When a Surface Pro still gets through the loading screen but you can't operate it, it is usually an input fault rather than a data fault, because the touchpad, mouse and touchscreen are how a Surface Pro is used and they don't store any data. So when they fail the machine carries on running and the stored data isn't harmed. Since it is booting properly there appears to be no problem with the storage, but what decides everything else is how that storage can be reached. His Surface “stopped connecting to the touch pad or a wireless mouse” and the touchscreen is dead as well, yet it “does boot up and load i just can't control it”. The drive was described as “soldered into the motherboard”. An input failure does not result in loss of data, however flash soldered to a motherboard is listed as one of the stated limits of our bench, so the truthful answer depends on whether the storage in his model of Surface Pro is a removable module. If you ring us first with the exact model, that will settle it before anything is sent or paid for.
| Media | This Surface Pro boots up fine but can't be controlled because its input has failed, and the storage in it is soldered to the board. |
| Reported situation | A Microsoft Surface Pro where the touchpad, wireless mouse and touchscreen are not working, so it can't be controlled, although it still boots and loads, and the storage is soldered to the motherboard. Recovery was sought. |
| Fault class | This was a problem of input faults rather than a problem with the data, because the way you interact with the machine failed. The machine will carry on operating normally though, and the stored data is still where it was. So the question is whether the storage is a removable module that can be read on the bench, or flash soldered onto the motherboard, which we don't work on, and we tell you that at no charge. |
| Equipment used | Before anything is sent to us, the exact model of the machine and how its storage is laid out are confirmed over the phone. If there is a removable module, a local repair shop takes it out and sends it to us on its own. When the module gets to us it is attached to a hardware write-blocker and imaged, then we use R-Studio to parse the filesystem in the image and validate the data, which is copied onto fresh media. In cases where the flash really is soldered to the motherboard, we explain the limit clearly and decline the job with no charge, as we don't do board-level chip work on phones, tablets or soldered machines. |
An input fault doesn't equate to a data fault. Since the touchpad, mouse and touchscreen are no longer working but the Surface will still boot up and load, this points to an input fault as opposed to a data fault. These are the ways he controls the Surface and they aren't where his files are stored, so when they stop working the machine is still capable of running and the storage isn't affected, it is only the means of operating it that has gone. Therefore the issue is with the input (he can't use his Surface, which is why it seems useless) and not with the data, since his files haven't been lost. His data is still there on the storage, behind the failed input.
Still booting shows the storage is working. The fact that his Surface boots and loads, as he mentioned, indicates the storage is functioning properly, because a device that boots is reading from its storage to start up. The memory and files on it are therefore intact, and it's only the way of operating the machine that has been lost. His own observation has answered most of it, the storage works and his data is there, and what still needs working out is whether a drive recovery bench can get at it, and if so how.
Soldered storage is a limit we're clear about. Our bench works on storage that can be removed and read on its own, so if it is a drive, blade or M.2 module, a card or a stick it will work fine for our purposes. What we don't take on is flash soldered directly onto a motherboard, or any phone or tablet. It's more sensible for us to tell you this plainly up front than to charge you for it. Not every Surface is "soldered", however, because some Surface models have a small removable module instead of flash attached to the motherboard, so what he was told may refer to the Surface family as a whole and not his particular machine. Ringing us first with the exact model lets us work out which storage it actually has before anything is sent, and if it has a removable module, a local repair shop can take it out and send it to us on its own.
The honest prognosis follows the way the storage is laid out. If his model has a removable storage module, it can be taken out of the unit and sent off on its own to be read directly. Since the machine still boots up fine the data on it is good, and we can usually get all of his information back without the input fault coming into it at all. If however the flash is actually part of the motherboard, then honestly speaking this bench doesn't do that type of work. We're happy to tell him that at no cost, and the machine stays with him exactly as it is for a board-level specialist to look at. In either case he gets a straight answer in writing rather than an invoice based on hope.
His enquiry was handled the same way we treat every machine job, by finding out exactly which model it is before anything is sent, because on a Surface the layout of the storage decides the route. A removable module is taken out by a local repair shop and sent to us separately, then we read it through a hardware write-blocker and image it. Next we use R-Studio to parse the filesystem, and then the files are validated onto fresh media, without the failed touchpad or touchscreen ever being involved. If the storage is confirmed as soldered to the motherboard, we say it is outside our service at that same first stage, at no charge, and give an honest referral to someone who works at board level.
Leaving the input fault aside, the data on a Surface that still boots is sound, and the honest work is finding out whether its storage can be removed and read, or has been soldered in beyond what this bench takes on. The diagnostic is free and reports back within two working days of the media arriving. After it you receive one fixed written quote, plus VAT, and in most cases you only pay if we recover your data. An input fault doesn't touch the data, and the route depends on whether the storage can be taken out and read, so simply give us a call first and we will give you a straight answer either way.
A failure in an input device such as a touchpad, mouse or touchscreen does not mean a failure of your data. Input devices are how you control the machine and they do not store your files, so if they fail the machine will carry on running and its storage is unaffected. If the machine still boots, that means it is reading its storage without any problem. The next steps depend on whether your storage can be physically removed. A removable drive or module is taken out (a local repair shop can do this) and sent on its own to be read directly, which is ordinary bench work for us. If your computer uses flash memory soldered onto the motherboard, or if it's a phone or tablet of any kind, then it is outside what we recover, and a lab should tell you that for nothing rather than charge you to find out. So first ask the basic question, can the storage be removed? If you have a Surface, ring us first with the exact model and we'll tell you.
Each case file is based on a real enquiry our lab has dealt with for customers across Swindon and Wiltshire, with the customer's details removed to keep things confidential. Each one describes how our engineers diagnose and recover that kind of fault, using the equipment listed.
A Physically Broken Stick Usually Has Sound Memory — Read at Chip Level, So a Local Attempt Isn't the Last Word
A Stick a Computer Won't Recognise Usually Has a Failed Controller — the Memory Is Read at Chip Level
Little Detail Isn't a Barrier — the Drive Is Read and the Fault Determined at Assessment
First, before you send anything, we give you a free diagnostic and a fixed quote. In most cases you only pay if we recover your data. For electronic, mechanical and drive-opening work we take 50% upfront, with the balance only if we recover your data, and forensic work is paid upfront once you accept the fixed quote. Please send just the drive, not the whole computer (if you're not sure which kind of storage you have, ring us first). Take the disks out of RAID systems and servers and label them by bay, and take the disks out of a NAS if you can, and if you can't, send the NAS itself. A single external drive comes whole, with its cable and power supply. Post it tracked and insured, or drop it off at the Oxford lab, Monday to Friday, 9am to 5:30pm, no appointment needed. Start now or ring the freephone.