Hard Drive Repair in Glendale, CA
Typical price · From $95
Here's the honest version: once a hard drive has physically failed, it usually can't be repaired. Anyone promising to fix the disk itself is overselling. What we actually do is recover your data off the failing drive and migrate it onto a new one, so you get your files back and a working computer. That typically runs $95 to $350 depending on how bad the failure is — but that's an estimate, not a quote. The real number comes after the $75 diagnostic, and nothing proceeds until you approve it.
- Diagnosis first: a $75 bench diagnostic identifies the actual fault before any work is quoted, and it applies toward your repair.
- From $95 is a starting estimate, not a quote — the firm price comes after the diagnostic, and nothing proceeds until you approve it.
- Typical turnaround is 1-3 days, depending on parts availability and how severe the fault turns out to be.
- Backed by a 30-day labor warranty, with parts warranty depending on the parts source. Steve has done this work for 35+ years.
Scope
What we fix
- Clicking, grinding, or buzzing coming from the drive
- SMART warning or "impending drive failure" message at startup
- Computer takes several minutes to boot, or hangs on the logo
- Drive is detected in BIOS but the OS won't load
- Frequent freezes and crashes traced to a failing disk
- Old spinning hard drive you want replaced with an SSD
- External or portable drive that won't mount
- You want everything moved across without reinstalling from scratch
Pricing
What it costs
Prices include all fees. 3% discount for cash or check. Diagnostic is $75 and applied toward the repair.
Diagnostic — drive health, SMART, recoverability
Price$75
TurnaroundSame day
Data recovery from a failing drive
PriceFrom $100
Turnaround1-3 days
New drive + full data migration
PriceFrom $150
Turnaround1-2 days
HDD to SSD upgrade, including the drive
PriceFrom $175
Turnaround1-2 days
Fresh OS install on a new drive
PriceFrom $125
Turnaround1-2 days
All pricing figures listed are starting estimates. A firm quote is provided after our $75 diagnostic inspection, which applies directly toward your total repair cost.
Final cost depends on the condition of your device and the severity of the failure, which we can only assess in person. Nothing proceeds until you approve the quote. Save 3% when you pay with cash or check.
Honest scope
What we don't do
We don't open drives with head or platter damage — that needs a clean room, and opening one on a normal bench can permanently destroy the data. If your drive needs that level of work, we'll tell you during the diagnostic and point you to a specialist rather than take a swing at it. We also won't claim we can “fix” a mechanically dead disk. If the data is unreachable, you'll hear that plainly instead of paying us to discover it slowly. For deeper file-rescue work on drives that won't power up at all, see data recovery.
Why Technoland
Where we're different
- 01
We check whether the drive is actually the problem before selling you one — a slow computer isn't always a failing disk.
- 02
Recovery first, then migration: your files, programs, and settings come across so there's nothing to set back up.
- 03
35+ years of drives through the shop, from IDE spinners to modern NVMe.
- 04
Every price here is an estimate. You get a firm quote after the diagnostic, and we don't start until you say go.
Steve told me my old laptop wasn't worth fixing, instead of charging me to find out. That's the only kind of repair shop I trust.
— Margarita V., Glendale
FAQ
Frequently asked
Usually not, and we'd rather say so up front. Once a drive has failed mechanically — motor, read head, platters — the disk itself isn't repairable outside a clean room. What can be done is recovering the data off it and moving that data to a new drive. Some logical problems (a corrupted file system or damaged boot record) genuinely are fixable in place, and the diagnostic tells us which situation you're in.
The $75 diagnostic is the only fixed number. Beyond that, data recovery typically starts around $100 and a new drive plus full migration typically starts around $150, but both depend heavily on the drive's condition and how severe the failure is. Ranges on this page are estimates to help you budget — you get a firm quote after the diagnostic, and nothing proceeds without your approval.
Not if the old drive is still readable. We recover what's on it and migrate it to the new drive, so your programs, files, and settings come across and the computer looks the same, just faster. If the old drive is too far gone to read, we'll tell you before we start and talk through recovery options and what they'd cost.
On most computers made in the last ten years, yes — it's the single biggest speed improvement available, usually more noticeable than adding RAM. A machine that took two minutes to boot often starts in under twenty seconds. If the computer is old enough that other parts are failing too, we'll tell you honestly whether the money is worth spending.
Common warning signs: the computer takes much longer to start than it used to, programs freeze for no reason, you hear clicking or grinding, or a SMART warning appears at startup. Any of those are worth a diagnostic — a drive caught while it's still readable is far cheaper and safer to deal with than one that's already gone.
The diagnostic is usually same-day. Recovery and migration are typically one to three days. Copying a large drive is the slow part — a nearly-full 2TB drive takes several hours regardless of how fast we work. If a drive is badly degraded, reading it safely takes longer, and we'll tell you that when we quote.
Where we serve
Hard Drive Data Recovery & Drive Replacement near you
Related repairs
Ready when you are
Walk in or call Steve.
Most repairs quoted within 30 minutes. Diagnostic is free when you book the repair.