Straightforward, device-by-device guidance on what to do — and what to avoid — the instant a drive gives out.
More data is lost in the aftermath than in the failure itself — by carrying on regardless. Stopping is the most useful thing you can do.
Work through these before ringing anyone. They cost nothing and they frequently end the matter.
Copy your files off now, most important first, onto anything else you own. There is nothing a laboratory adds to a disk you can already read, and a failing drive gets worse every hour it stays in service.
Switch it off and leave it off. Mechanical failure is the one class where your response changes the outcome more than anything we do afterwards.
Cloud version history, Previous Versions, Time Machine, an old external, a copy emailed to somebody. A meaningful share of enquiries end here in five minutes.
On deletions especially. A mechanical drive may hold the file for months; an SSD with TRIM active has usually erased it within minutes.
“You need to format the disk before you can use it.” Windows cannot read the file system. That is not the same as empty. Click cancel — formatting writes over the structures describing your files.
“Data error (cyclic redundancy check).” A sector was read and its checksum did not match. Usually physical degradation, sometimes just a failing cable. Try a different cable before anything else.
“No bootable device found.” The machine found nothing to start from. Frequently a boot configuration problem rather than a dead drive, and the data underneath is often intact.
“File record segment is unreadable.” The NTFS index is damaged. The content is usually fine. Do not let chkdsk repair it if the files matter more than the volume.
Drive shows as unallocated. The partition table has been lost and a full disk looks empty. Do not accept the offer to initialise — that destroys what is needed to work out the original layout.
Soldered Apple storage on a logic board that will not power on. The key is fused into a security chip on that board and cannot be moved.
Encryption without the key or password. BitLocker and FileVault have no back door, and a correctly generated key has no shortcut.
Files TRIMmed off a working SSD. Once the controller has erased those blocks there is nothing left to read.
Current ransomware strains. Nobody decrypts them — what recovers is everything the encryption run missed, which is frequently substantial.
Stop using the device. Whatever the fault, continued use either overwrites what you want back or wears out what is still readable.
On a healthy drive with a logical fault, possibly — installed to a different drive. On a drive making any noise, no. Ring first and we will tell you which you have, free.
No. It is thirty-year-old advice for different engineering, and on a modern drive it introduces condensation into a sealed assembly. It has ended recoveries that would have been routine.
Sound, mostly. Clicking, grinding or a drive that will not spin are mechanical. Silence with no vibration is usually electronic, which is the cheaper end.
Send the bare drive if you are confident removing it. If not, send the machine — we would rather that than a drive damaged during removal.
Nothing. 48 hours to a written verdict with one fixed figure, and an honest no where that applies.