Since 2008 | No Data, No Fee | $100–$2,000 | Nationwide Mail-In
G-Technology drives (now sold as SanDisk Professional) contain HGST or Western Digital enterprise-class hard drives inside aluminum enclosures. Recovery targets the internal HGST Ultrastar or WD drive, not the Thunderbolt/USB bridge board. We extract the bare drive and image it through PC-3000 using the WD Marvell or HGST firmware module. No data recovered = no charge.
PC-3000 HGST/WD Module
Enterprise firmware access
No Data, No Charge
Free evaluation always
G-Technology was founded as a premium storage brand for creative professionals. HGST acquired G-Technology, and Western Digital acquired HGST (formerly Hitachi GST) in 2012, bringing G-Technology under the WD umbrella. Every G-Technology enclosure contains a standard HGST or WD mechanism. In 2022, the brand was renamed SanDisk Professional. The drives are the same; only the label changed.
G-Technology data recovery pricing is determined by the failure type of the HGST or WD drive inside, not the enclosure model. Air-filled internals use standard HDD pricing from $100–$2,000. Helium-sealed G-DRIVE, G-RAID, and G-SPEED mechanical cases use helium HDD pricing from $200–$5,000+. Thunderbolt bridge board failures where the internal drive is healthy are treated as simple copies. Free evaluation and a firm quote for every drive. If we cannot recover your data, you pay nothing.
If Your G-DRIVE or G-RAID Is Clicking
Power it off. Do not run Disk Utility, DiskWarrior, or any recovery software. G-Technology enclosures contain enterprise HGST/WD drives with high-density platters. Running software on a drive with failing heads forces repeated read attempts that carve through the magnetic coating. Once the coating is gone, the data is permanently destroyed. Send it for free evaluation instead.
“Sent my hdd for data recovery, process was simple and I was able to pre-authorize an amount. They worked on my drive within 2 days of receiving it and the total cost was literally 1/10th of the amount of another service I got a quote from. Professional, quick, affordable. Nothing to complain about.”
Andrew Hansen
“My satisfaction with Rossmann Repair Group goes beyond just 5 stars. I had a hard drive die some time ago, but I had no idea where I could send it knowing it would be safe, or there being a chance I'd be ripped off.”
Kyle Hartley (crazybangles)
“Had a raid 0 array (windows storage pool) (failed 2tb Seagate, and a working 1tb wd blue) recovered last year, it was much cheaper than the $1500 to $3500 Canadian dollars i was quoted by a Canadian data recovery service. the price while expensive was a comparatively reasonable $900USD (about $1100 CAD at the time).”
Christopolis
Seagate
“Walked in with my wife's dead hard drive, walked out 20 minutes later with it fixed. They were friendly, professional, did the work in a snap, and saved me the hefty repair prices for other (mail in) hard drive recovery services!”
Patrick Dughi
Air-filled HGST/WD internals use standard HDD tiers. Helium-sealed Ultrastar internals in high-capacity G-DRIVE, G-RAID, and G-SPEED units use helium HDD tiers for mechanical work. Bridge board failures where the drive itself is healthy fall into the simple copy tier.
Low complexity
Your drive works, you just need the data moved off it
Functional drive; data transfer to new media
Rush available: +$100
$100
3-5 business days
Low complexity
Your drive isn't recognized by your computer, but it's not making unusual sounds
File system corruption. Accessible with professional recovery software but not by the OS
Starting price; final depends on complexity
From $250
2-4 weeks
Medium complexity
Your drive is completely inaccessible. It may be detected but shows the wrong size or won't respond
Firmware corruption: ROM, modules, or translator tables corrupted; requires PC-3000 terminal access
CMR drive: $600. SMR drive: $900.
$600–$900
3-6 weeks
High complexity
Most Common
Your drive is clicking, beeping, or won't spin. The internal read/write heads have failed
Head stack assembly failure. Transplanting heads from a matching donor drive on a clean bench
50% deposit required. CMR: $1,200-$1,500 + donor. SMR: $1,500 + donor.
