Read/write head replacement
Clicking, beeping or total silence almost always means a damaged head stack. We open the drive and swap the heads in our cleanroom, here in Brussels.
Is your drive clicking? Stop now.
A hard drive that clicks, scrapes or beeps has lost the alignment of its read/write heads. Every extra second of spinning scrapes the magnetic surface of the platters and destroys your data for good. This is not a software issue: no "miracle" tool will fix it. And a general IT shop that opens the drive outside a cleanroom will make it unrecoverable.
A head stack swap is the most delicate mechanical operation in data recovery. It requires a cleanroom, a compatible donor drive and precision tooling. That is exactly what we do in-house, in our Brussels laboratory.
Our method, step by step
Free diagnosis
We identify the exact model, the head family and the cause (drop, wear, power surge). You get a firm quote before we open anything.
Compatible donor drive
We select a donor from the same family (same heads, same firmware) from our parts stock. Head compatibility is critical: only one reference fits.
Swap in an ISO 5 cleanroom
We open the drive under laminar flow, remove the damaged head stack and graft the donor stack with an alignment tool, without touching the platters.
Imaging and extraction
Immediate read via PC-3000, sector-by-sector imaging, then reconstruction of the file system and your data.
Our equipment
AceLab PC-3000
PC-3000 UDMA, Flash and Portable PRO — direct disk access bypassing the OS, service-area and firmware access.
ISO 5 cleanroom
Opening drives and swapping heads dust-free (Class ISO 5), without contaminating the platters.
Micro-soldering
Micro-soldering stations to restore damaged controller boards, ROM chips and logic circuits.
Why trust us with this
A head swap is unforgiving: one dust particle on a platter, one misaligned head, and the recovery window closes. We do it physically in Brussels, in an ISO 5 cleanroom — your drive is handled on-site and personally followed by the same engineer.
It is the same engineer, certified and working since 2012, who answers your call and opens your drive. No call center, no hand-offs between intermediaries. And our guarantee stays simple: No Cure, No Pay.
Frequently asked questions
My drive is clicking — can it be fixed?
Very often yes, if you power it off immediately. Clicking points to a failing head stack; as long as the platters are not scratched, a head swap recovers the data. Each extra power-on lowers the odds.
How long does a head swap take?
Usually 3 to 10 business days depending on donor availability and platter condition. A 24-48 h emergency service is possible for critical cases.
Do you need an identical donor drive?
Not identical, but from the same head family and firmware. We keep a donor stock and identify the exact reference during diagnosis.
Drive clicking? Don’t power it on again — call us.
Free diagnosis · Firm quote before any work · No Cure, No Pay