A client in Birmingham contacted Birmingham Data Recovery after their laptop stopped detecting the hard drive following an accidental coffee spill. The reported issues included:
- The BIOS and operating system did not detect the hard drive, making data inaccessible.
- A local computer shop attempted recovery but was unsuccessful.
- The drive contained critical work documents and irreplaceable wedding photographs from 7 years ago.
- No backup was available, making professional data recovery essential.
Since liquid damage can cause PCB short circuits, controller failure, or internal corrosion, advanced forensic recovery techniques were required.
Our Expertise in Liquid-Damaged Laptop Hard Drive Recovery
With 25 years of experience, Birmingham Data Recovery specialises in:
✔ Recovering data from liquid-damaged hard drives
✔ Forensic PCB repair, head replacement, and data extraction
✔ Using advanced tools like Acelabs PC3000, Atola Insight Forensic, and Deepspar Disk Imager
Diagnosis & Recovery Process
Upon receiving the liquid-damaged laptop hard drive, our engineers conducted a detailed forensic assessment. The key findings included:
- Corrosion was present on the hard drive’s PCB (Printed Circuit Board), preventing power flow.
- The drive’s firmware was corrupted, stopping it from being recognized by BIOS.
- The read/write heads were partially damaged, but platters remained intact, meaning data recovery was possible.
To successfully recover the client’s work files and wedding photographs, we implemented a multi-step forensic hard drive recovery strategy:
Step 1: Safe PCB Cleaning & Component Repair
- Used ultrasonic cleaning to remove liquid corrosion from the PCB.
- Repaired damaged power circuits and controller chips to restore functionality.
Step 2: Firmware Restoration & Drive Initialisation
- Used Acelabs PC3000 to repair corrupted firmware and regain drive recognition.
- The drive was successfully detected, but file system corruption was present.
Step 3: Data Imaging & Logical File Recovery
- Used DeepSpar Disk Imager to create a sector-by-sector forensic clone of the drive.
- Applied adaptive read techniques to extract data from degraded sectors.
- Rebuilt file system structures to recover missing files.
Step 4: Data Validation & Secure Transfer
- Manually verified all recovered documents, photos, and work-related files.
- Successfully transferred the restored data to a secure external SSD, formatted for client use.
- Provided guidance on data backup strategies and laptop protection against spills.
The Result
We successfully recovered 99.3% of the client’s lost data, including:
✅ All work documents, emails, and spreadsheets
✅ Wedding photographs and personal memories from 7 years ago
✅ Archived business reports and financial records
The client was able to recover all their essential files and photos without permanent data loss.
Why Choose Birmingham Data Recovery for Liquid-Damaged Laptop Recovery?
✅ 25 Years of Expertise – Specialists in liquid-damaged hard drive recovery.
✅ Forensic PCB & Firmware Repair – Restoring data even from severely damaged drives.
✅ Fast & Reliable Service – Trusted by professionals and individuals for 25 years.
If your laptop hard drive is not detected due to liquid damage, contact Birmingham Data Recovery today for expert data recovery services!