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Data Recovery Darwin

Data recovery · Winnellie, Darwin

The drive clicks, the laptop won’t start, the USB stick says it needs formatting. The data is usually still there. We assess it free and tell you the odds.

Stop using the device. Every read from a failing drive makes recovery harder. Power it off and bring it in.

Free assessment and a written quote before any recovery

Drives, cards, phones and the boards inside them.

Hard drives

Clicking, beeping, slow, not detected, or showing as unallocated. We image the drive to a healthy one first, then recover files from the image so the original isn’t worked any harder.

SSDs and NVMe drives

Drives that vanish from the system or stop responding. Often a controller or firmware fault rather than lost data.

USB sticks and memory cards

Sticks that ask to be formatted, SD cards from cameras, dashcams and drones, and photos deleted by accident.

Dead laptops and desktops

When the machine is dead but the drive is fine, we pull the data straight off onto a new drive or computer.

Water, storm and drop damage

Laptops that got wet, drives from lightning-struck desktops, dropped external drives. Board-level repair on the drive’s controller where that’s the fault.

RAID, NAS and servers

Failed arrays and NAS units (Synology, QNAP and others) rebuilt or reassembled virtually so the volume can be read again.

Deleted and formatted

Emptied bins, formatted drives, and Windows or macOS installs that broke with your files still on the disk.

Encrypted drives

BitLocker, FileVault and LUKS drives where you have the key or password.

Physical failures

Drives with failed heads or damaged platters need a cleanroom. We tell you straight away and refer you to a specialist instead of making it worse.

Afterwards

Recovered data checked and handed over on a new drive, and a backup set up so it doesn’t happen twice.

Assess. Quote. Recover.

  1. Bring the drive or the device

    Switched off. Don’t run recovery software on it first, and don’t keep trying to open it.

  2. Free assessment

    We work out whether it’s logical, a failed board or mechanical, and the realistic odds. Then a written quote.

  3. Recovery and handover

    You approve the quote, we recover what can be recovered, and you get it back on a healthy drive with a list of what came back.

What it costs

If we assess it and can’t help, you pay nothing.

Assessment and written quote Free
Logical recovery Deleted files, corrupted file systems, drives that still spin. Labour included.$150
Board-level and RAID recovery Quoted after assessment, depending on the failure.Quoted
Cleanroom mechanical recovery Referred to a specialist. We don’t attempt head or platter work here.Referred

Common questions

My hard drive is clicking. Can you get the files?

Clicking usually means a mechanical problem. Stop powering it on. We assess it free; if it needs a cleanroom we refer you rather than risk the platters.

The USB stick says it needs to be formatted. Is the data gone?

Usually not. The file system is damaged but the data blocks are often intact. Don’t format it; bring it in.

Can you recover photos from a memory card?

Yes, including deleted photos and cards that stopped reading, as long as they haven’t been overwritten by new photos.

How long does recovery take?

Simple logical recoveries are often a few days. Large drives take longer to image, and failed boards depend on parts. We give you a time with the quote.

Do you keep a copy of my data?

No. Working copies are deleted once you’ve confirmed you have what you need.

Can you recover a phone?

It depends on the phone and the damage. Bring it in and we’ll tell you honestly whether it’s something we can do.

Darwin, Palmerston and the whole Territory.

Drop-off at Winnellie is best. Drives from Katherine, Alice Springs and remote communities can be sent by courier; call first and we’ll tell you how to pack it.

Before you come in

Power it off and leave it off. If it’s making a noise, don’t try it again. If it’s wet, don’t dry it with heat.

Assessment is free. You get the odds and the quote in writing before any recovery starts.

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