HDD case studies. How we recover data - Cheadle DATA Recovery Ltd

Detached slider/head stuck on the platter

In Blog, Hard Disk Drive Recovery Case Study by AdministratorApril 27, 2021

‘Sticktion’ – the head-assembly is stuck on the platter surface. A common fault in the failed HDDs that CDR receives. The customer reports that the HDD is making a buzzing …

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What are Micro-Jogs in WD HDDs?

In Blog, Hard Disk Drive Recovery Case Study by AdministratorJune 25, 2019

Micro-Jogs and the use in Data Recovery The “Micro-Jogs” of a hard disk drive refers to the distance between read and write head elements calculated by the manufacturer. The values …

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Head-assembly swap: Seagate ST31000528AS

In Blog, Hard Disk Drive Recovery Case Study, Recovery of the day by AdministratorFebruary 21, 2019

21/2/2019 – Seagate 1000GB 7200.12 Barracuda A desktop HDD provided by an IT Support company on behalf of their customer. The HDD was making a distinctive clicking sound. Quickly it …

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ST2000LM007 / ST1000LM035 – Is this the worst HDD ever made?

In Blog, Hard Disk Drive Recovery Case Study by AdministratorFebruary 9, 2018

Repair of Seagate ST2000LM007 and ST1000LM035 During quarter three of 2016, Seagate started to manufacture a new generation of 2.5-inch hard disk drive. For the previous 4 years to this …

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Seagate 2TB Backup Plus – not detected

In Blog, Hard Disk Drive Recovery Case Study, Recovery of the day by AdministratorAugust 23, 2017

23/8/2017 – Seagate 2000GB external HDD – not detected by any computer A Manchester city centre-based Landscape and Ecology consultancy had a considerable number of design files for clients on …

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WD20NMVW mechanical failure

In Blog, Hard Disk Drive Recovery Case Study, Recovery of the day by AdministratorJuly 28, 2017

28/07/2017 – WD20NMVW – Failed Read-Write Heads A 2000GB (2TB) portable HDD was being used by a furniture design company to store data associated with their newly designed products, as …

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Data Recovery Scam Example – Inform yourself

In Blog, Hard Disk Drive Recovery Case Study, Recovery of the day by AdministratorJuly 22, 2017

22/7/2017 – ST3000DM001. Pre-opened HDD This week CDR – Manchester Data Recovery Services – received a 3TB HDD from a media company based in Sale, Cheshire. The drive contained video …

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Seagate ST4000DM000 4TB damaged platter

In Blog, Hard Disk Drive Recovery Case Study, Recovery of the day by AdministratorJune 30, 2017

30/6/2017 – ST4000DM000 – Contamination inside the disk A Seagate ST4000DM000 hard disk drive was received from a Manchester-based media company. The HDD was from an external “Backup Plus Hub” …

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Detached read-write heads

In Blog, Hard Disk Drive Recovery Case Study, Recovery of the day by AdministratorJune 28, 2017

28/6/2017 – HDD read/write heads detached A Western Digital My Passport 500GB was received for recovery. The drive was spinning, but an audible clicking and scratching sound could be heard. …

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WD 2TB My Passport Dropped on the Floor

In Blog, Hard Disk Drive Recovery Case Study, Recovery of the day by AdministratorJune 27, 2017

27/06/2017 – WD 2TB My Passport – Dropped on the floor A 2TB (2000GB) Western Digital My Passport Ultra portable HDD was dropped by the customer on the floor. The …

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Excellent

Cheadle DATA Recovery Ltd5.0

Based on 383 reviews

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James White

7 days ago

I had a new M.2 NVME drive fail on me with all my project files on so needed to do data recovery, after a bit of looking around my local area I got directed to Cheadle data recovery as the places I enquired with locally didn't deal with M.2 devices I initially called to seek quotations and John was friendly, polite and professional whilst answering any questions I had about the process, reassuring me that I was dealing with someone who knew what they were doing and giving me confidence that I wouldn't be left short as they operate on a "no recovery, no fee" basis Even going so far as to give follow up advice afterwards regarding how to create backups and other solutions to prevent this from happening in future. I really appreciate you going the extra mile and I cannot thank you enough for getting me my lost time back

