First a free written diagnostic, then a fixed quote before a thing is touched — and no fix, no fee on most jobs. What follows sets out what each device costs to recover, the way the pricing runs, and the questions we field most.
The figure is put in writing once the free diagnostic is done — and not one moment before.
No estimates over the phone, and nothing done without your go-ahead. Every recovery moves through the same four stages.
Bring in or post your device and we assess it free, usually inside 48 hours — establishing what failed, what can be brought back, and the cost.
A clear, fixed price reaches you in writing before anything billable begins; nothing proceeds until you've approved it.
On most jobs a failed recovery means no recovery fee, so letting us take a look costs you nothing.
Because head swaps and board rebuilds rely on matched donor parts and real bench time, this work is billed with a 50% deposit at the outset and the remainder only if it succeeds.
Where each job type begins, before VAT — your exact figure lands in writing once the free diagnostic is done.
Where the price starts for each type of device, and what comes back. Follow any row through for the full detail and per-device FAQs.
| Device | From | |
|---|---|---|
| Hard Drive | £300 | details → |
| SSD & NVMe | £300 | details → |
| USB Stick | £250 | details → |
| Memory Card | £250 | details → |
| External HDD | £300 | details → |
| Mac & MacBook | £300 | details → |
| Laptop & PC | £300 | details → |
| RAID Array | from £500 | details → |
| NAS | from £500 | details → |
| Server | from £500 | details → |
| Virtual Machine | from £800 | details → |
| Database | from £500 | details → |
| SAN | from £1,250 | details → |
| CCTV / DVR / NVR | £800 | details → |
What people ask us most often. For one specific device, its own page in the table above goes further.
It opens with a free written diagnostic, usually back inside 48 hours; a fixed written quote follows, and nothing billable starts before you sign it off. Roughly: from £1,250 + VAT for SAN and enterprise storage, from £500 + VAT for multi-disk RAID and NAS, £300 + VAT for a lone hard drive, SSD, laptop or Mac, and £250 + VAT for a card or USB stick.
They're not — VAT sits on top at the standard UK rate, so figures are shown before it. Before you decide, the written quote spells out the VAT-inclusive total.
Mostly, yes — no recovered data, no recovery fee. Physical drive- and card-level repairs, DVR and forensic work are where that doesn't apply.
Head swaps, platter or motor work, board rebuilds — this physical-level work demands matched donor parts and hours of exacting bench time whether or not it lands. DVR and forensic jobs are the same, eating specialist hours regardless. So those take an up-front payment toward parts and labour, the balance falling due only on a successful recovery.
Expect the free diagnostic back inside 48 hours. A clean logical case often wraps within days; physical repairs, plus RAID and NAS rebuilds, take longer as parts and complexity dictate. Your quote carries a straight timeframe, and a priority track exists when time is short.
Two ways reach us: hand it in at the Guildford unit, weekdays 9am–5:30pm, or send it fully insured by post. We don't offer collection, so it's one of those two.
Send the bare drives only. Pull them from the enclosure and label each with its bay position — first drive, second drive, and onward — since the rebuild depends on that sequence. The RAID controller and the NAS chassis can stay with you.
We don't. Drives, RAID, NAS, servers, SAN, virtual machines and databases are our field; phones and tablets fall outside it.
Every mainstream one — Samsung, Toshiba, WD and Seagate drives; Netgear, WD, QNAP and Synology NAS; Lenovo, IBM, HP and Dell servers; and on the business side Exchange, PostgreSQL, MySQL, SQL Server, Hyper-V and VMware.
Don't. A physically failing drive — dropping out, refusing to spin, clicking — only degrades further while recovery software keeps power to it. Shut it down and send it as-is.
Provided you hand over the recovery key or password, yes — we lift the encrypted volume and unlock it with your key. Lacking the key, forensic decryption can be attempted, though success isn't promised.
It stays private. Our own engineers run every recovery on-site; from the moment it arrives to the moment it's returned, your drives stay in our hands and your data stays confidential.
Kick off with a free written diagnostic. We'll establish what's recoverable and the cost — the decision is then yours. Bring your device to Guildford, or send it over fully insured.