Jul 23, 2023 
Table of contents
We aren’t always our most cautious selves when trying to plug in the power cord to our external hard drives. Oftentimes it is too late before we realize our blunder. The next thing we know, our external hard drives won’t power up. Alternatively, the enclosure light would blink but with no further follow-up. Naturally, this is quite a precarious situation to get yourself entangled in. The sooner you can come across a workable solution, the better.
In this article, we will be discussing possible remedies for when you plug in the wrong power supply to an external hard drive and cannot seem to turn it back on anymore. The quintessential question that arises in such situations is: is your data lost for good now? Well, if you are at the fixing end of things, unfortunately, the answer errs more towards an affirmative. But the good news is, there is an easy and certain way of recovering data from an external hard drive that has been disrupted by the wrong power cord.
What if you plugged in the wrong power supply?
First things first. There is no such thing as “too high amps” because a device draws only as much current (amps) as is needed. You could be using a power supply that can draw 50,000 amps. Yet your device will only use however much it will need. What matters is the voltage. Usually, a little amount of higher voltage can be overlooked. However, if the voltage is too high, you risk burning your device out.
If your external hard drive is not powering up due to high voltages being fed to it by a wrong power supply, chances are swapping the enclosure won’t do much. Short of replacing the circuit board, nothing much will lead to a positive outcome.
How to fix the external hard drive?
Usually, the enclosure braves the overvoltage since it has pretty straightforward, simple circuitry. The drive inside becomes the casualty. This is also why simply swapping the enclosure might not be of any help. Replacing the enclosure could not solve the problem? It could be your TVS diodes that bore the brunt of the crisis. The TVS diodes are meant to offer protection from overvoltage, and if it stops spinning, you could be in for some trouble.
To confirm whether it is the TVS diode, we suggest removing the drive from the enclosure and connecting it directly to any PC internally. If your PC fails to power on with the drive in it, be sure that your TVS has been damaged. And if it turns on, rest assured it is your enclosure, and a simple swap will fix it.
In case your PC does not turn on with the hard drive, you might need to replace the PCB (Printed Circuit Board). For that, you must find the exact model of the PCB that was there in the hard drive before it went south. As for the data inside, chances are it is long lost. That is unless you take it a step further and send it to a data recovery company.
How to recover lost data from an external hard drive
Have important data on the external hard drive that you wish to retain? The best and surest way to achieve so is by sending your external hard drive to a data recovery company with ample experience and resources.
A data recovery company attempts to recover data from storage devices that have been damaged or corrupted. This can be done through a variety of means, including physical repairs, data reconstruction, and data extraction.
The best part about this process is that you do not necessarily need to physically make your way to the company office. You can simply mail your external hard drive to the data recovery company through one of the trusted shipping companies operable in your area and ask the company for an estimated date of return.
Wait it out and let the experts handle your device with the utmost care and precision. In no time, your device will be back to you with all your data intact.
How to choose a data recovery company?
Nowadays, you might find tons of addresses online for data recovery companies but beware of virtual offices. There is a common trend among data recovery companies. They establish virtual offices at a physical location where they receive their mail. But when you make your way there, chances are you won’t see anything resembling a data recovery office.
There is no way to ensure the addresses you see online aren’t necessarily physical offices. So it makes more sense to prioritize the best data recovery company instead of the nearest one. Either way, there is never any guarantee that the nearest data recovery company is the best in what they do. And when it comes to your precious data, it is best handled by the best among the best.
Spend some time researching the best data recovery companies and settle on the one that has a great record in the field you wish to get your work done. Then simply mail your external hard drive in, and you are good to go!