Plymouth Data Recovery — No.1 Apple MacBook & iMac Data-Recovery Specialists (25+ years)

Plymouth Data Recovery provides specialist recovery for all Apple MacBook, MacBook Air/Pro and iMac storage failures—HDD, SATA SSD, PCIe/NVMe blades, Fusion Drives and Apple-silicon soldered NVMe. We use a forensic-first, read-only imaging workflow and rebuild your data on the clone (never on your original). Free diagnostics with clear options; critical service typically ~48 hours where the condition allows.

Top 20 popular MacBook / MacBook Air models we regularly recover

(Representative high-volume models; we support every Mac portable.)

1. MacBook Air (13-inch, M3, 2024)

2. MacBook Air (15-inch, M3, 2024)

3. MacBook Air (13-inch, M2, 2022/2023)

4. MacBook Air (15-inch, M2, 2023)

5. MacBook Air (M1, 2020)

6. MacBook Pro 14-inch (M3/M3 Pro/M3 Max, 2023)

7. MacBook Pro 16-inch (M3 Pro/M3 Max, 2023)

8. MacBook Pro 14-inch (M1 Pro/Max, 2021)

9. MacBook Pro 16-inch (M1 Pro/Max, 2021)

10. MacBook Pro 13-inch (M2, 2022)

11. MacBook Pro 13-inch (M1, 2020)

12. MacBook Pro 13-inch (Four Thunderbolt 3, 2020 Intel)

13. MacBook Pro 15-inch (2018–2019, Touch Bar, T2)

14. MacBook Pro 13-inch (2016–2017, Touch Bar/Function Keys)

15. MacBook Pro 15-inch (Mid-2015, Retina)

16. MacBook Pro 13-inch (Early 2015, Retina)

17. MacBook Air (2017, 13-inch, Intel)

18. MacBook Air (2013–2015, PCIe blade)

19. MacBook (12-inch, 2015–2017)

20. MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2012 Unibody, SATA)

Popular iMacs we recover: iMac 27″ (2012–2020), iMac 21.5″ (2012–2019), iMac 24″ (M1, 2021), iMac Pro (2017), Fusion-Drive models (SATA HDD + PCIe blade), T2-equipped 2017–2020.

macOS we support (and recover from)

Classic Mac OS: 9.x (legacy).
Mac OS X / OS X / macOS: 10.0 Cheetah, 10.1 Puma, 10.2 Jaguar, 10.3 Panther, 10.4 Tiger, 10.5 Leopard, 10.6 Snow Leopard, 10.7 Lion, 10.8 Mountain Lion, 10.9 Mavericks, 10.10 Yosemite, 10.11 El Capitan, macOS 10.12 Sierra, 10.13 High Sierra, 10.14 Mojave, 10.15 Catalina, 11 Big Sur, 12 Monterey, 13 Ventura, 14 Sonoma, 15 Sequoia.
Filesystems/stack: HFS+, APFS (incl. snapshots), CoreStorage, FileVault 2, Fusion Drive (LVG spanning SSD+HDD), Boot Camp (NTFS).

Interfaces & Apple storage we handle

SATA I/II/III (2.5″, 3.5″), PATA/IDE (legacy), mSATA, microSATA 1.8″, Apple PCIe blades (2013–2017, AHCI/NVMe proprietary), NVMe/PCIe M.2 (M-key), U.2/U.3, USB 2.0/3.x/USB-C/UASP, Thunderbolt 1/2/3/4 DAS, FireWire 800 (legacy), SAS (workstation), Fusion Drive (SATA HDD + PCIe blade), soldered NVMe (T2 / Apple silicon).

Encryption note: T2/Apple-silicon Macs keep keys in the Secure Enclave. Recovery requires valid credentials (password/recovery key). We never attempt bypasses.

Professional workflow (what we actually do)

1. Intake & free diagnostics → Identify model, storage type, encryption, symptoms; capture SMART/logs and case history.

2. Stabilise & image (read-only) → Hardware imagers with per-head zoning & timeout/ECC control (HDD); read-retry/voltage stepping + thermal control (SSD/NVMe). Originals remain offline.

