A laptop or PC that’s dead, won’t boot, has been dropped, or has lost files — the fault is nearly always the drive inside, or something around it. We recover Windows laptops and desktops of every make by removing the drive, imaging it read-only, and repairing it where the drive itself has failed.
$ bdr diagnose /dev/nvme0 → Device: Dell XPS 13 · 512GB NVMe → Status: WILL NOT POWER ON — board fault → Client: confidential · Guildford, Surrey $ bdr engineer-working → Drive: removed · healthy → Imaging: 480 GB / 512 GB · 100% read → NTFS: rebuilt · files intact $ bdr verify → ✓ documents — 28,400 files → ✓ photos — 19,100 files → ✓ laptop recovered — data back
The moment a laptop or PC refuses to start, cycles blue screens, or drops out before Windows loads, stop trying to boot it. Each attempt wears a failing drive down further, and Windows repair tools can write over the very files we need. Skip the reset, the reinstall and chkdsk — power it off, remove the drive, and send that in. Many newer machines run BitLocker, so track down your recovery key too; it’s often held in your Microsoft account.
From a dead-on-arrival laptop to a PC hung on a blue-screen error, these are the laptop and PC faults we see most — dead boards, failed or dropped drives, corrupt Windows installs, BitLocker, and deleted files.
We take on laptops and PCs of every make — HP, Dell, ASUS, Lenovo and the rest — by pulling the drive, repairing it where needed, and imaging it read-only.
HP, Dell, Lenovo, ASUS, Acer, MSI and Microsoft Surface · gaming rigs, ultrabooks, all-in-ones and custom towers · SATA and NVMe SSDs plus 2.5-inch hard drives · NTFS and BitLocker. Most machines have a removable drive we work on directly — if yours uses soldered storage, we’ll say so.
Laptop and PC recovery comes down to the drive inside. We remove that drive, image it without ever writing to it, and recover your files off the copy — repairing the drive first where it has actually failed.
Tell us the machine and what happened — won’t power on, won’t boot, dropped, deleted files — and an engineer assesses it and returns a written quote, usually within 48 hours.
Take the drive out yourself — SATA or NVMe — and post that alone; we don’t need the laptop or the tower, and any local shop can remove it in minutes.
Where the drive itself has failed — clicking heads, a dead PCB, or firmware faults — we repair it on matched donor parts in the clean-air bench before reading it; donor-part work takes a 50% deposit.
A strictly read-only image of the drive is taken on specialist hardware, reading weak or damaged sectors gently and re-reading to lift the most data off a failing drive.
If the drive is BitLocker-encrypted and you can supply the recovery key, we apply it, then reconstruct the NTFS file system off the image to bring your files and folders back.
Your documents, photos and files are recovered, then checked to actually open and confirmed complete before anything is returned.
Your data comes back verified on a fresh drive, or by secure download for jobs up to 75GB.
Any make of laptop or PC — Lenovo, Dell, HP, ASUS and the rest — recovered by pulling the drive, fixing it if needed, and reading a read-only image of it to bring your files home.
Tell us what happened and we’ll get back to you, usually within a working day.
We’ll be in touch shortly. If it’s urgent, call 01483 901310.
A single fixed price to recover one laptop or PC — after a free diagnostic and a written quote, before any work begins.
A sample of recent laptop and PC jobs spanning board, mechanical, Windows and deleted-file faults. Identifying details stripped; every result checked.
The board had failed, though the NVMe drive was fine. We took the drive out, imaged it, and returned the data.
The fall had wrecked the hard drive’s heads. We fitted matched donor heads in the clean-air bench and imaged the drive.
A corrupt Windows install had buried the data, not erased it. We took the SSD out, imaged it, and recovered the files.
The drive was healthy, the data still all present. We imaged it and recovered the deleted folders straight away.
The board was corroded, though the SSD came out intact. We removed the SSD, imaged it, and recovered everything.
Very little had actually been overwritten. We imaged the drive and carved the original files back out.
Send the drive in for its free diagnostic with a brief note on the machine and fault; an engineer evaluates it and confirms the exact quote in writing before any work starts.
Getting your data back starts with getting the drive to us — you don't need to send the whole machine. Pack the drive safely, enclose your contact details, and once we've run the free diagnostic we confirm your exact quote in writing before any work begins.
Posting it? A tracked, insured service is what we’d recommend. Rather drop it in? You’re welcome Monday to Friday, 9am to 5:30pm — just package the device up as above first.
Need a scoped quote first? Describe the machine and fault on the form and an engineer will assess it and reply with a tailored quote.
We’ll be in touch shortly. If it’s urgent, call 01483 901310.
The technical questions we get most about laptop and PC recovery.
Usually, yes. When a laptop is dead to the power button, the fault is most often the board or power, with the drive inside intact. We take the drive out, image it, and recover your files — repairing the drive itself if it has failed.
Rarely. A PC that won’t boot into Windows usually has a corrupt install or a failing drive, not lost data. We take the drive out, image it read-only, and rebuild the file system to recover your files.
Often, but stop using it. Clicking after a drop usually means the hard drive’s heads have failed, and each power-on risks the platters. We fit donor heads in the clean-air bench and image the drive.
Usually recoverable if you act quickly. Emptying the Recycle Bin clears the file-system entries, not the data, so stop using the machine and we can image the drive and rebuild the deleted files.
One laptop or PC is a flat £300 + VAT, starting from a free diagnostic and a written quote. Should the drive have a mechanical fault needing the clean-air bench, we take a 50% deposit with the balance on success — so most jobs stay no fix, no fee.
On most jobs, yes. Mechanical work in the clean-air bench takes a 50% deposit and the balance only falls due on success, so an unrecoverable drive never runs up the full fee.
Every make — HP, Dell, Lenovo, ASUS, Acer, MSI, Microsoft Surface and custom builds, laptop or desktop. Because recovery is about the drive inside, the make of the machine rarely matters.
Usually, yes. A Windows sign-in password by itself encrypts nothing — we take the drive out and read it directly. Only BitLocker actually encrypts the data, and for that we’ll need your recovery key.
Usually, yes. A virus or a botched update damages the system, not the underlying files. We take the drive out, image it read-only, and recover your documents and photos from the copy.
Most laptop and PC recoveries finish inside three to five working days. Mechanical drive faults run a little longer, depending on parts and the state of the drive.
Take the drive out — SATA or NVMe — and post just the drive to our Guildford address fully insured, or drop it off Monday to Friday 9am to 5:30pm. A local shop can remove it in minutes if you’d rather.
Free diagnostic, a flat £300 + VAT per machine, no fix no fee on most jobs, and every make of Windows laptop and desktop PC recovered. Start your recovery today.