A drive that reads as RAW, a card mid-error, files that won’t open at all — in nearly every case the data is intact and it’s only the structure round it that’s broken. Corrupt file systems rebuilt and broken files mended, off any hard drive, SSD, memory card or USB stick, all in-house.
$ bdr diagnose /dev/sda → Device: WD My Passport (2 TB) · external → Status: CORRUPT — file system RAW, data intact → Client: confidential · Woking GU2 8XH $ bdr engineer-working → Forensic image: taken · originals untouched → File system: rebuilt from NTFS structures → Restored: 2,840 folders · 61,200 files $ bdr verify → ✓ documents — 38,400 files → ✓ photos — 22,800 files → ✓ drive readable again — recovered
Plug in a corrupt drive and Windows will usually offer to repair it or to format it — decline both. Tools like chkdsk rewrite the disk as they go, shifting or discarding data in the name of fixing it, and a format wipes the file table outright; either can push a recoverable drive over the edge. Leave chkdsk and fsck alone, don’t format, and if there’s any unusual noise, cut the power and speak to us first.
Corruption almost always goes after the framework holding your data, not the data within — which is precisely why so much of it comes back. These are the causes we meet most.
Corruption is something we take on across every storage type and every major make — if your files are on it, chances are we can help.
The disks inside laptops, PCs and Macs; hard drives and SSDs; external and portable units; and flash of all kinds — USB sticks, SD, microSD and CF.
Nothing is done to your original device directly. It’s imaged first; the file system is rebuilt on that image; and only then are the files themselves repaired and pulled off — copy-first, careful, in that order.
Describe what’s corrupt and the device it’s on; we determine whether the fault lies in the file system, in individual files or in failing hardware, and a written quote follows, usually within 48 hours.
The device is copied to a forensic image and every later step runs there, so the original is never altered and a weak drive is spared any further strain.
On that image we rebuild what’s broken — the journal replayed or repaired, the $MFT or FAT tables reconstructed, orphaned and cross-linked clusters relinked — and your folders and files reappear.
A damaged file gets its container fixed — a broken ZIP or Office directory, a JPEG’s restart markers, a database page index — and when repair is impossible, the good data is carved out on its signature instead.
Nothing returns untested: files are opened, checked against their own internal structure and checksum-compared, so what you receive opens properly rather than passing the corruption along.
The results land on fresh media, ordered and ready to use.
That media is posted back, or the recovery is offered as a free download for up to 75GB.
Whether it’s a corrupt file system or a batch of damaged files, off hard drives, SSDs, external units, USB sticks or memory cards — we rebuild the structure and repair or carve your files, always from a forensic copy.
Tell us what’s corrupt 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.
No hidden charges and no hard sell — a free diagnostic and a written quote arrive before any work starts.
A few recent corruption jobs across different devices. Identifying details stripped, every result verified.
The NTFS volume had corrupted in a power cut. From a full image we rebuilt the file system out of its own structures and returned the folder tree whole.
Lifted out mid-write, its file system was corrupt. We reconstructed it and recovered the photos and video the camera itself refused to read.
Unsafe removal was the culprit. Working on a forensic image we mended the file system and returned every file intact.
Send the device in for its free diagnostic and tell us briefly what happened; an engineer reviews it and confirms your exact quote in writing before anything starts.
Getting your data back begins with getting the device to us. Pack it up safely, pop your contact details inside, and send it over — once we’ve run the free diagnostic, we’ll confirm your exact price in writing before any work starts.
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.
Want a bit more detail first? Fill in the form with more about your issue and an engineer will review it and send you a custom quote.
We’ll be in touch shortly. If it’s urgent, call 01483 901310.
What people most often ask about recovering corrupted files and drives.
In most cases it is. What corruption breaks is the framework around your files — the journal, the $MFT, a container header — far more often than the content within. Rebuild or repair that framework on a read-only copy, or carve the good data straight out, and the files reappear.
Almost certainly not dead, just unreadable. A corrupt boot sector or scrambled $MFT stops Windows recognising the file-system type, so it falls back to calling the volume RAW and pushing you to format. Refuse that, let us rebuild the structures on a copy, and the contents come back.
We’d strongly advise against it. Chkdsk and similar tools commit their fixes directly to a disk that’s already fragile — moving data about, discarding anything they can’t reconcile, working already-weak heads harder — and a job that would have recovered cleanly can end up far harder or lost outright. Leave it be until we’ve imaged it.
Almost always. Card errors are one of the most routine things across our bench, usually the result of a card lifted out while writing. We reconstruct its file system and lift the photos and video back out, even once the camera or phone has stopped reading it.
Power cuts and bad shutdowns top the list, closely followed by drives or cards yanked out mid-write. Failing sectors, crashing software and half-finished transfers each add their share.
Not necessarily. Corruption from a single power cut is generally logical and clears up with a repair. Recurring corruption is the worry — files spoiling, sectors failing — because that usually signals a drive in decline, which is why we image such cases immediately and recover from the copy.
Two tiers plus VAT — £250 for cards and USB sticks, £300 for hard drives — behind a free diagnostic and no fix, no fee on most jobs. Should failing hardware turn out to be the cause, any higher figure is put to you in writing first.
The disks inside laptops, PCs and Macs; standalone hard drives and SSDs; external and portable units; and every flavour of flash, USB sticks and SD, microSD and CF alike. If your files sit on it, we can usually help.
Most jobs land inside one to three working days, often quicker, and the diagnostic alone is usually back within 48 hours. Time-critical work can be prioritised on request.
Either in person at our Guildford unit on a weekday, 9am to 5:30pm, or by fully insured post. Seal it up, drop your name, address, phone and email inside for booking-in, and once it’s with us the free diagnostic and written quote come before any work.
A free diagnostic, no fix no fee on most jobs, and corruption recovery from any drive, stick or card. Leave the repair tools alone — start your recovery today.