3. Reconstruct stack → macOS APFS/HFS+ on single, CoreStorage, Fusion, or RAID; rebuild containers, omap/catalogs/journals on the clone.

4. Verify & deliver → SHA-256/MD5 per-file, sample opens; hand-off via encrypted drive or secure transfer. Optional engineering report.

Top 100 Apple MacBook & iMac storage faults — and how we recover them

Format: Issue → Diagnosis → Lab recovery (always on clones/virtual models).

A) Mechanical HDD (iMac/Fusion/older portables) — 1–15

1. Head crash (clicking) → Head current & SA access fail → Donor HSA match (model/μ-jog), ROM adaptives verify → per-head imaging, short retries.

2. Heads stuck (stiction) → Stalled spindle, parked off-ramp → Free HGA; replace if contaminated → cold, zoned imaging.

3. Spindle/motor seizure → High inrush, no spin → Chassis/motor transplant with servo alignment → verify SA, outer-zone first.

4. Media rings/scratches → Error heatmap by head/zone → Skip-range multipass; carve partials where needed.

5. Off-track seeking (shock) → PES drift → Micro-alignment; burst imaging + cool-downs.

6. Preamp failure → Abnormal bias → HSA swap; conservative profile.

7. Service-Area (SA) module damage → Alt SA copy? → Patch modules/CRC, restore directory → image.

8. Translator corruption (0 LBA/slow) → Vendor terminal → Rebuild translator; image per head/zone.

9. ROM/adaptives loss → SPI dump/port → Re-flash; validate head map; image.

10. G-list bloat “slow issue” → Disable BG ops; head-zoned imaging.

11. Helium loss (Ultrastar) → Thermal sweet-spot short passes; isolate weak head.

12. Parking ramp damage → HSA + ramp swap; recalibrate; image.

13. Bearing resonance → Vibration mapping; short passes around resonance.

14. Contamination/ingress → Decontaminate HDA; new HSA; cold imaging.

15. Platter imbalance/warp → Motor swap; servo tune; cautious imaging.

B) Electronics / Power / I/O — 16–25

16. PCB failure / TVS short → Rail checks → Replace TVS/LDO/driver; ROM transfer; SA access; image.

17. iMac PSU surge → Ripple on 12V → Component-level repair; isolate to bench PSU; image.

18. SATA connector cracked → Rework port; clamp link speed; image.

19. Thunderbolt enclosure bridge fault → Bypass to raw SATA/NVMe; image.

20. USB-C hub under-power → Brownouts → Direct host port/powered dock; image.

21. Backplane CRC storms → New cable/HBA; QD=1 small-block imaging.

22. ESD arrays blown → Replace arrays; stabilise link; image.

23. Wrong modular cable (PC PSU) → Replace protection; assess downstream; image.

24. Thermal cut-outs in enclosure → Directed airflow; staged passes.

25. 3.3 V “pin-3 inhibit” (WD in caddy) → Isolate pin/apply correct PSU; image.

C) HDD Firmware / SA — 26–32

26. 0 MB capacity flag → Clear defect flags; translator regen; image.

27. Self-test hang → Abort vendor test; conservative timeouts; image.

28. P-list/G-list corruption → Synthetic translator; image by physical address.

29. Wrong head map → Patch ROM head map; isolate failing head; image rest.

30. SA mirror copy failure → Use surviving SA; patch directory; image.

31. Password/ATA lock (legacy Macs) → Authorised unlock; image.

32. SMART overflow slow-down → Disable background ops; head-zoned imaging.

D) Apple-specific hardware & layouts — 33–45

33. Fusion Drive split (SSD blade + HDD de-coupled) → CoreStorage LVG broken → Image both members; reconstruct LVG/LV; re-assemble logical fusion; mount RO.

