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Recovery case studies

Real jobs from our lab, written up from the enquiries as they came in — the device, the fault, the exact diagnostic and how the data came back.

// 36 case files
Cameras, Drones & Cards

The Card Stopped in My Phone

A Card Prompting to Format Has a Filesystem Fault — Not Formatting Was Exactly Right, and the Pictures Are Carved Back

Memory CardCorruption / Filesystem
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Desktop Externals & Aging Drives

It Stopped, and Where Does the Data Go

A Stopped Drive Is Read Directly — and the Recovered Data Comes Back on Fresh Media You Can Keep

External DriveHard DriveNot Detected
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Desktop Externals & Aging Drives

The IT Department Referred It

A Drive an IT Department Couldn't Solve Has a Fault Below Their Reach — Read Directly, and the Referral Was Right

External DriveHard DriveNot Detected
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Desktop Externals & Aging Drives

The Motherboard Is Faulty

A Faulty Motherboard Stops the Laptop, Not the Drive — the Drive Is Removed and Read Directly

Laptop / PCHard DriveDead / No Power
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Electrical & Environmental Damage

Cider on the MacBook

Liquid on a MacBook Is a Board Matter, Not Lost Data — the Board Is Cleaned and the Storage Read, and the Referral Was Right

MacSSD / NVMeWater / Liquid
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Electrical & Environmental Damage

Coffee on the MacBook Air

Liquid on an Older Air Is a Board Matter — Its Drive Lifts Out and Is Read Directly, Often Untouched

MacSSD / NVMeWater / Liquid
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Formatted & Logical Faults

I Did a Master-Reset

A Reset Removes the Index, Not the Data — the Older Files Are Carved Back, an Honest Partial

MacDeleted / Formatted
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Formatted & Logical Faults

Recordings Lost to a Reinstall

A Reinstall Removes the Index, Not the Files — Untouched Since, They Carve Back Well

Laptop / PCHard DriveDeleted / Formatted
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Formatted & Logical Faults

Seen as a Disc, but Not in Finder

A Drive Seen but Not Mounting Has a Filesystem Fault — Imaged Read-Only and Rebuilt, Never Formatted

External DriveMacCorruption / Filesystem
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Legacy & Obsolete Media

An Old Drive That Stopped a While Ago

An Old Drive That Stopped Has a Mechanical or Board Fault — Read on Legacy-Capable Equipment, Age No Barrier

External DriveHard DriveDead / No Power
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Mac & Apple Systems

Apple Said Repair Costs Too Much

A Repair Being Too Costly Isn't a Recovery Verdict — the 2015 Air's Drive Is a Removable Module, Read Directly

MacSSD / NVMeDead / No Power
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Mac & Apple Systems

The Apple Store Said the Drive Failed

An Apple Store's Diagnosis of a Failed Drive Is Sound — on a 2012 MacBook the Drive Lifts Out and Is Read Directly

MacHard DriveFirmware / SMART
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NAS & Network Storage

The NAS Is Inactive Despite Its White Light

A Network Drive Gone Inactive Is Read by Taking the Disk Out — Off the Network, Its Filesystem Rebuilt

RAID / NASNot DetectedCorruption / Filesystem
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NAS & Network Storage

Two Drives, Two Problems

Two Drives With Two Different Faults — Each Read on Its Own and Addressed for What Ails It

External DriveHard DriveNot DetectedCorruption / Filesystem
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Portable Drives

A Little Bump, Then It Beeped

A Beeping Drive Is a Seized Motor, Not a Simple Jam — Freed Under Magnification in Clean Air

External DriveHard DriveDropped / ImpactClicking / Mechanical
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Portable Drives

A Loose Connection, the Owner Suspects

A Connection That Isn't Made Sits at the Socket, Not the Data — Resolved at the Enclosure or by Reading the Drive Directly

External DriveBroken ConnectorNot Detected
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Portable Drives

I Was Told to Swap the Board

Clicking Is a Head Fault, Not a Board One — a Board Swap Won't Fix It, and Age Is No Barrier to Head Work

