Recommendations for Hard Drive Repair Shops

[coolcatz]

Recently, I encountered a problem when I plug in my WD external hard drive. My folders appeared as normal, but when I tried clicking on the folders, there was no response and the computer hang for a few minutes. I was thinking of going to one of the data recovery shops in Sim Lim Square. Any recommendations on shops that charges a reasonable price? Or should I go directly to Achieva Technology, the distributor of WD drives?

Western Digital 640GB Go
Model: WD6400E035-00.

Thank you!

 

[joonjoel]

Check with WD first and see if RMA is still applicable. You can have your hard disk replaced.

CHeck warranty status on the disk at this site: WD Support / Warranty Services / Warranty Services for End User Customers

 

[BBTM]

If you go back to replace, they wouldn't restore the data. Bring to sim lim, got one shop (not sure moved or not) at 02-32. Look for Nigel, need his number, pm me. Friendly and excellent service.

 

[eleveninth]

I have a WD that has the same problem. If you try googling alot of people have this Issue with WD, out of no where the HDD becomes like that. Mine has been like that for 3 years now. I've since switched HDD brands.

 

[kei1309]

i already gave up on WD.

 

[edutilos-]

Weird all my backup drives are WD and they persist despite my on-board HD failing on me..

Think just luck la. Otherwise what brand to buy? I have had bad experience w Seagate too.

 

[enzeru21]

Some are worse, i had a friend who had a bad experience with Iomega. Iomega. They sell you a HDD for your data back-up at $100+. After 1 year+, it automatically crashed. Their warranty covers exchange of the physical HDD but charge you $3000 for data recovery.

 

[kei1309]

Weird all my backup drives are WD and they persist despite my on-board HD failing on me..

Think just luck la. Otherwise what brand to buy? I have had bad experience w Seagate too.

Perhaps a batch issue? I've had no problems with all my Seagate drives. The ones giving me problems are my WD drives

 

[coolcatz]

Thanks for all the replies. I'm still hoping for a miracle to happen. Many years ago my Seagate HDD no response after making some weird noises. After neglecting it for 1 year, I plug in one day and it went back to normal. I have no idea how is this possible, so I quickly back up all my files before anything bad happen again. This time round no such luck. The data are important, but if the recovery cost is more than $2K, then I need to consider.

 

[ricohflex]

Nothing wrong with your hard disk.
If you have not thrashed it physically, it should be in good condition.
Your PC needs "cleaning", clean the registry, defrag the drive, check for malware.

If you hard disk is really broken, you would not even be able to see the folders.

Folder not responding to mouse clicks is not a hard disk problem. May be a mouse driver problem caused by malware.
Or something is fouling up your OS.

But of course, if you bring it to Sim Lim Square 3rd sty / 4th sty hard disk "repair" shops, they will assure you that your hard disk is damaged..but...they can "repair" or recover the data for a fee.

 

[dreaming]

Recently, I encountered a problem when I plug in my WD external hard drive. My folders appeared as normal, but when I tried clicking on the folders, there was no response and the computer hang for a few minutes. I was thinking of going to one of the data recovery shops in Sim Lim Square. Any recommendations on shops that charges a reasonable price? Or should I go directly to Achieva Technology, the distributor of WD drives?

Western Digital 640GB Go
Model: WD6400E035-00.

Thank you!

isn't a USB 2 or 3?
did you try on other PC?
try different OS. they behave differently at times.
nowadays, there is a stupidity issue like 32bits and 64bits to make things worse.
the driver issue. 32bits or 64bits
try on different PC until you can access the HDD.
sometimes, older PC cannot read big HDD like 640GB
but no harm bring it to achieva if there is no crucial data inside

 

[hanzohattori]

Weird all my backup drives are WD and they persist despite my on-board HD failing on me..

Think just luck la. Otherwise what brand to buy? I have had bad experience w Seagate too.

Have you tried the latest version?

:bsmilie:
I think I have 1 WD drive in use. HDDs are bound to fail someday, thats why the have MTBF indicator. Best strategy is making backups regularly

 

[Octarine]

Folder not responding to mouse clicks is not a hard disk problem. May be a mouse driver problem caused by malware.

Thank you, you made my day :bsmilie:
So why does all the rest of his PC work well, only when clicking on a reference to an external drive the malware miraculously jumps in..?
Seriously, weird and wild guesses are not what TS needs.

 

[Octarine]

Recently, I encountered a problem when I plug in my WD external hard drive. My folders appeared as normal, but when I tried clicking on the folders, there was no response and the computer hang for a few minutes. I was thinking of going to one of the data recovery shops in Sim Lim Square. Any recommendations on shops that charges a reasonable price? Or should I go directly to Achieva Technology, the distributor of WD drives?

Sounds like a file system issue after unclean unmounting.
You can use the file system check and repair tools of your system (Windows, Mac, Linux) to check the integrity of the file system. You can also download a LiveCD of Linux, start your system in Linux and do the scan from this system (Google for Parted). The advantage is that the scan is done 'offline' the drive is not mounted into the OS. Do a scan first, don't enable auto repair. See what the result is. Sometimes it's a small issue that can cause big effects. If the scan returns some details about file system issues, you can decide to let it repair.
With big issues, or when you hear strange noises coming up then it's best to get professional help if you need your data. Not sure about those Sim Lim shops, it appears that some have only learned some basics from using the above mentioned LiveCD. If the drive itself has an issue (electronics or even the disks) then more than a LiveCD is needed.
WD will only replace the drive during warranty, but no data recovery. Not sure if they offer this for additional fee.

 

[ManWearPants]

Maybe plug your harddisk into a new computer. Sometimes a new toy can bring new zest to life and will resurrect your harddisk.

Buy an iPad. Then no need to mouse around. Just touch and swipe.

 

[ManWearPants]

Perhaps a batch issue? I've had no problems with all my Seagate drives. The ones giving me problems are my WD drives

Thought SG and WD are under the same roof?

 

[dreaming]

try use msdos command prompt to access your hdd
if you still know the command. C:\
CD D:\ etc

 

[Octarine]

try use msdos command prompt to access your hdd
if you still know the command. C:\
CD D:\ etc

And that would make any difference? The command prompt is just another application now, using the same stack as the explorer does to access the external HDD.

 

[ricohflex]

Recently, I encountered a problem when I plug in my WD external hard drive. My folders appeared as normal, but when I tried clicking on the folders, there was no response and the computer hang for a few minutes. ............................

Thank you!

What anti-virus / security software are you using on your host computer?

 

[coolcatz]

What anti-virus / security software are you using on your host computer?

I'm using Norton Antivirus. Now the HDD is in the repair shop and there is a chance of recovering the data.
Thanks for all the replies and suggestions. Learnt a lot of things.