PL · PLY-2026-0804FILED ✓
Ten years of family photos on a 2TB Seagate that was clicking
A matched donor head stack was fitted. Both sides of the scored band were read, and the photo library was built off the image, not the drive.
Data recovery for: Plymouth · Tavistock · Truro · Falmouth · Saltash
Data recovery in Plymouth, Devon. The disk is gone, but the files it contained are usually still there.
An external drive is clicking and cannot be mounted. Your computer continues to tell you to reformat your memory card. The end of your USB stick broke off where it connects. Your Mac is stuck displaying a flashing folder. A single member of your RAID array has failed. In all of these examples in Plymouth the files are usually still on the media, and we do not charge for assessment. You will receive a quote in writing, and in most cases you only pay if we recover your data.
Nothing readable? Most jobs carry no bill
Twenty-five years of bench work
Recoveries from £250 + VAT
GDPR compliant · ICO ZC173784
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Four Plymouth jobs, and what went home.
PL · PLY-2026-0785FILED ✓
A NAS in Truro that halted mid-rebuild
Each disk came out and was duplicated before anything was run against the array. Then we did the rebuild in software, using the duplicates, and the shared folders opened just like they always had.
PL · PLY-2026-0779FILED ✓
A whole wedding on an SD card reading empty
Before anything was run on the card, an image of it was taken. The repair to the directory was made on the duplicate, and each frame was re-carved at full resolution.
PL · PLY-2026-0768FILED ✓
A break-in, and a DVR that refused to play
A write blocker was used when duplicating the recorder's disk. Decoding the proprietary video format against the time codes gave the one hour the insurer wanted, which left here as a file by itself.
Begin with the device,
or with the symptom.
Not on the list? Ring us →
Media and machines we take in
Internal hard disksTicking, grinding or dead silent: donor heads, then platter level reads→ External drives of every sizeFailed bridge boards; dropped portable WD and Seagates.→ SSD & NVMeDead controller: the NAND gets read chip by chip→ Macs and MacBooksAPFS volumes on disks taken out of older Macs→ Servers, RAID & NASEvery member of the array is copied, then put together again as RAID 1, RAID 5 or RAID 10 in software.→ The NAS unitSynology, QNAP, WD, Buffalo: each disk is duplicated before doing anything else.→ Memory and SD cardsSD, microSD, CFexpress and CF cards that appear to be empty→ USB and flash mediaConnectors snapped off; monolith chips soldered at the pads→Listed by symptom
Clicking or beepingTurn it off immediately. Each click is causing damage to the magnetic coating on the hard drive.→ Nothing shows upNo spin, no light, and nothing in the BIOS→ Files gone or deletedA hard drive holds onto it, but TRIM erases it on an SSD.→ Cleared by a formatFormatting simply resets the index; however, the sectors below it still contain data.→ Ransomware got inA ransom is never paid; many times, the original files can be found on the disk.→ BitLocker wants the keyEven if the volume is damaged, providing the recovery key will allow access to it.→ It was droppedIt appears intact on the outside, yet internally the heads are misaligned.→ Water damage or fireDo not try to power it on, and do not try to dry it. Bag it wet and send it after you get your quote.→Court & insurance work
Some of these disks
are wanted as evidence.
For most clients, the job is finished on the day their data is returned. However, some jobs go further, such as an insurance claim, an employment tribunal hearing, or a dispute involving an employer and an employee. Any work related to these types of cases is handled as evidence once the box is opened. After opening it, copies of the data are created using a write blocking device, hash values are validated, the item being examined receives a unique reference, and each action taken is documented during the process. Additionally, we document anything that could not be retrieved, and give the reasons for it.
Reports written to be tested
Machines, disks and cards are copied before being examined, and the examination is done on the copy, with the method recorded as it goes. We are instructed by solicitors, insurance companies, employers and private clients throughout Devon and Cornwall. You must have the authority for us to examine a device.
- Sector-by-sector copies, with the handling logged throughout
- Deleted material is restored, with a timeline of what happened to it after deletion
- Plain findings & an expert's report where instructed
- Staff misconduct; company files taken off site
Footage off DVR & NVR boxes
Video clips deleted, or locked inside a video recorder that will not turn on. The original footage is going to be overwritten, and how rapidly depends on both the type of video recorder and how it was set up. Please contact us right away. We index the physical disk based on its time codes and then export only the segment you need.
- Clips deleted but not yet overwritten by the recorder
- Failed disks taken out of DVR and NVR boxes
- Exports produced specifically for an insurance company, a solicitor or a tribunal
- Manufacturer formats — Hikvision, Dahua, Swann and the others
What happens after it lands.
All seven stages →Book it in
Call the bench or use the panel above to get a case reference number and to find out how best to package your item to make sure that it travels safely.
Send it over
You send your item, tracked and insured, to our intake laboratory in Bristol. If you prefer, you can also drop it off to us yourself. In either event, we will cover the cost of returning your item.
The diagnosis
Our engineers will then determine what has caused the problem, and to what extent anything can genuinely be extracted. There is no cost for this assessment nor does it bind you in any way.
One figure, written
No charges apply until you see the figure, together with what was discovered.
The files come back
Everything recovered is returned home on new media. The case stays open until everything has been reviewed.
What Plymouth customers said afterwards.
Read the reviews →Within one day of sending of my hard drive to Plymouth Data Recovery we received a phone call from a recovery engineer explaining the problem with our hard disk in detail. 2 days later we received an email with a full listing of what they had recovered. One day later we received back the data via a courier. This was their standard service, fantastic!
An absolute life saver, my heart stopped when my Mac stopped working as it contained all my personal and work data. A fantastic job by Plymouth Data Recovery.
You pay for what you get and in this case I paid and got my full data back, fantastic level of service!
Where we work.
There are 16 separate pages, each page describing a particular town located in Devon, Cornwall or the Isles of Scilly. Devices come to our intake lab by tracked and insured post, and each one is looked at on the day it arrives. We cover the postage to send them back.
A drive that stays switched off gets no worse.
Each time a failing hard drive spins, there is less that can be read from it. Take it out of use and we'll tell you how much can still be recovered, at no cost to you.