Data recovery

The most important rule

Stop using the drive. Every minute a failing drive spins, and every file written to an erased drive, lowers the odds. Turn it off and bring it in.

How I work

I never work on your original drive. The first step is always a careful, read-only copy of the whole drive to a healthy one, going gently around bad spots. Everything after that happens on the copy, so the original is never made worse by the recovery itself.

Then I look for what is missing: the file system if the drive was formatted or shows as RAW, deleted entries if files were removed, and, as a last resort, the raw shapes of photos and documents scattered across the disk.

Honest odds

Before you commit, you get a straight answer about what is likely to come back. Deleted files from a healthy drive: very good. Formatted drive that was not reused: good. A drive that clicks: often possible with patience, sometimes a lab job. I say which one you have.

What you get back

Your files, on a drive you provide or a new one from me, organized by type and date where the originals lost their names. You review them before the job closes.

Privacy

Your files are your business. I look at file names and thumbnails only as far as the recovery needs, and the working copy is wiped 30 days after you pick up your data (time to tell me if something is missing).