50% deposit required
$1,200–$1,500
4-8 weeks
High complexity
Your drive was dropped, has visible damage, or a head crash scraped the platters
Platter scoring or contamination. Requires platter cleaning and head swap
50% deposit required. Donor parts are consumed in the repair. Most difficult recovery type.
50% deposit required
$2,000
4-8 weeks
Our "no data, no fee" policy applies to hardware recovery. We do not bill for unsuccessful physical repairs. If we replace a hard drive read/write head assembly or repair a liquid-damaged logic board to a bootable state, the hardware repair is complete and standard rates apply. If data remains inaccessible due to user-configured software locks, a forgotten passcode, or a remote wipe command, the physical repair is still billable. We cannot bypass user encryption or activation locks.
No data, no fee. Free evaluation and firm quote before any paid work. Full guarantee details. Head swap and surface damage require a 50% deposit because donor parts are consumed in the attempt.
Low complexity
Your helium drive works, you just need the data moved off it
Functional drive; data transfer to new media
Rush available: +$100
$200
3-5 business days
Low complexity
Your helium drive isn't recognized by your computer, but it's not making unusual sounds
File system corruption. Accessible with professional recovery software but not by the OS
Starting price; final depends on complexity
From $600
2-4 weeks
Medium complexity
Most Common
Your helium drive is completely inaccessible. It may be detected but shows the wrong size or won't respond
Firmware corruption: ROM, modules, or translator tables corrupted; requires PC-3000 terminal access
Helium drive firmware recovery is more complex due to sealed chamber architecture
$900–$1,200
3-6 weeks
High complexity
Your helium drive is clicking, beeping, or won't spin. The internal read/write heads have failed
Head stack assembly failure. Transplanting heads from a matching helium donor drive on a clean bench. Helium refill required.
50% deposit required (usually $1,100 non-refundable deposit). Helium cost ($400-$800) and donor drive cost additional.
50% deposit required
$3,000–$4,500
4-8 weeks
High complexity
Your helium drive was dropped, has visible damage, or a head crash scraped the platters
Platter scoring or contamination. Requires platter cleaning, head swap, and helium refill
50% deposit required. Helium cost ($400-$800) and donor drive cost additional. Most difficult recovery type.
50% deposit required
$4,000–$5,000
4-8 weeks
Our "no data, no fee" policy applies to hardware recovery. We do not bill for unsuccessful physical repairs. If we replace a hard drive read/write head assembly or repair a liquid-damaged logic board to a bootable state, the hardware repair is complete and standard rates apply. If data remains inaccessible due to user-configured software locks, a forgotten passcode, or a remote wipe command, the physical repair is still billable. We cannot bypass user encryption or activation locks.
No data, no fee. Free evaluation and firm quote before any paid work. Full guarantee details. Head swap and surface damage require a 50% deposit because donor parts and helium are consumed in the attempt.
Each G-Technology product pairs a different HGST or WD drive family with a specific enclosure design. The failure pattern and recovery approach depend on the internal drive, not the aluminum housing or Thunderbolt interface.
Contains a single HGST Ultrastar 7K6000, He8, or 7K8 enterprise drive. These are helium-sealed 3.5-inch drives designed for sustained throughput in video editing workflows. Enterprise-class heads are more resilient than consumer drives, but they still fail from desk vibration and power surges. The most common G-DRIVE failure is a Thunderbolt bridge board fault; the internal drive is often intact. Recovery uses PC-3000 with the HGST module for firmware access. Newer models ship with WD Ultrastar DC HC series drives.
Interfaces: Thunderbolt 3, USB-C, USB 3.0 | Capacities: 4TB, 6TB, 10TB, 12TB, 14TB, 18TB
Two-bay Thunderbolt 3 enclosure containing dual HGST or WD enterprise drives. Ships configured as RAID 0 (striped) by default for maximum throughput. RAID 0 provides zero fault tolerance: one drive failure destroys the entire volume. Many video editors mistake RAID 0 for a backup; it is the opposite. Recovery requires imaging both member drives individually, then reconstructing the RAID stripe with the correct parameters. G-RAID hardware controllers use specific stripe sizes that differ from generic NAS defaults.
