Data recovery from damaged drives, with method and discretion.
When a drive, a NAS or a RAID array stops working, the first moves matter: we copy the drive before any attempt, recover what can be recovered and then fix the cause, so it doesn't happen again.
The first instinct is to try again. It's also the most dangerous.
The drive makes noises, the NAS reports a degraded volume, a partition won't open. It's tempting to reboot, run a recovery program found online, rebuild the RAID from the control panel. Every attempt writes to the drive or keeps it spinning, and on a drive with mechanical damage it can destroy data that is still readable today.
From the first call to verified files.
- 01
Assessment and stop
You tell us what happened and we tell you straight away what not to do: switch off the drive or NAS, don't write to it, don't initialise it, don't swap RAID disks at random. Then we assess the media and work out whether the failure is logical or physical.
- 02
Copy before anything else
Before any attempt we make a sector-by-sector image of the drive onto our own media, read only. We always work on the copy: the original stays as it is.
- 03
Logical recovery in house
Deleted files, corrupted partitions, drives formatted by mistake, RAID arrays and NAS units that won't mount: we handle these ourselves, rebuilding the data structure from the copy.
- 04
Physical damage, in a clean room
If the drive clicks, won't spin or has damaged heads, we don't open it: we send it to specialised clean-room labs that we choose and check, and follow the work until the drive comes back.
- 05
Verification and prevention
We check the recovered files with you, folder by folder, and hand them over on a new drive. Then we fix the cause: backups following the 3-2-1 rule, NAS with monitored disks, a copy in the cloud.
Your files and a way not to lose them again.
Nobody can say in advance what can be recovered from a damaged drive. We tell you after the assessment, before going ahead, and you decide.
When the data has no copy.
Professional firms
Case files, accounts and client documents on a PC or an external drive.
Healthcare providers
Health data on NAS units and workstations, to be handled with the utmost confidentiality.
Companies with NAS and servers
Degraded RAID arrays, volumes that won't mount, NAS units that won't restart after an update or a power cut.
Recovering data is half the job. The other half is the backup.
A recovery must be done calmly and methodically, but the real result is never having to do it again. We look after NAS units, servers and backups for companies and healthcare providers every day: after the recovery we organise your data so that a broken drive becomes a part to replace, not an emergency. And we handle it with the confidentiality GDPR requires, all the more so when it's health data.
Before you touch the drive.
Can you recover everything?
Not always, and nobody can promise it before seeing the drive. After the assessment we tell you what is realistic and what isn't, and you decide whether to go ahead.
What should I do right now?
Switch off the drive or NAS and stop using it. Don't install recovery software on the same drive, don't format, don't start a RAID rebuild. Then call us.
Will my data stay confidential?
Yes. We act as data processor under GDPR, with a written agreement, and require the same guarantees from the labs we send physically damaged drives to. Working copies are securely deleted at the end of the job.
How long does it take?
It depends on the failure: a logical recovery is usually quicker than lab work. We tell you after the assessment.