34. Fusion with failed SSD blade → Boot HFS+/APFS on HDD only → Image HDD; emulate missing SSD tier from metadata; recover.

35. 2013–2017 Apple PCIe blade failure → Proprietary pinout → Adapter to NVMe/AHCI host; image; if controller-dead: chip-off + FTL (model-dependent).

36. T2 Mac (2018–2020) won’t boot → SEP-bound keys → Revive (not Restore) via DFU to keep data; with user credentials unlock APFS and image.

37. Apple silicon (M1–M3) boot loop → 1 True Recovery (1TR) → Credentialed Share Disk/asr image; APFS checkpoint walk; export data.

38. FileVault2 on APFS → Encrypted container → Image entire device; decrypt clone with password/recovery key; mount RO.

39. Time Machine sparsebundle on network/USB → Band file damage → Repair bands; enumerate snapshots; recover.

40. Boot Camp NTFS alongside APFS → Hybrid GPT/MBR quirks → Rebuild partition map; recover NTFS ($MFT/$LogFile) on clone.

41. T2 BridgeOS update interrupted → Loader fallback only → Revive; if storage intact, image post-unlock; otherwise board-level power path.

42. iMac blade + SATA upgrade mis-wired → Start offset mismatch → Detect via GPT/APFS headers; correct offsets in virtual model; mount RO.

43. Thunderbolt RAID/DAS used with Mac → Bridge metadata only → Bypass bridge; reconstruct array from member images; recover LUN/FS.

44. Old FireWire externals with HFS+ → Legacy bridge quirks → Native FW host or SATA transplant; image; repair catalog.

45. Target Disk Mode acquisition → Host resets → Prefer direct imaging; if used, ensure RO at host; hash verify.

E) SSD / NVMe (internal or TB/USB-C) — 46–60

46. Controller failure (Phison/SMI/WD/Maxio) → No enumerate/0 B → Try vendor loader; else chip-off per-die + FTL (ECC BCH/LDPC, XOR/scrambler, interleave) → raw image.

