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Universities & research

Data recovery for universities & research.

A good share of our work is for universities and research teams, where academic data is so frequently beyond replacing. Working from Guildford, our university and research data recovery reaches across Surrey and the UK: should a research array fail, a departmental server drop, or a student's drive die just weeks before submission, we recover it on our own bench, with our own engineers, and keep it in confidence. Your data stays within Britain.

48-hour diagnostic, free
In-house handling
Most jobs: no fix, no fee
// in short

Irreplaceable research, recovered on our bench.

Departmental servers, student drives and research RAID and NAS storage — every one recovered by our in-house team, kept confidential, GDPR-compliant and never sent outside the UK.

Research data
Datasets & results
RAID & NAS
Research storage
In-house
Never outsourced
No fix, no fee
Most jobs
// what we recover

The academic data we recover.

Whether it's a research group's storage array or a student's thesis drive, we recover it on our own bench, in confidence.

01

Research data & datasets

Datasets, analysis and years of results stuck on failed research drives, arrays and storage — large datasets recovered intact, checksums verified where the data permits.

02

Departmental servers & RAID

Lab and departmental servers and RAID arrays carrying shared research and administrative data — imaged disk by disk and reassembled offline from the stripe and parity.

03

Research NAS storage

QNAP, Synology and other NAS units used for shared group and research storage — Linux mdadm or LVM arrays on ext4, Btrfs, ZFS or SHR, rebuilt from imaged disks with snapshots recovered.

04

Theses & student work

A PhD or final-year laptop or external drive that's failed ahead of submission — imaged read-only and carved for the document and its earlier drafts, even off a corrupt or reformatted file system.

05

Lab & instrument data

Data off lab instruments, microscopes and acquisition PCs on failed local drives — large proprietary instrument-file formats included, recovered by file-system or raw-signature carving.

06

Student & staff records

Databases and administrative records, recovered under UK GDPR terms.

See also: RAID · NAS · Servers · External drives.

// confidentiality & GDPR

Records and research, handled correctly.

Personal records and research data are kept confidential and handled per the UK GDPR.

Personal records and research data handled in confidence, only by our own in-house engineers.
Never sent overseas or to a third party, your data stays in the UK.
On the ICO register (No. ZC173784); the UK GDPR and Data Protection Act 2018 both met.
Confidentiality agreements and NDAs on request — handy for funded or commercially sensitive research.

More on our data handling: Data security & confidentiality.

// irreplaceable data

Where the data can’t be regathered.

A failed experiment can be repeated; years of gathered data usually cannot. We routinely handle work that carries a full doctorate, a multi-year grant, or figures there's no gathering twice — and treat it accordingly. Every drive is imaged read-only before the data is touched, failed arrays are rebuilt virtually, leaving your originals untouched, and we recover the most that's physically present. Up against a submission or grant-reporting deadline? Let us know when you make contact and we'll move the job up.

// how it works

How it runs for departments.

A secure path from breakdown through to a verified handover.

01

Get in touch

Reach us by phone or email with the fault — we'll point out the safest next step.

02

Free diagnostic

Bring the drives in or post them insured; we confirm what's recoverable.

03

Written quote

Before any chargeable work begins, a fixed written price and a turnaround.

04

Recover & verify

Recovery happens in-house; we confirm the results and return them on new encrypted media or via secure download.

For a research RAID or NAS: extract the disks, tag each by its bay position, and send the drives alone — each is imaged read-only and the array reassembled virtually, leaving your data untouched.
Invoicing the university or department and purchase orders are both fine, on 30-day terms for established accounts.

More sectors we serve: Healthcare · Finance · Legal · Business & enterprise.

// sending your device in

Two easy steps.

Send your device in for a free diagnostic and tell us a bit about what happened — an engineer reviews it and confirms your exact quote in writing before any work begins.

1

Send us your device

Recovering your data starts with getting the device to us. Pack it securely, slip your contact details inside, and send it in — once the free diagnostic is done, we confirm your exact price in writing before any work starts.

How to pack it
  • Box the device up in a small, sturdy carton or a padded envelope.
  • You can leave out caddies, cables and power supplies — none of them are needed for the recovery.
  • Pop your details inside — name, address, phone and email, on a slip of paper or via our shipping form — and seal it up.
Post toGuildford Data Recovery
Building 2, Ground Floor, Guildford Business Park
Guildford GU2 8XH
Shipping formPDF · print & include with your devicePDF ↓

Sending it by post? We'd suggest a tracked, insured service. Prefer to drop it in? You're welcome Monday to Friday, 9am to 5:30pm — just pack the device as above first.

2

Need more information?

After a little more detail first? Complete the form with more about your issue and an engineer will review it and send a custom quote.

Every enquiry is reviewed personally by an engineer — we normally reply inside 30 minutes during the day. Rather phone? 01483 901310.

Thanks — your message is in.

We'll reply shortly. Anything urgent, call 01483 901310.

// faq

Frequent questions.

Quick answers to what we're asked most.

Yes. Each disk is imaged read-only and the array rebuilt virtually — we work out the stripe size, disk order and parity from the members — so recovery is possible even where several drives have failed, without ever writing to the originals.

Yes — it's one of the jobs we see most. Failed laptops and external drives can be recovered; tell us your submission deadline up front and the job moves to the head of the queue.

Yes. Only our own in-house engineers touch it, it stays within the UK, and we hold ICO registration with GDPR compliance. An NDA is available on request — useful where research is funded or commercially sensitive.

Yes — the university or department can be invoiced and purchase orders accepted, on 30-day terms for established accounts.

No — neither on-site work nor collection is offered. Drop drives off, or post them fully insured. With a research array, remove the disks and send those alone.

That hangs on the device: £300 for single drives, from £500 for RAID and NAS — each plus VAT, after a free diagnostic and a written quote. No fix, no fee on most jobs.

Yes — from our Guildford base we recover academic and research data for universities and research groups throughout Surrey and beyond. Drop drives at the Guildford Business Park point by appointment, or post them fully insured; your data stays in Britain.

// research data lost?

Array down or a thesis in peril? Let’s get it back.

Free diagnostic, written quote, and all kept in-house, confidential, and inside Britain.