Need Help Restoring My Son’s PS5 External Storage After an Accident

I accidentally messed up my son's PS5 external storage while trying to discipline him. A few weeks ago, I pulled everything off the wall during a moment of frustration, including the PlayStation and the external hard drive. Now that he's been ungrounded, he can't access any of his games anymore. He can see them in his library, but after attempting to redownload them and following various YouTube fixes, nothing has worked. I've reached out to some data recovery services, but their prices range from $500 to $2000. Is there a more affordable or easier way to resolve this issue? I didn't intend for him to lose access to his six years' worth of games during his punishment.