Phill Dixon

1 week ago

Spoke to John at Cheadle Data Recovery about an enterprise grade HDD that needed recovery. He was completely upfront that the helium filled nature meant it was out of scope but hen spent a great deal of time and effort putting me in contact with places that could. He has made absolutely nothing off my call but spent 40 mins trying to help and recommending other very specialist recovery firms that could potentially help and explaining the process. Absolutely brilliant service

Response from the owner:Hello Phill, thank you for the review. Helium filled HDDs present a major technical challenge for data recovery companies when the mechanical components have failed within the HDD. I am not aware of any UK based data recovery company that has a proven success record when working on mechanical failed helium filled hard disks. As such I recommend HelpDisc/HDDSurgery in Serbia or Morde in Portugal who are making genuine recovery attempts on these disks. Both of which perform work on a 'no-recovery, no-fee' basis, and do not charge for the donor HDD. Unfortunately, I am aware of certain UK based data recovery companies which have charged £1000+ upfront for a recovery attempt on a helium filled disk, where no data has been subsequently recovered, and then on inspection of the disk it has been found that no work has actually taken place. As such, I advise those people with Helium filled HDDs to be cautious of some claims made by certain data recovery companies regarding their technical capabilities and to check the terms of work before any payment is made to the company. Whilst CDR does not work on mechanically failed helium HDDs, we do still work on helium HDDs which have suffered failure associated with the firmware, printed circuit board, bad sectors/degraded media and corruption of the filesystem. Best regards, John C. Reid.

RDC Creative Media

2 weeks ago

I have used Cheadle Data Recovery twice now for failed hard drives, John was so helpful and informative about both jobs and he went above and beyond to make sure that I was completely satisfied. I would HIGHLY recommend Cheadle Data Recovery to anyone looking for help with recovery issues. John is flexible, down to earth and just an all round great guy. I will be using him again if I ever have any issues!

Response from the owner:Hello Rudie, I am glad we were able to bring the job to a positive conclusion and I appreciate the unsolicited review. Best regards, John C. Reid.

LM M

3 weeks ago

I’m not usually someone who posts reviews, but in this case, I felt it was absolutely warranted. My only regret is that I didn’t find Dr. John Reid sooner. Before reaching him, I had already wasted time, money, and a great deal of emotional energy. I had almost accepted that everything on my Toshiba 2TB drive my personal work, studies, sentimental family photos and videos, and professional work dating back to 2022 was gone for good. Other so-called “professionals” either refused to take on the job due to its complexity or simply didn’t have the expertise. As a last resort, I emailed John one evening. By 9:00am the next morning, he had already called me. From the start, he was thorough, clear in his explanations, and completely upfront about costs and realistic expectations. I really appreciated that he didn’t offer false hope and maintained professionalism throughout. I decided to take a chance and made a 70-minute journey with a small glimmer of hope. When I arrived, John didn’t just take the hard drive and send me away he took the time to explain in detail what the issue might be, the possible solutions, and even gave me advice on how to care for hard drives in the future. He promised an update by the end of the day and he delivered. After I clarified that the drive was 2TB rather than 1TB, he provided a revised quote, which I agreed to. I placed my trust in him while keeping my expectations realistic. Throughout the process, John kept me informed. When he said recovery might be possible, I remained cautiously optimistic. Then came the moment of truth: I received a link showing which files were recoverable. To my amazement, only a minimal number were damaged. The relief and happiness I felt seeing those files again is hard to put into words. I truly cannot thank John enough. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend him to anyone. The journey was absolutely worth it for such a professional and dedicated service—and I will definitely return with other devices I had previously given up on. Thank you so much, John.

Response from the owner:Hello "LM M", I am not sure which job/disk this refers to, but thank you for taking the time to write the review and the sentiments. It's worth noting that you chose to visit in person, and it was possible for me to inspect your device during your visit. Unfortunately, on Google Maps a number of data recovery companies have created fake office listings in Manchester (and other city centres) where there are no staff, only a PO Box/Virtual Office. Best regards, Dr John C. Reid.

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Detached slider/head stuck on the platter

What are Micro-Jogs in WD HDDs?

Head-assembly swap: Seagate ST31000528AS

ST2000LM007 / ST1000LM035 – Is this the worst HDD ever made?

Seagate 2TB Backup Plus – not detected

WD20NMVW mechanical failure

Data Recovery Scam Example – Inform yourself

Seagate ST4000DM000 4TB damaged platter

Detached read-write heads

WD 2TB My Passport Dropped on the Floor

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