Interfaces: Thunderbolt 3, USB-C | Capacities: 8TB, 12TB, 24TB, 36TB
4-bay or 8-bay Thunderbolt 3 RAID enclosure designed for multi-stream 4K/8K video editing. Uses an Areca ARC-8050T3 hardware RAID controller with support for RAID 0, 1, 5, 6, and 10. The Areca controller stores RAID metadata on the controller board and on each member disk. If the controller fails, the drives still hold data, but reconstruction requires matching the Areca-specific parameters: stripe size, parity rotation direction, disk ordering, and reserved partition layout. We image all member drives via PC-3000 and reconstruct the array offline.
Controller: Areca ARC-8050T3 | Capacities: 16TB, 24TB, 32TB, 48TB, 64TB, 72TB
Rugged portable enclosure containing a 2.5-inch WD or HGST Travelstar drive. The triple-layer shock-resistant housing (aluminum, rubber, internal bumper) protects against minor drops, but internal head failures still occur from vibration in transit or during use. Recovery workflow mirrors standard WD portable drive recovery: extract the bare drive, connect to SATA, and image via PC-3000 with the WD Marvell module. Head swaps require matching donor drives by model, head count, and firmware revision.
Interfaces: USB 3.0, USB-C | Capacities: 1TB, 2TB, 4TB, 5TB
Our Austin lab operates on a transparency-first model. We use industry-standard recovery tools, including PC-3000 and DeepSpar, combined with strict environmental controls to make sure your hard drive is handled safely and properly. This approach allows us to serve clients nationwide with consistent technical standards.
Open-drive work is performed in a ULPA-filtered laminar-flow bench, validated to 0.02 µm particle count, verified using TSI P-Trak instrumentation.
Serving clients nationwide via mail-in service since 2008. Our lead engineer holds PC-3000 and HEX Akademia certifications for hard drive firmware repair and mechanical recovery.
Our repair work has been covered by The Wall Street Journal and Business Insider, with CBC News reporting on our pricing transparency. Louis Rossmann has testified in Right to Repair hearings in multiple states and founded the Repair Preservation Group.
Our "No Data, No Charge" policy means we assume the risk of the recovery attempt, not the client.
Louis Rossmann
Louis Rossmann's well trained staff review our lab protocols to ensure technical accuracy and honest service. Since 2008, his focus has been on clear technical communication and accurate diagnostics rather than sales-driven explanations.
We believe in proving standards rather than just stating them. We use TSI P-Trak instrumentation to verify that clean-air benchmarks are met before any drive is opened.
See our clean bench validation data and particle test videoEvery G-Technology external drive has two components: the Thunderbolt/USB bridge board (converts SATA to Thunderbolt 3 or USB protocol) and the internal HGST or WD hard drive. The first diagnostic step is determining which component failed.
If the bridge board is dead but the internal drive is functional, we extract the HGST/WD drive, connect it directly to a SATA port, and perform a standard data copy. This is a simple copy tier recovery ($100). No clean bench work, no head swaps, no firmware repair.
If the internal drive has failed (clicking, beeping, not spinning, firmware corruption), the bridge board is irrelevant. We bypass it and connect the bare drive to PC-3000 via SATA for firmware-level diagnostics using the WD Marvell or HGST module.
G-DRIVE Thunderbolt models use Intel or Texas Instruments Thunderbolt controller chips on the bridge board. These controllers handle protocol translation and sometimes power delivery. The bridge board is separate from the drive and does not contain user data. A failed bridge does not mean the data is gone.
G-DRIVE models at 8TB and above contain helium-sealed HGST Ultrastar He8, He10, or He12 drives. Helium-sealed drives use a lower-density gas instead of air to reduce aerodynamic drag on the platters, which allows thinner platters, closer head spacing, and higher capacity per drive.
Helium drives present specific recovery challenges. The hermetic seal must remain intact during recovery. If the seal is breached (through improper opening), air enters the drive housing, turbulence increases, and the heads crash into the platters within seconds. Head swaps on helium drives must be performed with the seal intact or in a controlled environment with minimal exposure time. Not all recovery labs stock helium-sealed HGST donor drives; we maintain helium drive donor inventory for Ultrastar He series models.
