Step-by-step instructions specific to each individual device, guiding you through both the correct and incorrect actions from the time when storage begins failing. Drawn from more than two decades of in-house recovery, because many times the initial choice made regarding a failed device determines if its data may be recovered or returned.
More data is lost within the few minutes following a failure than was actually lost due to the failure itself, merely by proceeding. These rules apply to every device listed on this web-page.
Regardless of what device you have to recover from, follow these 5 basic steps to protect your data and maximise the chances of recovering as much of it as possible, before attempting anything else.
Each time you save files or add photos to your device, the data from those files can overwrite existing files that may still contain valuable information. Set the device in question aside until such time as you are ready to begin the recovery process.
If your hard drive begins making noise (clicking, beeping), refuses to spin, etc., then power it down immediately. With many types of failure, every attempt to use a failing hard drive increases the likelihood of rendering any remaining good sectors permanently damaged.
Do not run data recovery or "repair" software against a physically failing hard drive. The continued motion of the platters and heads will pound upon the already weakened areas of the drive and ultimately render what was once a recoverable drive into an unrecoverable one.
While there are numerous theories regarding how to prevent further damage when a hard drive fails (such as placing the drive in a freezer, opening the enclosure or swapping the circuit board), none of these should be attempted because they often cause more damage than they would ever prevent.
After you get a quote, you may drop off your items (without an appointment) or post them to us via fully-insured postal service. We will inform you of what can be recovered from your item(s), and the costs associated with this recovery before any services are performed.
Select one of the options below to learn about some typical indicators of potential failure, the do's and don'ts regarding recovering data from each type of storage device, and how the actual process of recovery works on each type of storage device.
A mechanical hard disk drive has two very different types of failures. One type is logical; such as deleting files, formatting, or file system corruption. These types of failures usually do not damage the physical components of the unit, and are typically easier and safer to recover from. The other type of failure is physical; i.e., failed head assemblies, seized motors, damaged electronic circuits. This type of failure requires the unit to be disassembled (bench testing), and a poor initial decision can cause further damage and potentially render the unit unrecoverable. Therefore, determining whether you have experienced a logical or physical failure is more than half the battle.
We have a laboratory in the UK where we carry out all the necessary hardware recovery work ourselves: finding matching donor heads and parts, sector-by-sector imaging of failing drives, and recovering damaged file systems.
More on hard drive recovery →Unlike hard-drives, solid-state drives have no moving parts so therefore will never make a clicking or grinding noise while in operation; instead they fail suddenly and without warning. The most common ways that SSDs may fail include failure of the controller, fault in the firmware and "sudden death." Two factors that distinguish SSDs from hard-drives are: TRIM which deletes data from a solid-state disk for permanent deletion within minutes; and the natural wear down of charge from flash memory if left powered off for long periods of time.
Our engineers will work at the controller level with dead SSDs: read the NAND in technical mode, rebuild the translator tables to bring back the data.
More on SSD & NVMe recovery →An external hard drive is basically a "box" around an internal (hard) drive or solid state drive (SSD). It can fail for many of the same reasons as an internal drive (e.g., head crash, failure of the spindle motor), and has two additional potential failures: the printed circuit board (PCB) connecting the USB port to the SATA connector, and any of the numerous different types of onboard (hardware-based) encryption modules many external enclosures provide without being asked. Encryption is also why simply removing the enclosure from the drive (shucking the drive) and reading it directly often results in nothing but scrambled data.
In our own UK laboratory we repair dropped units with bad motors, bad heads, and we can also get back into failed bridge boards and get back into encrypted bridge volumes.
More on external drive recovery →A USB stick is nothing but a piece of flash memory sitting on top of a tiny controller chip. The good news is that usually if a USB stick fails, it is either the controller chip itself or a broken connector which has caused it to fail whereas the actual memory containing all of your files is still alive and kicking. The down side is that the controller chip scrambles those files, so they are impossible to retrieve without highly technical, specialist help... far beyond what any "repair" software would be able to do.
