When an external hard drive becomes slow or won’t copy files, many people fear the worst. However, as this recent case with a MyPassport for Mac shows, data loss is not always permanent, even if the situation seems serious.

A client came to us after noticing several worrying issues with their drive:

These are common signs that a drive is close to failing.

During our diagnostic process, we identified the root cause was a degraded read/write head.

This part reads data from the platters. When it starts to fail, the drive might still show up on your computer, but getting to your files can become slow, unstable, or even impossible.

We used our own recovery method to keep the platter's condition stable just long enough to safely extract the data. This careful process allowed us to avoid further damage to the platter and to save the data sectors without causing further harm.

We were able to recover the client’s important documents, photos, and videos, even though the drive was close to failing completely.

Many people worry when their drive slows down or stops copying files. However, as this case shows, drives that are slow, freeze, or are only partly accessible can often be recovered with the right tools and experience.

If your MyPassport or any external hard drive starts showing these problems, don’t assume your data is lost. AND don’t treat it as a simple problem, because sometimes permanent damage can occur if the method is applied incorrectly. A professional recovery service might still be able to recover it. Feel free to contact our expert for advice if needed.

EHDR, We Leave No Data Behind.