie2000

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#240115 21-Aug-2018 14:35

Would anyone be able to recommend any good hard drive repairer/data recovery place in Wellington?

My external WD Passport powers on but it sounds like the mechanics inside are broken/stuck (can hear it boot up and sounds like it's trying to spin but gets stuck)

I tried to take it to PB Tech and they said that Western Digital use a different connector (kit standard SATA) for their external hard drives so they wouldn't be able to access.
They said I'd need a place that specialises in WD hard drives....

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Geek @ Coastguard NZ
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#2076858 21-Aug-2018 14:43

You'd probably be looking at a data recovery specialist..... if youre brave enough, crack into the case anyway and check the connector, they dont always use non-SATA connector depending on the drive etc. But if as you say, its the drive itself failing, not much you can do yourself.

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Dynamic

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#2076867 21-Aug-2018 15:00

For advanced data recover like this, we use and recommend these guys: https://www.datalab.co.nz/

With any professional data recovery, prepare yourself for a significant bill. These guys are very up front about costs, and in my experience are cost-effective.

The less you touch (try to use) the drive, the better the chances of successful data recovery.

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networkn

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#2076870 21-Aug-2018 15:08

If you go through an authorized reseller, you can get fixed price single drive recovery, no recovery, no fee (excludes urgent) through Datalab.

1101

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#2076875 21-Aug-2018 15:21

indapie2000: (can hear it boot up and sounds like it's trying to spin but gets stuck)

Take it straight to a data recovery SPECIALIST (eg datalab) ... NOT a PC seller/repairer

Expect to pay over $500, could run over $1000
do not plug it in or let anyone play around with it .... thats very important

Theres a chance that every time it powers up, it can be scratching up the platters making recovery harder if not near impossible.
If serious , dont muck about. I know of drives that were made unrecoverable just from powering it up to try & get it to work too many times.

From memory , the passport drives dont have internal Sata connectors . No point in cracking open the case for a try .

Lias

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#2076950 21-Aug-2018 16:19

As above.. There are no wellington based data recovery specialists I am aware of, although I think Datalab have an office / drop off location, the work will actually be done in Auckland.

+1 for using Datalab by the way.

I'm a geek, a gamer, a dad, a Quic user, and an IT Professional. I have a full rack home lab, size 15 feet, an epic beard and Asperger's. I'm a bit of a Cypherpunk, who believes information wants to be free and the Net interprets censorship as damage and routes around it. If you use my Quic signup you can also use the code R570394EKGIZ8 for free setup.

indapie2000

196 posts

Master Geek

#2076968 21-Aug-2018 17:23

Thanks for the suggestion for Datalab, they're just around the corner from my work so I'll check them out tomorrow.

Also thanks for the tips about not powering on etc to limit any potential damage!!! Definitely don't wanna loose the data on that, it's my entire music collection for 10+ years 😬

wellygary

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#2076971 21-Aug-2018 17:26

indapie2000: Definitely don't wanna loose the data on that, it's my entire music collection for 10+ years 😬

If/When you get a result, go and buy 2 new disks, one to replicate whatever you get off and one as a backup...

- friends don't let friends maintain single copies of files....

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amiga500

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#2077141 21-Aug-2018 23:22

I have seen at least one Youtube video where a guy is warning that the small portable drives made by WD do not have a standard SATA connector.

indapie2000

196 posts

Master Geek

#2272094 8-Jul-2019 22:26

Just a bit of an update (haven't been able to follow up on this since August last year due to various reasons and plain forgetting about it lol)

I went to the Datalab address in Wellington but very confused with the setup there.
The office seems to be a shared working space with several different companies there, with no signage for Datalab.
I emailed them and was told the Wellington address is just a drop off for them and things are sent to Auckland.

I've been sent a work request sheet and delivery slip to print off, but I'm a bit confused on what to do next.
Anyone else dropped off in Wellington and and tell me what the process is? Who do I drop my package/hard drive off too??

Dynamic

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#2272129 9-Jul-2019 07:53

Personally, I suggest you just courier it to their Auckland lab. The data recovery cost (if the data is deemed recoverable) is going to be several hundred dollars, so a $10 courier fee shouldn't break the bank.

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indapie2000

196 posts

Master Geek

#2272306 9-Jul-2019 11:32

Dynamic:
Personally, I suggest you just courier it to their Auckland lab. The data recovery cost (if the data is deemed recoverable) is going to be several hundred dollars, so a $10 courier fee shouldn't break the bank.

You're right in the scheme of things, but $10 is $10 and why should I pay a courier cost when they offer it for free.

My question is has anyone else here dealt with Datalab and used this Wellington pick-up service, how does it work?

networkn

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#2272310 9-Jul-2019 11:40

I have used datalab a fair bit, only in Auckland, I really rate them. As far as I can tell by the way things appear to work, you drop it in, they package it up on your behalf and send it to Auckland. I'd imagine that would increase handling time and ultimately, rest assured it's not free, they build it into the price.

Every day and twice on Sunday's, I'd ship it to Auckland myself, where I can track it's delivery etc.

Your call though.

Mark

1653 posts

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#2272650 9-Jul-2019 21:35

Is the WD Passport drive one of those that encrypts by default making life tricky for the data recovery people ?

indapie2000

196 posts

Master Geek

#2272663 9-Jul-2019 22:35

Mark:
Is the WD Passport drive one of those that encrypts by default making life tricky for the data recovery people ?

Oh god I hope not! Nah I'm pretty sure it's just a standard NTFS format without sneaky WD encryption

indapie2000

196 posts

Master Geek

#2272666 9-Jul-2019 22:43

networkn:
I have used datalab a fair bit, only in Auckland, I really rate them. As far as I can tell by the way things appear to work, you drop it in, they package it up on your behalf and send it to Auckland. I'd imagine that would increase handling time and ultimately, rest assured it's not free, they build it into the price.

Every day and twice on Sunday's, I'd ship it to Auckland myself, where I can track it's delivery etc.

Your call though.

Actually that's a fair point, being able to track it myself and not leaving to the mysteries of the Wellington drop off point.

I'll arrange to send up myself, now just gotta package it all nicely

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