Searched “data recovery near me”? What you want isn't a local shop; you want an actual in-house service, with the right tools and care to ensure data safety. We operate across all of Cambridgeshire. Getting here is also simple; after getting a quote for your lost files, just bring the drive in to us (no prior booking necessary) or post it to us using full insurance cover.
We are located at Compass House, Vision Park, Cambridge CB24 9AD and are available Monday to Friday from 9am until 5:30pm. No appointment is required when dropping off.
This page exists because it is what people search for, and the word is misleading in a way that costs money.
Hard drives that have failed cannot be repaired and returned to service. No one can. Hard drives equipped with donor heads (or boards) are devices used once to read your data off; they are recovery tools, not disks upon which to store anything afterwards.
Therefore when someone promises to “repair” your hard drive, one of two things happens. Either they have used the term loosely, meaning recovery (which is commonplace and harmless), or they intend to return to you a working-looking drive to keep using, which is something you should never pay any price to buy.
What you really want is the data. The disk is a total loss as soon as it fails, and every honest conversation about it starts there.
A general computer repair shop would typically attempt to make a machine operational again. If they encounter a failing drive they will perform a file system repair, reinstall the operating system or clone readable data from a failing drive to another disk. Each of these procedures can be a reasonable solution depending on whether the ultimate goal is simply to have an operational computer.
Each of these will also write to a disk which has already started to fail, and with a drive that sheds surface, you will frequently find that the write operation fails. There are many cases in which we have only partially recovered data for customers who tried to fix the drive themselves. The data was recoverable when the drive failed; however, once someone has attempted to recover the data, considerably less of it can be recovered.
If the data is worth less than the equipment, use a professional repair service. If the data is worth more than the equipment, recovery of data has to take place first; repair of equipment second.
The one instruction that matters most. Turn off the drive immediately as soon as it makes a new noise, and leave it off. Don't wait until you finish whatever you were doing. The amount of time it ran from when it started making a new noise affects the outcome more than anything else you do afterwards.
Cards & USB media from £250 +VAT, single hard drive / SSD / external from £300 +VAT. RAID / NAS / server arrays from £500 +VAT. All figures will be agreed upon in writing after a free 48-hour diagnostic and will remain the same thereafter.
In most cases you only pay if we recover your data. In other instances where a drive needs to be opened up or donor parts are needed, the costs for such items are committed to at the beginning; therefore, a 50% deposit is required upfront, with the balance paid only upon success. You are advised whether this is applicable prior to agreeing to proceed.
The electronics portion of the job can be completed. The mechanical portion can also be done, with the drive working long enough for the data to be retrieved. Neither results in a working hard disk (drive) for you to use after the repair has been performed. Any suggestion otherwise by a company performing repairs should raise an eyebrow of suspicion.
Both are the same work and receive the same pricing structure; however, what you receive back at the end of the job varies. In this case, you would receive your data saved to a new medium instead of a hard drive with a limited future.
There is a good chance that the shop will be able to successfully complete the repair. When discussing this option, make sure to ask about what will happen to your data if they cannot fix it. Also, enquire as to whether or not they will write any information to the existing hard drive prior to providing you with a copy of your data.
Your data can be recovered. Turn off the drive immediately: each additional time it is turned on increases the risk of damaging the platters within the existing hard drive. Such damage is the one truly irreversible outcome in this work.
Once we receive your approval, it takes one to two business days (never more than four, donor work included). You will receive a specific completion date at the time of the initial diagnosis as opposed to later.
On most jobs, there will be no charge for our services. If your existing hard drive requires disassembly in order for us to retrieve your lost files, your deposit covers our expenses, and the balance is not payable. You will be provided with a realistic assessment of the chances of retrieving your lost files during our diagnostic phase.