More or less, the Toshiba DT01ABA200 was purchased as an external HDD 2 TB backup. Had it about a year. Bought it in Feb 2014 to replace a slowly failing backup drive. While cleaning, the external HD, which was plugged in and active at the time, was knocked off a table and hit the floor. Immediately started clicking, laptop (Win 8.1, Toshiba Satellite) would no longer recognize it. From everything I've read on this forum and in other locations, I'm pretty much out of luck on getting it to work again. So.... data recovery is the priority.

I pulled all the data from the old failing drive and put it on a new one, so I'm only out a year's worth of data and not a decade's worth. Still, there are irreplaceable files I want/need back. I do not need the entire drive recovered, only about 40-50 GB of the 2 TB.

I do not have a ton of money to pay for data recovery services, wouldn't know who to trust and who's a scam. My questions are as follows: With the clicking, is data recovery possible? Yes, it seems. But how?
Would an impact issue as described above be a simple PCB replacement issue?
If I open the HDD and pull the reader back into start position (if it is not already), will that work?
How about a head transplant?
How about a platter transplant?

Thoughts, advice, direction?

Not PCB issue.
Not DIY.
Yes, it does need a heads transplant (but not DIY)
Platter swap is not necessary or indeed going to help whatsoever.


In short, you definitely need pro assistance on this one.

The more you mess with it, the less your chances of recovery.

Each time it clicks, it is potentially grinding away what's left of your data, so do not power it on any more.

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PC Image Data Recovery
http://www.pcimage.co.uk

New!! HDD-PCB.COM for all your PCB and donor HDD requirements!

Hey - thanks, that's more or less what I figured.
So.... on to pro services. Who to trust, what to avoid, how not to get ripped off, how not to have data stolen, picked through by recoverers, how not to lose a fortune on it.

Thoughts/directions?

There are several active members of this forum in the US you can trust. Tell us where you are situated and perhaps we can give you a few names to contact.

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Luke
Recovery Force Data Recovery

I don't know if you're located anywhere near Rhode Island, but I'll gladly get you a quote. You can read our company's confidentiality policy on our website: http://www.data-medics.com/data-recover ... ement.html

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Data Medics - Hard Drive, SSD, and RAID Data Recovery Service Company

Hey - sorry it took a while to respond, things got busy - I'm in southwest Virginia - near Roanoke, if that helps.