Hard DriveExternal DriveClicking / Mechanical
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Portable Drives

It Clicks and Won't Be Recognised

Clicking With No Recognition Is a Head Fault — Addressed in Clean Air, So the Drive Must Not Be Run On

External DriveHard DriveClicking / MechanicalNot Detected
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Portable Drives

It Clicks, Then Stops Showing

Clicking on Power With No Detection Is a Head Fault — Opened in Clean Air, Not Run On

External DriveHard DriveClicking / MechanicalNot Detected
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Portable Drives

It Fell Out of My Bag

A Drive That Fell and Stopped Has a Head Fault From the Impact — Worked in Clean Air, Not Run On

External DriveDropped / ImpactClicking / Mechanical
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Portable Drives

It Fell With the Laptop

A Drive That Fell and Clicks Has a Head Fault — Addressed in Clean Air, Not by Running It

External DriveDropped / ImpactClicking / Mechanical
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Portable Drives

It Fell and Makes a Noise

A Fall, a Noise, and No Read Point to a Head Fault — Addressed in Clean Air, Not by Running It

External DriveDropped / ImpactClicking / Mechanical
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Portable Drives

It Stopped, and I Can't Reach the Files

A Drive That Stopped and Won't Give Access Has a Fault Below the Computer's Reach — Read Directly

External DriveNot Detected
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Portable Drives

Odd Noises, Then It Stopped

Odd Noises Before a Drive Stops Point to a Mechanical Fault — Worked in Clean Air, the Platters Usually Spared

External DriveHard DriveClicking / Mechanical
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Portable Drives

The USB Has Mechanical Damage

Mechanical Damage Is Worked in Clean Air — the Platters Usually Survive What Stops the Mechanism

External DriveHard DriveClicking / Mechanical
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Portable Drives

Two Drives That Both Beep

Two Dropped Drives That Beep Have Seized Motors — Freed in Clean Air, the Platters Usually Spared

External DriveHard DriveDropped / ImpactClicking / Mechanical
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Second Fixes & Trade Handoffs

A PC Shop Ran Software First

Software Couldn't Reach a Physically Failed Drive — It's Opened and Read Directly, and the Referral Was Sound

Hard DriveClicking / MechanicalNot Detected
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Second Fixes & Trade Handoffs

The Drive Was Replaced Abroad

A Swapped-Out Drive Is Read on Its Own — Its Original Fault Addressed, the Data Recovered Apart From the Laptop

Hard DriveLaptop / PCNot Detected
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Solid State & Flash

Someone Local Couldn't Retrieve It

A Physically Broken Stick Usually Has Sound Memory — Read at Chip Level, So a Local Attempt Isn't the Last Word

USB FlashBroken Connector
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Solid State & Flash

The Stick Isn't Recognised

A Stick a Computer Won't Recognise Usually Has a Failed Controller — the Memory Is Read at Chip Level

USB FlashNot Detected
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Solid State & Flash

The Storage Is Soldered In

An Input Fault Doesn't Touch the Data — the Honest Route Turns on Whether the Storage Lifts Out

SSD / NVMeLaptop / PCElectrical / PCB
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Trust, Practice & Honest Limits

A Laptop Has Broken With Coursework on It

Little Detail Isn't a Barrier — the Drive Is Read and the Fault Determined at Assessment

Laptop / PCHard DriveDead / No Power
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Trust, Practice & Honest Limits

A Specialist Found Surface Damage

Surface Damage Is a Limit on Part of the Platter, Not a Verdict of Nothing — the Intact Regions Are Imaged

Hard DriveClicking / Mechanical
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Trust, Practice & Honest Limits

BitLocker Wants a Key We Don't Have

Encryption Without Its Key Is an Honest Limit, Not a Drive Fault — the Drive Reads, the Data Needs the Key

Hard DriveLaptop / PCEncryption / BitLocker
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Trust, Practice & Honest Limits

I Opened It and Moved the Head

A Scratched Band Is the Real Limit, Not the Whole Platter — the Intact Regions Are Imaged, an Honest Partial

Hard DriveClicking / Mechanical
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