Helium Drive Data Recovery
Helium-sealed hard drives (12TB and above) require different handling than standard atmospheric drives. Not every failure requires breaking the hermetic seal. We evaluate your drive, handle firmware and electronic repairs in-house, and refer mechanical cases to labs with the sealed glovebox infrastructure these drives require.
What We Handle vs. What We Refer
In-House: Firmware and Electronic Failures
Many helium drive failures are firmware corruption, PCB component failure, or Service Area damage. These do not require opening the hermetic seal. We diagnose and repair these using PC-3000 with the appropriate Hitachi/HGST, Seagate, or WD modules.
- ✓Firmware corruption and Service Area repair
- ✓PCB component-level repair (motor driver IC, TVS diode, preamp power)
- ✓ROM extraction and transplant (seal stays intact)
- ✓Adaptive parameter correction via PC-3000
Referred: Mechanical Platter-Level Intervention
If the drive has failed read/write heads, motor seizure, or platter damage, the hermetic seal must be breached. Helium drives cannot be safely opened on a standard laminar flow bench. The read/write heads are aerodynamically tuned for helium's low density; replacing the helium with atmospheric air causes immediate head-platter contact.
Safe mechanical intervention requires a sealed glovebox environment purged and backfilled with helium or inert gas. We refer these cases to partner labs with that infrastructure rather than attempt work that would damage your data.
- ➜Head stack replacement (requires glovebox)
- ➜Motor or bearing failure (requires seal breach)
- ➜Platter damage or scoring
Why Honest Assessment Matters
Some labs advertise helium drive recovery without the glovebox infrastructure to do it safely. Opening a helium drive on a standard bench and powering it on in atmospheric air will cause the heads to crash, stripping the magnetic coating from the platters and rendering data permanently unrecoverable. A failed recovery attempt on a helium drive is not just unsuccessful; it destroys any chance of a second attempt.
We evaluate every helium drive that comes in. If the failure is firmware or electronic, we fix it in-house at standard pricing. If it requires mechanical intervention, we tell you that up front and connect you with a lab that has the correct equipment. We do not take money for work we cannot do safely.
Helium Drive Recovery FAQ
Can helium drives be recovered?
It depends on the failure mode. Firmware corruption, PCB failures, and other electronic issues that do not require breaking the hermetic seal can be handled with PC-3000 tooling. Mechanical failures requiring the seal to be opened need a sealed glovebox environment backfilled with helium or inert gas to maintain correct head fly-height. We refer mechanical helium cases to partner labs with that infrastructure.
Why can't you just open a helium drive on a laminar flow bench?
Helium has roughly one-seventh the density of atmospheric air. The read/write head sliders inside a helium drive are aerodynamically designed to fly at a specific height in that low-density gas. If atmospheric air replaces the helium, aerodynamic lift changes and the heads crash into the platters, stripping the magnetic substrate. A standard laminar flow bench pushes filtered atmospheric air; it does not maintain a helium atmosphere.
Which drives are helium-filled?
Helium technology is standard in drives 14TB and larger, though many 12TB enterprise models also use it. Note that some modern 12TB consumer NAS drives (like WD Red Plus) are now air-filled. Look for the welded seal to confirm. Common models include the Western Digital Ultrastar DC series, Seagate Exos X-series, and Toshiba MG enterprise drives. Look for a smooth, welded metal lid with no visible screws on the top cover.
What does it cost?
Firmware-level recovery on helium drives where the seal stays intact ranges from $300 to $600, consistent with our standard pricing. Mechanical cases requiring glovebox intervention at a partner lab carry higher costs. Contact us for an evaluation; we will tell you which category your drive falls into before any work begins.
Get an Honest Evaluation
Send us your helium drive. We will tell you whether it needs firmware repair (in-house) or mechanical intervention (partner referral). No data, no charge.