External Hard Drive Recovery in San Antonio

Every Brand, Every Fault

External drives hold the backups, family photos and work files people can’t afford to lose, and they fail in their own ways: knocked off a desk, unplugged mid-copy, a snapped USB port, a dead circuit board. Jet Data Recovery recovers data from external and portable hard drives of every brand, in person at our San Antonio lab or by mail from anywhere in the U.S.

Call (830) 205-3255 any time, 24/7, for a free evaluation. If we can’t recover your data, you don’t pay a recovery fee.

What's wrong with your external drive?

Find the symptom that matches yours. Each one points to a different kind of fault.

Not showing up or not recognized. No drive letter in Windows, nothing in Finder on a Mac. The cause can be the USB board, the port, failed read heads or damaged firmware. Stop plugging it in again and again: a failing drive can get worse every time it powers up.
Clicking, beeping or buzzing. Usually failed or stuck read heads. Unplug it now. Running a clicking drive can scratch the surface your files are stored on.
“You need to format the disk” or “The disk you inserted was not readable”. Windows or macOS can’t read the file system. Your files are usually still there. Click Cancel, and don’t format, initialize or erase the drive.
Dropped or knocked over. Even a short fall can damage the heads while the drive is spinning. Don’t power it on to check.
Broken or loose USB port. On many newer drives the port is soldered onto the drive’s own circuit board, so this is a board repair, not a cable swap.
Slow, freezing or stops partway through a copy. A sign of weak heads or a growing number of bad sectors. Stop copying: each attempt wears the drive further.
Deleted files or an accidental format. Usually the quickest kind of recovery, as long as nothing new has been saved to the drive.
Water, fire or a power surge. Don’t plug it in or try to dry it with heat. Bring it in as it is.

Before you bring it in

Unplug the drive and leave it unplugged.
Don’t run recovery software on a drive that clicks, isn’t detected or was dropped. Software makes a failing drive work harder.
Don’t open the case or take the drive out of its enclosure (see the next section for why).
Write down what happened and any error messages, then call us on (830) 205-3255.

More detail: First steps after data loss.

Why taking the drive out of its case often doesn't work

It’s the most common DIY fix online, and on modern external drives it often fails or makes things worse:

Hardware encryption. Many Western Digital external drives, including many My Passport and My Book models, encrypt everything through the small USB board inside the case, whether or not you ever set a password. Connect the bare drive straight to a computer and the files look like random noise. Recovering them needs the original board, or a matching one, working with the drive.
No standard connector. Many newer portable drives have the USB port built into the drive’s own circuit board. There’s no adapter to swap and no standard connector to plug into a computer.
Damage on the way in. The cases clip together tightly and the boards are small. Prying them open can crack the board or tear the connector, and a dropped drive that’s powered up again can lose more data.

So bring the whole unit in, case and cable included. In June we recovered the files from an external drive whose controller had failed, a common fault on these drives and one that usually comes back well when it’s handled properly.

Brands and models we recover

Western Digital: My Passport, My Book, Elements, easystore (why WD drives click)
Seagate: Expansion, Backup Plus, One Touch, Portable
Toshiba: Canvio
LaCie: Rugged, d2, Porsche Design
Portable SSDs from Samsung, SanDisk, Crucial and others. See SSD data recovery.
Desktop drives in USB enclosures and docks, plus Mac-formatted and Time Machine backup drives. See Mac data recovery.

For USB sticks and memory cards, see flash drive recovery.

How external drive recovery works

Call or start online. Tell us what happened and we’ll tell you whether to bring the drive in or ship it.
Free evaluation. We find out what failed and tell you the cost, the likely outcome and how long it will take.
You decide. Nothing starts until you approve the quote.
Recovery. Logical faults and board or port repairs are handled at our San Antonio lab. Drives that need cleanroom work, usually after a drop or head failure, go to our certified partner lab, and we tell you before your drive leaves our hands.
Your files back. We check the recovered files and return them on a new drive.

Read more about our data recovery process.

What does external hard drive recovery cost?

It depends on what failed, which is why the evaluation comes first.

Deleted files, formatting or file system damage are usually the least expensive.
USB board, port and firmware repairs sit in the middle.
Head failure and drop damage cost the most, because they need cleanroom work and replacement parts.

The evaluation is free, you get a clear quote before any work begins, and if we can’t recover your data you don’t pay a recovery fee. See what affects your chances of recovery.

How long does it take?

Simple cases such as deleted files or a formatted drive are often done in 1 to 2 days. Board repairs and physical damage take longer, and you’ll get a realistic timeline after the evaluation. If you’re up against a deadline, ask about our emergency data recovery service, which moves your drive to the front of the queue.

Drop off in San Antonio, or ship it to us

In San Antonio

Jet Data Recovery
10207 North I35, Suite #201
San Antonio, TX 78233
(830) 205-3255

Call before you come so we’re ready for you.

Outside San Antonio

Pack the drive in its case with padding on every side, and use a tracked service. See how to pack your device, fast shipping and our nationwide mail-in service.

External hard drive recovery FAQ

My external hard drive isn't showing up. Can you still recover the files?

Usually, yes. The cause can be the USB board, the port, the read heads or the firmware, and the free evaluation tells us which. Stop plugging it in, because a failing drive can get worse each time it powers up.

My external drive is clicking or beeping. What should I do?

Unplug it and don’t plug it in again. Clicking or beeping usually means the read heads have failed or are stuck, and running the drive can scratch the surface that holds your files.

Windows says I need to format the drive. Should I?

No. Click Cancel. The message means Windows can’t read the file system, not that your files are gone. Formatting, initializing or erasing the drive writes over information we use to rebuild your folders.

Can I take the drive out of its case and connect it directly?

We don’t recommend it. Many external drives encrypt data on the USB board, and many newer ones have no standard connector, so it often doesn’t work and can damage the board. Bring the drive in as it is, with its cable.

I dropped my external hard drive. Is the data gone?

Not necessarily. A drop usually damages the heads, while the data on the platters often survives. Don’t power the drive on to check. Recovery after a drop usually needs cleanroom work, which is done through our certified partner lab.

How much does external hard drive recovery cost?

It depends on what failed. The evaluation is free, you get a clear quote before any work begins, and if we can’t recover your data you don’t pay a recovery fee.

Get your files back

The sooner the drive is unplugged and with us, the better your chances. Call (830) 205-3255 any time, or start your recovery online.