The main concern when a laptop or desktop fails to boot is usually the state of the computer itself. But what you’re really after is the data stored there. Thus, two questions are at issue here. The first question is: Is the computer’s hardware working? The second question is: Are the files intact? If the computer has crashed, blue screens upon startup, or was physically damaged (dropped), it can be that one of the drives has failed or the good drive is behind a dead motherboard or a dead power supply. In either case, we can still do a laptop data recovery, regardless of whether or not the computer will ever function again. Our diagnosis for this service is always complimentary and in most cases you would only pay us for our services should we successfully recover your data.
Doing repeated power cycles or “startup repairs” on a system with a bad hard drive will hurt it. If you cannot get the machine to clean-boot, stop and do not let the drive be harmed. Take the drive out and send it to us, and we’ll image it before we do anything else.
Before we begin, we need to determine if your failure was due to a computer (motherboard) failure, or an actual failure of the hard drive. For example, a failed display, spilled liquid into your machine or a blown power supply circuit could leave your perfectly good drive trapped in a machine that won’t start. In this event, once the drive has been taken out of the computer, all we have to do is read it and recover your files. If however your failure was a result of the hard drive being bad (it clicks, does not show up in BIOS/disk manager, throws read errors, shows blue screens), then that would fall under “drive recovery”. As both appear similar from the outside perspective, the free diagnostic is where we will begin.
When the machine is the problem, the drive itself is usually fine: we create an image of it on our own equipment and return your data, with no need for the dead computer. When the drive is the problem, it’s a full restoration: if you have a mechanical hard drive failure we will physically fix the issue on the bench; if you have a failed SSD we will perform controller-level fixes to make sure your SSD can be imaged properly; then we take a careful image and rebuild from the copy. We only work on drives that have been taken out of the computer, so please remove the drive and send it on its own; we don’t accept complete laptops or PCs. If the storage is soldered to the motherboard, as it is in some modern laptops, it can’t be removed, and unfortunately we can’t recover it.
We’re able to recover all brands of laptop and desktop computers (Dell, HP, Lenovo, ASUS, Acer, MSI, Microsoft Surface and home-built PCs) that are running either Windows or Linux using hard drives, SATA SSDs or NVMe storage. Please take the drive out first and bring or send in just the drive, as we don’t accept complete laptops or computers. A computer repair shop can remove it for you for a small fee if you’d rather not do it yourself.
Very often, yes. Machines that will not turn on frequently have a good drive behind bad boards or power faults. Once the drive has been taken out of the laptop, we image it, and your files are then recovered from the image, independent of the dead machine. In the event the drive itself is dead, we recover the dead drive.
No. In most cases repeated boots and/or automatic repairs by the user on a machine with a dying drive make recovering data much more difficult. Shut down your computer immediately, then we’ll be able to image the drive before you do any further repairs.
Just the drive. Please take it out of the laptop and send it on its own, as we don’t accept complete laptops or computers; if it is encrypted, include your password or recovery key. Where the drive is soldered to the motherboard, as on many newer laptops, it can’t be removed, and unfortunately that means we can’t do the work.
Generally. It will be the drive or the computer itself damaged by a drop; if it’s clicking you’ll want to turn the computer off so we can physically fix it at the workbench for recovery, and if it was the computer that got hurt then usually we’re able to pull your files right away.
Virtually always: generally when a laptop won’t start up it’s due to a health issue with either the hard disk, board or the Windows operating system, not lost data. Once the drive has been taken out, we image it in a read-only mode and take your files from that copy. If the drive is soldered to the board it can’t come out, and we can’t recover it. Do not continue to reinstall Windows as that is how you lose your files.
A free initial assessment followed by a firm, fixed cost quotation for each job prior to commencement of works, and there are no charges at all for the majority of jobs when the data is not recovered. Typically, recovering the data from a good hard drive taken out of a non-working machine will be at a lower set fixed cost. In cases where the hard drive itself has failed we provide a quotation based upon the failure identified as part of the free diagnosis. As soon as you receive an acceptable quotation you can either take the drive to our Leeds address in The Pinnacle (we do not require an appointment) or send us the drive via fully insured postal service from anywhere in Yorkshire. Regardless of which route you decide to use, your drive will be treated entirely in-house by one of our team of dedicated engineers who are responsible for carrying out the analysis and recovery process; it is never contracted out to third parties.
Laptop data recovery near me is one of the top search terms for this business since a laptop that will not turn on (a.k.a. will not “boot”) has an immediate sense of urgency, whereas a spreadsheet rarely creates an urgent need. The good news about laptop data recovery is very dull and stable; the majority of the time the laptop’s data will survive the laptop.
Once you receive a quote for your project, bring your device to the counter at The Pinnacle on Albion Street. You can visit us Monday to Friday between 9am and 5:30pm (no appointments necessary). Alternatively, send your device by insured post. Our data recovery UK services cover all areas of the United Kingdom under the same conditions: free diagnostic, fixed written quote and no charge on most projects unless we recover your data.
Free diagnosis, fixed written quote and no charge on most jobs unless your data is recovered. Stop repeatedly attempting to restart a machine that doesn’t want to run clean; once you obtain a quote, take the drive out and send it to us, and we’ll take care of it from here.