Partick doesn't have far to go; from about half of the West End of Glasgow you can be on that bench in ten minutes, and for the rest of the area it is even nearer than the main supermarket. Students, medics, academics and anyone else who lives above a Dumbarton Road close: your failed drive's commute is shorter than yours.
The interchange at Partick makes this the most well connected page on this website. The Subway or the North Clyde train can be taken to get you into town. Buses run up and down Dumbarton Road constantly. If you are feeling adventurous, a brisk walk along Argyle Street through Finnieston will take you to Charing Cross. Tay House is at 300 Bath Street, and the counter is open Monday to Friday 9am–5:30pm. Posting from G11 feels almost decadent, but it works too.
West End casework is its own type of casework: thesis laptops at the most inconvenient time possible; research data and clinical-adjacent computers will be treated discreetly; creative portfolios from older external drives; and photo archives from tenement flats. The university quarter pressure is also well-known here: we take note of your deadline when you drop it off and we'll treat it seriously.
No matter what device arrives, the prices do not change based upon your postcode. There is always a free diagnostic first. The fixed price of the recovery will be agreed to in writing prior to any work. The price is £250 + VAT for cards and sticks. Single drives cost £300 + VAT. RAID systems, NAS devices, and server hardware cost from £500 + VAT. In addition, in most cases you only pay if we have recovered your lost data. All data recovery jobs are completed in-house by our own employees (engineers), and your data never leaves the UK.
Yes, this is exactly what we see at least once per term. Most of the time, your data will survive longer than your laptop. Deadlines which are very tight get on the priority list. In addition, you can get a same-day free diagnosis and find out right away where you stand. What kills theses is a week of DIY attempts first, so skip that step.
You can. After receiving your quote, the service counter at Tay House operates on a first-come, first-served basis with no appointments required Monday to Friday 9am–5:30pm. Bring it (the device) turned off. The time taken for drop-off will be about two minutes. There is no charge for the diagnostic. Once completed, you will receive a written estimate prior to proceeding.
Before posting or dropping off, call or use our quote form to get an estimated price for your item(s), then turn it off. Pad your items securely and head for either the counter at Tay House, 300 Bath Street (open Mon–Fri 9am–5:30pm, no need to book) or send them insured and trackable via post from Partick. Either way, your item will be tested free of charge and we'll provide a written quotation prior to taking any decisions about it.
In every instance, all data recovery services, both diagnosis and imaging/data recovery, are performed at our Glasgow laboratory regardless of which city/region the client resides in.
Do not use your drive again. Each additional time you use your drive increases the risk that the remaining recoverable data may be overwritten. A faulty drive's head(s) are also at greater risk of coming into contact with its platter(s). If the system remains active, turn it off safely and then leave it turned off.
Do not run any data recovery software on the original hard disk. Most consumer data recovery programs create their own file indexes on the hard disk being scanned. While this typically does not harm a functioning hard disk containing deleted files, once the hard disk contains bad sector(s) or is mechanically failed, it will limit what was possible through data recovery efforts.
Do not open your drive. Even a small amount of dust entering a drive can damage the surface of the drive after only a few revolutions. If it has already been opened, tell us: it changes our approach, not our willingness to help.
Remove the drive where you can. Please send just the hard drive or SSD. We are not able to accept full computers (laptops/desktops). All computer shops can remove the internal drive from a system within minutes. External drives are the exception and need to be sent complete. Please include the external case/enclosure when sending the drive. This is because many external enclosures contain the bridge board which contains the encryption key. If the drive is sent without the case, then the drive will appear blank/unformatted.
Our diagnostic is free and is a real diagnostic. Our process involves putting your drive on the bench, not through a script, and identifying the type of fault. At this time, we determine if the media on your drive is stable enough to be imaged, and what information may actually be recovered before we discuss cost.
You get a fixed price in writing before work begins. Not a price range or estimate that changes once the job has started. Once you see the fixed price, you decide based upon the price you see. In most cases, no payment is due if we cannot recover your data.
We image first then repair from that copy. Your original drive is read only once using the least invasive method possible with the equipment. Every single repair operation is performed on the image of your original drive. Using this method ensures that your original drive is never damaged further than necessary.
Every step of recovery is done in-house. Your drive will never leave our facility while being worked on. Your data will always remain within the United Kingdom. Once your recovery is complete, you will receive a list of files found on your drive so that you may review them prior to receiving your completed recovery. 30 days after you acknowledge receipt of your completed recovery, all copies of your data stored on our servers will be deleted securely.