A database can fail without a single disk dying — a corrupt SQL or Exchange file after a power cut, a suspect database that won’t mount, a table that returns errors, or a set of files lost when the drive underneath them failed. We recover and repair databases at the file level and, where the storage has failed too, recover the underlying disks first. Whether it’s SQL Server database recovery, Exchange, MySQL or Access, the diagnosis is free and no-recovery-no-fee applies.
Repeated repair, restore or “emergency mode” attempts on a corrupt database can overwrite the intact pages. Take a copy of the files as they are and let us work from that copy.
Most database emergencies are logical, not physical. A power loss or crash mid-write leaves a SQL MDF or Exchange EDB internally inconsistent — the file is there, but the engine flags it suspect and refuses to mount. Sometimes it’s a truncated or missing transaction log, sometimes page-level corruption from failing storage, sometimes a deletion or a botched migration. And where the drive itself has failed, the database files come back only once the storage is recovered. The common thread is that built-in “repair with data loss” options often discard exactly the records you needed.
We always work from a copy of the database files, never the live originals. From there we repair the internal structure — rebuilding page links, extracting tables and mailboxes directly where the engine won’t mount the file, and reconciling the log where it survives. Where the storage failed, the disks or array are imaged and recovered first, and the database files lifted from the recovered volume. The aim is always a clean, consistent restore of your actual records, not a repaired-but-lossy shell.
We handle Microsoft SQL Server (MDF/LDF), Exchange (EDB), MySQL/MariaDB, PostgreSQL, Oracle and Access databases, and the file shares and backups around them. Send the full set of database and log files, and where the fault is storage-related, the drive or server they lived on so we can recover the source.
Usually, yes. “Suspect” normally means internal inconsistency after a crash, not lost data — the file is intact underneath. We work from a copy to repair the structure or extract the tables directly, aiming for a clean restore rather than a lossy repair.
We’d advise against it until you have a copy. Options like SQL’s repair-with-data-loss or Exchange’s hard repair can discard the very records you need. Copy the database and log files as they are, and let us work from that copy.
Yes — that becomes a two-part job: we image and recover the failed drive or array first, then lift and repair the database files from the recovered volume. Send the drive or server along with the details of the database.
Often, yes. Where the engine won’t mount the file at all, we can extract individual tables or Exchange mailboxes directly from the copy, which is frequently enough to get you the records that matter most.
A free diagnosis first, always — then a fixed written quote before any work begins, and no fee at all on most jobs if the data doesn’t come back. Database repair is typically a fixed price once we’ve seen the files; where a failed drive has to be recovered first, that part is quoted after the free diagnosis. Drop your device at our Leeds address in The Pinnacle, or post it in fully insured from anywhere in Yorkshire; whichever route it takes, it’s handled in-house by our own engineers and never outsourced.
Free diagnosis, a fixed quote in writing, and no fee on most jobs unless your data comes back. Stop running repair, take a copy of the files as they are, and get them to us.