Frequently Asked Questions

There are two ways: fill out our printable shipping form and send your media by post or courier, or drop it off at the Disk Doctors data recovery lab nearest to you.

Make sure the hard disk is securely packaged. Use a sturdy box, wrap the drive in an antistatic bag if you have one, and cushion it well with foam or bubble wrap.

First a free evaluation assesses the media. We then send you a fixed price and assessment report for approval. Once approved, we recover the data using our proprietary tools and techniques, prepare a file list for your review, and once you're satisfied, deliver your recovered data. See our full data recovery process for more detail.

We provide a fixed cost after a free evaluation, subject to your approval. Price depends on the issue with the media, the operating system, and the capacity of the drive. As a general guide, recovery starts from £199.

Free evaluation typically takes 2-6 hours after we receive your media. For final delivery we offer standard (10 business days), expedite (5 business days), rush (2-4 days, including weekends) and emergency (24-48 hours where possible) options.

Recovery is carried out with the utmost care. Your media is replicated bit by bit and all recovery work happens on the replica, so the original faulty media stays intact. Physically damaged media is repaired in a Class 100 cleanroom to avoid any contamination.

A free evaluation report tells you the exact issue with your media, a fixed price for recovery, and a turnaround time. There's no obligation, and you can decide whether to proceed.

You can email us back with your decision, or sign the evaluation report and return it to us.

No Recovery, No Charge - there is no charge if we fail to recover your data. The one exception is overwritten data, where recovery is provided on an as-is basis.

A successful data recovery means your critical data has been recovered and verified as healthy and accessible.

We'll let you know in advance if recovery is only partial. A file list is still sent for your review with the recovery clearly explained, and you can choose to accept the data on an as-is basis and pay the agreed price, or decline the file list and pay nothing.

You can choose the media for your data copy, including CDs, DVDs, or an internal or external hard drive with IDE or SATA interface. Small amounts of data can also be sent via email.

Yes, faulty media is always returned to you. We also offer a discount if you don't want it back - just let us know in advance.

We typically use Royal Mail Special Delivery with tracking for UK dispatch, though FedEx, DHL, City Link and UPS are available on request. In-person collection can also be arranged. All international dispatch is handled through FedEx.

We keep a copy of your recovered data on our secure servers for 10 days after it is released or collected, so we can provide another copy free of charge if anything happens to it during the postal process.

Yes. Our premises require authorised access via swipe cards and door codes, and our recovery agreement includes non-disclosure of your data under UK law. We're also happy to sign a separate NDA on request.

Often, yes. A drive that isn't detected may have a logical fault, such as a corrupted file system or lost partition, or a physical one, such as a failed read/write head or circuit board. Stop retrying the drive and power it down, as repeated attempts can make a physical fault worse. Our hard drive data recovery engineers will confirm the cause with a free evaluation, so you know what can be recovered before you pay.

With a logical failure, the drive works mechanically but the data is inaccessible because of corruption, accidental deletion, formatting or a lost partition. A physical failure means a hardware fault such as clicking, head or motor failure, or damage from a drop or water. Physical failures need professional data recovery in a Class 100 cleanroom, while logical failures are usually recovered from a secure image of the drive.

No. This old myth can cause condensation inside the drive and damage the platters, making recovery harder or impossible. If your drive is clicking or not detected, power it off and speak to a data recovery company before trying anything else.

Usually, yes. A computer that won't boot often has a failing drive, a corrupted operating system or a damaged file system, and the files may be intact. Don't reinstall Windows or reset the machine, as that can overwrite your data. Contact us for a free evaluation: our laptop data recovery team offers data recovery services in the UK with free tracked collection.

Yes. Our SSD data recovery service covers NVMe drives, firmware faults and controller failures. Switch the device off as soon as you notice a problem. Recovering deleted files from an SSD is often harder than from a hard drive because of how SSDs clear deleted data, so the sooner you stop using it the better.

Yes. Our Mac data recovery service covers failed MacBooks, iMacs and Mac minis. Newer MacBooks often use soldered, encrypted storage, so professional data recovery depends on the model and the fault. The free evaluation tells you what is possible before you pay anything.

Power the array down. Don't keep rebuilding, re-initialise the array or swap drives around, because that can overwrite the data you need. Note which drive sat in which bay, then contact our RAID data recovery team for emergency advice. Acting early gives you the best chance of a full recovery.

Yes. Our NAS data recovery service covers NAS, SAN and DAS devices from Buffalo, LaCie, Synology, Dell, HP and others. Our RAID data recovery engineers also handle failures involving multiple disks. Don't re-initialise the NAS or reset the volume, as that can make the original data unrecoverable.

In many cases, yes, even when the card says "needs formatting" or isn't detected. Stop using it straight away and don't format it, since new data can overwrite your photos. See our memory card data recovery and USB flash drive data recovery services for more detail.

Often, yes, as long as the data hasn't been overwritten. Stop using the device immediately, because every new file you save reduces your chances, and don't install recovery software onto the same drive. Our deleted file recovery specialists can assess it for free. On an SSD, deleted files are less likely to be recoverable, so SSD data recovery is best attempted as early as possible.

Often, yes. Drops, power surges and liquid spillage are physical faults, and our hard drive data recovery engineers carry out the internal work in a Class 100 cleanroom. Don't try to dry the drive or power it on. Send it to us as it is.

Disconnect the device from your network, and don't wipe or reinstall it. A professional data recovery evaluation will confirm if the data can be recovered from a ransomware attack, however, if the ransomware has used high-level encryption, it may become difficult to restore or recover the data.

We start with a free evaluation that identifies the fault and gives you a firm quote. Once recovery is done, you review a list of the recoverable files before you approve payment, so you can confirm your important files are there first. As a London-based data recovery company offering No Recovery, No Charge, that is how we keep your risk low.

Yes. Our data recovery services in the UK include Emergency service, which can complete in 24-48 hours where possible, and Rush service, which runs 2-4 days with engineers working weekends. See our support options or call us to check which level fits your case.

Yes. For data recovery in London, you can bring your device to our lab at 76 Watling Street, LondonEC4M 9BJ, or use our free tracked UK collection from anywhere in the country. Please contact us first so we can arrange it.

Your recovered data is returned on the media you choose, and every case is handled confidentially in line with UK GDPR. We keep a backup copy for 10 days after the data is released or collected, in case anything is lost in transit, then it is deleted from our lab server. That is how our professional data recovery service protects your data from first contact to final delivery.