When we say "reading the memory chip," what this really means is that we take the memory chip out of the device (in most cases), or connect directly to a monolithic stick's internal test pads (if applicable). At that point, we rebuild your entire file structure by reading those files straight off the original memory chips' "flash."
More on USB stick recovery →There are two main ways for memory cards to become damaged: when the card is pulled out or your camera suddenly cuts out while writing, or if you accidentally format the memory card inside the camera. In both of these situations, the good news is that you likely still have access to all of your images and videos; however, you probably cannot see them because of how the device is looking at where they were stored. The key is not to overwrite them before they can be recovered.
We take an image of the card, carve out the images and video based upon their file signatures, and then recreate the original folder hierarchy, for cards including SD, microSD, CF, and XQD.
More on memory card recovery →There are two main hurdles when recovering files from a recent Mac computer. First, the new file system introduced by Apple called APFS (Apple File System) can become corrupted due to an unsuccessful update. Secondly, there is the T2/Apple Silicon security chip, which is the encryption controller to the internal storage (usually attached directly to the logic board). Your data is available to be read only while this logic board continues working properly, and only as long as you have access to the encryption keys.
To create an exact replica (image) of encrypted Mac storage, to fix damaged APFS containers, and to access FileVault volumes with your key, we work at the lowest level of Mac hardware.
More on Mac & MacBook recovery →When a Windows PC/laptop fails to boot, your files are usually intact. The issue is if the drive itself is on its way out vs. just if the OS is malfunctioning. If you treat both as the same, this is why recoverable data can be lost.
We create an image of the drive in order to restore from dying mechanical hard drives and non-functioning SSDs regardless of brand: Dell, HP, Lenovo, etc.
More on laptop & PC recovery →RAID arrays and NAS devices provide redundancy for surviving if one disk fails; however, they do not represent backups. When another disk fails or when a rebuild occurs on a weakened disk it will be difficult to survive the damage. The worst thing you could possibly do is allow the array to build/rebuild/initialise onto a disk that is also damaged/failed. This can destroy the same information/data that you were trying to recover.
In our recovery process, we make an image copy of each disk as "read-only", determine the stripe, parity and order of the disks using software, and then repair the underlying file system, no matter what manufacturer made the unit.
More on RAID recovery →The most cost-effective method of protecting your data is preventing data loss altogether. A few good practices will protect your data long before anything breaks.
Keep three identical copies of all important files on at least two types of storage media, and store one backup either off site or in the cloud. Don't rely on a single drive to back up your information.
If a backup has never been recovered from, it's nothing more than hopeful thinking. Every now and then, open a file from your backup and verify that it opens successfully.
In many cases, odd sounds (whirring, clicking), recurring freezings of a device, failure to access/launch certain files or SMART (Self-Monitoring, Analysis & Reporting Technology) alerts are signs that a hard disk needs backing up and replacing prior to a complete collapse/failure.
Since TRIM is able to clear space on an SSD in just minutes after deleting data from the SSD, be quick to recover deleted items. Also, don't store one unpowered for months as your backup alone; as time goes by, flash memory will lose its charge over time.
Drive killers include impacts, extreme temperatures (heat or cold), liquid exposure, and static electricity. Cushion them, keep them cool and dry, turn them off when physically moving them, and discharge yourself of static electricity before touching any exposed board.
Surge protectors are effective at preventing surges/spikes/cutting electrical current abruptly which can cause corruption of file systems and burnout of circuit boards. Desktops and NAS units are even better protected by Uninterruptible Power Supplies (UPS).
Many "quick fixes" found online today can actually create more problems than they solve. We see a lot of damaged drives due to users trying these types of solutions.
All recoveries start with a complimentary written diagnostic. We will let you know what is recoverable and how much it will cost before we begin any billable work, and in most cases you only pay if we recover your data.