47. PMIC/LDO burnout → Rail collapse → Replace PMIC; if controller still dead → chip-off.

48. DRAM/cache failure → Map inconsistency → Emulate cache (if supported) or chip-off + offline mapping.

49. NAND retention loss → Threshold drift → Cold imaging, voltage stepping, read-retry matrices; majority-vote merge.

50. Read-disturb (TLC/QLC) → ECC spikes → Lower thresholds; idle cycles; prioritise weak dies.

51. Firmware safe-mode → Admin path only → Load recovery microcode; export namespace; treat as disk image.

52. Namespace/ID corruption → Rebuild GPT from FS signatures; full logical image; repair FS.

53. Thermal throttling/link flaps → PCIe resets → Clamp link (Gen3 x2/x1), active cooling; staged passes.

54. USB-NVMe bridge bug → Random disconnects → Bypass to motherboard M.2; image.

55. M.2 pad/connector damage (external enclosures) → Microsolder re-pad/wire; image.

56. SATA SSD RO mode → Controller locks RO → Image within RO window; logical repair.

57. Hidden OP/maintenance ranges omitted → Incomplete dump → Include reserved ranges; rebuild address space first.

58. Self-encrypting (Opal/SED) → Ciphertext at rest → Full image; valid keys required; decrypt on clone.

59. Interrupted firmware update → Half-flashed → Rollback loader; else chip-off + FTL.

60. TRIM after deletion → Physically erased pages → Journal-aware recovery + carving; set expectations.

F) Logical / APFS / HFS+ / Volume-stack — 61–85

61. APFS container corruption → Omap/superblock mismatch → Walk checkpoints; pick coherent epoch; mount RO; export.

62. APFS volume header lost → Use previous checkpoint; rebuild object map; recover.

63. APFS snapshot explosion → Space pressure/slow → Select healthy checkpoint; export without pruning original.

64. FileVault keybag damage → With password/recovery: rebuild keybag; decrypt; export.

65. HFS+ catalog B-tree corruption → Rebuild B-trees; allocator-pattern carving for partials.

66. HFS+ journal replay needed → Perform on image; restore catalog consistency.

67. CoreStorage LVG/LVF loss (pre-APFS/Fusion) → Rebuild LVG from headers; reattach volumes; export.

68. GPT wiped / “disk not initialised” → Synthetic GPT from FS signatures; mount RO.

69. Boot sector/EFI damage → Don’t “repair” originals; export data from clone.

70. Spotlight/Photos libraries corrupted → DB salvage; re-index after export; preserve originals.

71. Mail (V7–V10) store damage → Rebuild Envelope Index; parse emlx; export intact set.

72. Safari/Keychain containers → Limited by crypto; recover with user creds and intact keychain.

73. Time Machine catalog corruption → Snapshot walk; recover from prev versions; repair bands (sparsebundle).

74. exFAT camera card ingested to Mac, now corrupt → Bitmap fix + carve; restore originals.

75. NTFS Boot Camp volume → $MFT/$LogFile repair on clone; recover user data.

76. Parallels/VMware VM images → Rebuild .pvm/.vmdk chains; mount guest FS; extract files.

77. Large ProRes/RAW media fragmented → Range-map & GOP-aware stitching; verify playable output.

78. Logic/Final Cut libraries broken → Rebuild bundle metadata; relink assets.

79. Photos library partial → Repair sqlite; regenerate previews from originals.

80. iTunes/Music migration corruption → Database merge; hash-match media to library.

81. APFS case-sensitivity mismatch → Normalize names on export to target FS.

82. Ext4/XFS removable used on Mac → Rebuild on clone; export cross-platform.

83. ReFS external used via Paragon → Export integrity-valid objects only.

84. File IDs lost after manual copy → Preserve via archive/rsync with metadata on export.

85. Metadata time skew → Normalize using EXIF/QuickTime mvhd during QA.

G) System / Boot / Security / Platform — 86–94

86. macOS update loop / Recovery only → APFS checkpoint rollback; export data.

87. T2 activation/secure boot confusion → With creds, disable external boot only if needed; acquire via DFU/Share Disk.

88. Kernel panics on I/O → Image low-stress; avoid repair tools on original; rebuild FS on clone.

89. S.M.A.R.T. imminent failure (iMac HDD) → Fast-first imaging; targeted re-reads; then logic.

90. SATA cable faults (2012–2013 MBP) → Replace cable for imaging; treat disk separately.

91. BridgeOS panic (T2) → Revive; credentialed unlock; image.

92. EFI password on Intel Mac → Data unaffected; pull drive or Target Disk Mode with RO; image.

93. PRAM/SMC power issues → Board-level stabilisation for acquisition; image.

94. 3rd-party “repair” tool damage (fsck_hfs/chkdsk on HFS+) → Roll back to pre-repair clone; journal-aware rebuild.

H) Environmental / Handling — 95–100

95. Fresh-water ingress → Neutralise, dry; do not power; board/mech triage; image.

96. Salt-water ingress → Immediate neutralisation; corrosion window; priority imaging.

97. Overheating/thermal cycling → Directed cooling; staged passes prioritising weak regions.

98. Severe shock drop (portable) → HSA swap; micro-alignment; image.

99. Fire/heat exposure → PCB rebuild; potential platter transfer; cautious imaging.

100. Static discharge (desk build) → Replace blown protection; stabilise; image.

Why choose Plymouth Data Recovery

• 25 years in business with thousands of successful Mac recoveries

• Deep Apple expertise: T2/Apple-silicon, Fusion, PCIe blades, APFS/FileVault

• Advanced tooling & donor inventory to maximise success

• Free diagnostics with clear recovery options before work begins

• Critical service available (typically ~48 hours), case-dependent

Speak to an Apple recovery engineer

Contact Plymouth Data Recovery today for your free diagnostic. We’ll stabilise the device, image it safely, and reconstruct your data with forensic-grade care.