Hi, My WD 1TB HDD Model No.WD10EADS-00M2B0 is failed to start.I have very important data in it and want to recover immediately.Upon showing it to a Data Recovery company,they told me they need same model hard drive in order to replace its head with faulty one and to read the data.
I can see the files in the HDD but unable to copy. Pls urgent help needed and highly appreciate your quick response.

Thanks

From that I assume that the drive is seen in BIOS, right?

Also I am guessing that from a combination of "I can see the files" and the fact that the DR company say they need to replace the head(s), that you have a bad head or heads inside the drive.

NOTHING you can do, it needs cleanroom work and proper skills to change the head in this nasty drive.

I can cope with this easily and quickly in UK, or sure there is someone nearer to you.

Guys?

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Yes,you are correct.I can see it in the BIOS and DR company need its head to be replaced in order to recover the data.There are bad sectors in the drive which don't allow the copy the data.
I will be grateful if there is any one around to help me.
Thanks for your offer Pcimage.What type of solution you have for this problem?

I think I have a small doubt this suffers from bad heads. If i'm right, it can be easy with proper equipment.
If heads are bad, then they need to be changed prior to data imaging.

Agreed, no DIY.

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It may help if we could see a SMART report. Look for reallocated, pending, or uncorrectable sectors.

HD Sentinel (DOS / Windows / Linux):
http://www.hdsentinel.com/

HDDScan for Windows:
http://hddscan.com/

See this article for SMART info:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S.M.A.R.T.

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You have PM

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Hi All,Thanks for your contribution.As per fzabkar suggestion, I am attaching the SMART report of the HDD taken through different software.
Pls you can understand it and advice the chances of recovery? Appreciate your support.

Your drive has 141 reallocated sectors and 1229 that are unreadable and are awaiting reallocation. Your only DIY hope is to clone the drive, sector by sector, using a tool such as ddrescue which understands how to work around bad media.

Otherwise, if your drive needs a head swap, then expect to pay a maximum of US$800 plus parts.

That said, try cleaning up the preamp contacts on the PCB with a soft white pencil eraser.

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Yes, clean the contacts. I had a drive like this that was all over the place. I took it apart and buffed up the head contact/connector. And everything has been fine since.

What ultimately happened here?? It's been a month now.

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I have missed something : are Headswap + subsequent datarecovery job NOW traded as commodity at NYSE for a fixed price ? If not and this is the maximum, it means that the minimum can be even 50$. Not true (to be diplomatic).
Reality : price fork from 800-1000 to 1500-2000 and after a real diagnose. Lower prices depend ONLY on very lucky circumstances or other... "factors".

I wonder HOW they determined a HS was reallly needed and IF they had the gear and know how to do everything possible.

The following company offers a fixed price data recovery service for US$800 plus parts:
http://myharddrivedied.com/hard-drive-recovery

The above figure includes a $50 professional diagnosis fee. AIUI, there are no other "factors", except of course parts.

The company's proprietor, Scott Moulton, is arguably the most well known professional in the business. He has a large, public body of work consisting of numerous video presentations and demonstrations. He also runs a popular data recovery course and has taught several of the forum members. Therefore, if he says he can perform a headswap for US$800, then I have no reason to doubt him. He certainly has the gear and knowhow. Furthermore, I would suggest that this figure be used as a benchmark when shopping for quotes. Better still, if a user is prepared to ship across borders, then there are Russian, Chinese, and perhaps Indian companies who can do the job for much less. Some even publish a detailed table of rates. Western companies, OTOH, seem to just pick numbers out of a hat, so one never knows what to expect.

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A backup a day keeps DR away.