Failed Drives · Computers That Will Not Boot · Dead Devices
If the files matter, stop using the device first.
A failing drive or unstable device can get worse every time it is powered on. If photos, documents, business files, or other data are the priority, stop repeated boot attempts and tell us that data recovery comes first, before any repair is attempted.
Section 01 / First
Stop using the device
This is the single most important thing on this page, and it is free.
Section 02 / Method
How recovery is approached
Recovery is done in an order designed to never make the situation worse. Each stage is reversible until the one after it.
Assessment without powering up
What kind of failure this is gets established before the device is asked to do anything. Mechanical, electronic, logical, and physical damage all need different handling, and guessing wrong at this stage is what makes data unrecoverable.
Stabilise the hardware
If the fault is electronic, the board is repaired enough to read from safely. On liquid damage the corrosion is cleaned first, because residue that is still conductive can short the storage itself during a read attempt.
Image before working
Wherever possible a copy is taken first and all further work happens on the copy, not the original. A failing drive may only give you one good read, and it should be spent making an image rather than browsing folders.
Soldered storage and board-level recovery
Modern phones and most current MacBooks solder their storage directly to the board, so there is no drive to remove. Recovery becomes board work: repairing the device far enough to read from its own storage. This is the case most shops cannot take on.
Section 03 / Situations
When recovery is on the table
Section 04 / Devices
What I recover from
Section 05 / Pricing
What recovery costs
Recovery is quoted case by case, because the work depends entirely on what kind of failure it turns out to be.
Diagnostic
Credited toward an approved recovery. Covers the assessment needed to identify what failed.
Logical and electronic recovery
Drives that do not mount, failed controllers, and deleted or formatted data. Priced after assessment.
Board-level recovery
Soldered storage on phones and modern MacBooks, where the device itself must be repaired enough to read from.
You get the assessment, the price, and an honest answer about what is achievable. No data recovery is guaranteed, and if the job needs a more specialised recovery lab you will be told that.
(646) 656-7886Section 06 / Questions
Before you book
Should I try recovery software first?
Not if the data genuinely matters. Recovery software writes to the drive while it reads from it, and on a drive that is physically failing it also forces repeated read attempts that accelerate the damage. It can work on a healthy drive with deleted files. On a failing one it frequently removes the last chance at the data.
My drive is clicking. Is that bad?
Yes, and it is the one case where every minute counts. Clicking means mechanical failure in progress, and each spin-up does more physical damage to the surfaces holding your files. Power it down and leave it down.
Can you get photos off a phone that will not turn on?
Often. Phone storage is soldered to the board, so this is board-level work rather than removing a drive, and it is exactly the case most shops cannot take. Tell me it is a recovery when you book so nothing is attempted that could put the data at risk first.
Is recovery guaranteed?
No, and anyone promising otherwise before seeing the device is guessing. What you get is an honest assessment of the odds before any money goes toward the work, and the reasoning behind it.
The device also needs repairing. Which happens first?
Recovery, always, if the data matters. Say so at intake and the diagnostic order changes to put the files first.
Book
Tell us the data is the priority before the device is powered on again.
Bring the device or drive to the Massapequa shop for assessment. $40 diagnostic credited toward an approved recovery.