Helium seal failure can also cause data loss without any drop or impact. If the factory seal degrades over time, the helium leaks out and air enters. The drive may develop increasing read errors, slow performance, or complete failure. PC-3000 can detect helium pressure-related performance degradation through SMART attribute monitoring.
The G-SPEED Shuttle is G-Technology's flagship product for video production houses. A single Shuttle can contain 48TB-72TB of active project footage in RAID 5 or RAID 6. When the Areca ARC-8050T3 RAID controller fails, the entire volume goes offline.
The Areca controller stores RAID metadata both on the controller board's flash memory and on a reserved partition at the end of each member disk. If the controller board fails but the drives are intact, we can reconstruct the array using the on-disk metadata. If the metadata is corrupted on both locations, we determine the RAID parameters through analysis: stripe size (typically 64KB or 128KB for the Shuttle), parity rotation (left-symmetric on most Areca configurations), and member disk ordering.
Recovery process: extract all 4 or 8 member drives from the Shuttle enclosure, image each drive individually through PC-3000, verify the health and integrity of each member image, then reconstruct the RAID array offline. If one or two member drives have also failed (common in aging Shuttle arrays where all drives are the same age and batch), those drives go through individual recovery first before the array is assembled.
Do not attempt a RAID rebuild on a degraded G-SPEED Shuttle. If the Areca controller shows a degraded array, do not insert a replacement drive and rebuild. A rebuild forces a full read of all surviving drives. If a second drive fails during the rebuild (likely when all drives are from the same batch and age), the entire array is destroyed. Power off the Shuttle and send it for professional RAID recovery.
In 2022, Western Digital rebranded G-Technology as SanDisk Professional. Products previously sold as G-DRIVE, G-RAID, and G-SPEED Shuttle are now marketed under the SanDisk Professional name with the same product line designations. The hardware, firmware, and internal drive components are identical across the branding transition.
Recovery procedures do not change based on whether the label says "G-Technology" or "SanDisk Professional." The internal drives remain HGST or WD Ultrastar enterprise mechanisms. PC-3000 firmware access uses the same modules regardless of the external branding. If you have a SanDisk Professional G-DRIVE, G-RAID, or G-SPEED Shuttle, the recovery workflow described on this page applies to your drive.
G-Technology has used two encryption architectures across product generations. Identifying which system your drive uses determines the recovery strategy.
Older G-DRIVE ev models used a hardware encryption chip on the USB/Thunderbolt bridge PCB. The bridge encrypted data before writing to the bare drive. If the bridge failed, the data on the bare drive was encrypted without the original bridge's key. Recovery requires repairing the original bridge board or transplanting the encryption chip to a compatible donor bridge with the same controller revision.
Current G-DRIVE and G-RAID models use HGST or WD Self-Encrypting Drive (SED) technology. AES-256 encryption is handled by the drive controller on the HGST/WD PCB. The encryption key is stored in the drive's ROM alongside the adaptive parameters. During a PCB swap, the ROM chip must be transferred to the donor board, which carries the encryption key with it. The user's password must be known; there is no backdoor for SED drives.
Your G-Technology drive stays in our Austin lab from intake through return. Every drive is logged, serialized, and tracked. Recovery work happens on isolated, air-gapped systems; your data is never exposed to a network. We deliver recovered files on encrypted external media and securely purge all working copies using DOD 5220.22-M compliant erasure.
G-Technology drives are popular with video production houses, post-production facilities, and photographers working on commercial projects. We handle sensitive creative work regularly. NDAs are available on request.
Shipping
1 Business Day
FedEx Priority Overnight delivers to Austin by 10:30 AM the next business day from most US addresses.
Fully Insured
Use FedEx Declared Value to cover hardware costs. We return your original drive and recovered data on new media.
Related services
Free evaluation for all G-Technology and SanDisk Professional models. We identify the internal HGST/WD drive and failure pattern before quoting. No data, no charge.
