Seagate Data Recovery UK – Burnt PCB & Power Surge Damage Specialists

At Cardiff Data Recovery, we are Wales’s leading experts in Seagate data recovery UK, offering professional services for external hard drives that have suffered electrical failure, burnt circuit boards, or complete power loss. With over 25 years of experience, we specialise in recovering data from Seagate Expansion external drives affected by physical and electronic damage — including those with visible burn marks or sparking on the device.

If your drive emitted a burning smell or failed after a power surge, don’t attempt to power it on again. Our engineers can safely recover your data by repairing or bypassing the damaged electronics without risking further loss.

⚠️ Common Symptoms of Power Surge and PCB Failure

  • Burning smell coming from the external hard drive
  • Visible scorching or spark marks near the USB port or case vents
  • Drive not spinning or showing no power/activity lights
  • Sudden failure after connecting to a new power adapter or USB hub
  • “USB device not recognised” message or no detection at all
  • Audible click or short “pop” when power is applied
  • Drive detected in Windows/Mac but inaccessible or showing 0 bytes

These symptoms point to PCB (Printed Circuit Board) failure, usually caused by power spikes, faulty USB hubs, or incorrect power adapters.

🛠️ Our Seagate Expansion Hard Drive Recovery Process

1. Drive Isolation and PCB Diagnosis

  • The Seagate Expansion drive is carefully opened to access the internal 2.5” or 3.5” hard drive
  • We inspect the PCB for burn marks, blown components, or shorted diodes
  • Voltage and continuity tests are performed to determine the fault source
  • If damaged, the board is removed for replacement or repair

The external USB adapter is often integrated with the PCB. We transfer the drive to a compatible donor enclosure if needed.

2. Donor PCB Matching and ROM Transfer

  • We locate a compatible donor PCB based on the model number, board version, and firmware family
  • The original PCB contains unique calibration data stored in a small ROM (BIOS) chip
  • This ROM is removed from the burnt board and transferred to the donor PCB
  • The new PCB is attached to the drive, re-establishing communication with the internal heads and platters

3. Imaging and Sector-Level Recovery

  • Once power is restored, we create a bit-level image of the drive using forensic hardware to preserve data integrity
  • If the drive shows signs of bad sectors or degraded firmware, we use slow-read and ECC-corrective modes to ensure a full recovery
  • Data is extracted from the cloned image, not the original drive, to avoid further wear

4. File System Repair and Data Extraction

  • The recovered image is scanned for common file system formats (NTFS, exFAT, HFS+, etc.)
  • Partition tables, volume headers, and directory trees are rebuilt
  • Files are restored in full structure, including:
    • Photos and Videos
    • Business Documents
    • Project Folders
    • Backups and Archive Files

💽 Supported Seagate Drive Models

We support all Seagate Expansion series and desktop/external drives, including:

  • Seagate Expansion Portable 1TB / 2TB / 4TB
  • Seagate Expansion Desktop 6TB / 8TB
  • Seagate Backup Plus / Slim / Ultra Touch
  • Seagate One Touch HDD/SSD
  • Drives with USB 3.0, USB-C, or external power adapters

Drives typically contain internal Seagate models such as ST1000LM035, ST2000DM008, or ST8000DM004, which we support fully.

🧰 Supported File Systems & Interfaces

We recover from Seagate drives formatted for:

  • Windows (NTFS / exFAT)
  • macOS (HFS+, APFS)
  • Linux (EXT3/EXT4)
  • exFAT used in mixed-platform or external storage

We also support interfaces such as:

  • USB 3.0, USB 2.0, USB-C
  • SATA drives removed from Expansion enclosures
  • Older FireWire or eSATA models

✅ Why Choose Cardiff Data Recovery?

  • 25+ Years of Experience with power-damaged hard drives
  • In-house PCB repair and ROM chip transplant facilities
  • Support for all Seagate USB and SATA expansion drives
  • Emergency 48-hour recovery service available
  • Fully secure and GDPR-compliant data handling
  • Free diagnostics and honest recovery evaluation

We’ve recovered thousands of drives rejected by general IT services and even manufacturers.

📞 Contact Cardiff Data Recovery Today

If your Seagate Expansion drive has stopped working after a power surge, emits a burnt smell, or sparks during use, do not power it up again. This can cause permanent internal damage.

Contact Cardiff Data Recovery today for a free diagnostic. Our Seagate engineers are ready to help with safe, efficient, and expert-level recovery.

We are your trusted provider of Seagate data recovery UK – even when the damage appears irreversible.

 

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