Guides
Worked through, in order
Each guide states what situation it covers, what to stop doing, what to check first, and what the guidance cannot do, with its sources on the page. Organised by the situation you are in.
For the background behind these guides, read the articles and FAQ. Subscribe: all guides and articles (RSS), or per category below.
Not sure which situation you are in?
The guided help tool asks a few calm questions and points you at the right route, cautious by default.
Start guided helpDeleted or formatted
RSSFiles or photos that have vanished: what to do in the first minutes, and what never to do.
Recover deleted photos: check the bins in this order
Deleted photos usually survive first in a trash folder with a countdown: Google Photos, Apple's Recently Deleted, OneDrive, and the Windows Recycle Bin all hold…
Updated 2026-09-14
Deleted files: first steps before trying recovery software
What to do in the first minutes after deleting files on Windows: protect the free space the files occupied, check backups without touching the device, and under…
Updated 2026-09-12
Recover deleted photos from an SD card
Deleted photos usually stay on the card until something writes over them. What deletion and formatting really do, how to recover on any computer, and when photo…
Updated 2026-09-14
Recover files after formatting a USB drive
A quick format usually leaves file contents in place. What formatting actually erases, how recovery works on Windows and Mac, and when files cannot come back.
Updated 2026-09-12
A drive that won't cooperate
RSSSilent, unseen, RAW, or making a new noise: the hardware troubles, by symptom.
External drive not detected
A drive that appears nowhere is usually power, cable or port before it is dead. The documented checks in order, what each error code means, and the states that …
Updated 2026-09-12
External drive detected but not accessible
The parameter is incorrect, access denied, corrupted and unreadable: what each means, the safe checks first, and why the repair-first order is what loses data.
Updated 2026-09-12
Windows RAW drive recovery
A RAW drive usually still holds the files; the index is what broke. What RAW means, why the format prompt is a trap, and how recovery reads around the damage.
Updated 2026-09-12
Mac external drive not mounting
Visible in Disk Utility but not in Finder means the volume did not mount. The safe checks, what First Aid can fix, and the prompts to decline before your data i…
Updated 2026-09-12
SSD disappeared from BIOS
A drive absent from the BIOS is invisible to every recovery tool, so the documented checks come first: ports, seating, cables, M.2 sharing and controller modes,…
Updated 2026-09-12
SSD detected in BIOS but not in Windows: getting the drive seen again
Your firmware lists the SSD but Windows does not, which points at the layer between the drive and the operating system rather than at the drive itself. This gui…
Updated 2026-09-14
SD card not reading: how to get your files off
A card that is not reading is one of three problems: nothing appears anywhere, the card appears and asks to be formatted, or the card works in its camera and no…
Updated 2026-09-14
Clicking hard drive: what to do, and what never to do
Which drive sounds are normal, which new noises deserve caution, and the immediate steps that protect your data when a drive starts making them.
Updated 2026-09-14
The disk is write protected: how to fix it
A write-protected drive refuses every write: saves, deletes, renames, and formats all fail. Work through the checks in order: the card's lock switch, another po…
Updated 2026-09-13
How to unlock a BitLocker-locked drive
A BitLocker-locked drive demands a password, a USB key file, or the 48-digit recovery key before it shows any files. Unlock with what you have, find the key in …
Updated 2026-09-13
Phones
RSSGetting your data off a phone that won't listen to you: the screen is unusable, or the phone won't wake at all.
Recover data from a phone with a broken screen
Cloud backups, a computer and the repair shop come before any recovery software. The official routes for an iPhone or Android phone with a cracked or black scre…
Updated 2026-09-12
Phone won't turn on: how to get your data off
A phone that will not turn on can still be holding your photos. Charge it the way the manufacturer says, force-restart it, try a computer while it half works, a…
Updated 2026-09-14
RAID & NAS
RSSDegraded arrays, and the rebuild decisions that decide whether the data survives.
Computers that won't start
RSSThe machine powers on but the files are locked inside: getting them out safely.
How to recover files from a computer that won't boot
A computer that powers on but will not start Windows or macOS usually still has your files reachable. Copy them off by attaching the drive to another computer o…
Updated 2026-09-14
Files missing after a Windows update: where Microsoft hides the exits
A Windows update can park your files in a temporary profile, a disabled administrator account, or a Windows.old folder on a 10-day clock. Find them before you s…
Updated 2026-09-14
Tools, services & safety
RSSWhat recovery software can and cannot do, what free really means, and when a professional is the route.
When recovery software can make things worse
Recovery software helps deletion and quick-format loss on healthy drives. Where it hurts: clicking drives, chkdsk first, TRIM on SSDs, RAID arrays and repeated …
Updated 2026-09-12
Recovery software free limits, compared from official terms
What each major tool lets you recover without paying, from the vendors' own pages on one date. Three kinds of free, the social-sharing catch, and the numbers th…
Updated 2026-09-14
Choosing a data recovery service
The documented process at established labs runs evaluation, file list, fixed quote, then approval. The questions to ask, the UK legal baseline, and the promises…
Updated 2026-09-12
How to check hard drive health
Windows and macOS both include a drive health check: Get-PhysicalDisk in PowerShell on Windows, and the S.M.A.R.T. status plus First Aid in Disk Utility on a Ma…
Updated 2026-09-13
Prevention
RSSThe setup that turns the next accident into a non-event, and getting files back from the backups it produces.
Backups after data loss
The backup that saves you has three properties, and official guidance agrees on them. Sync is not a backup, unplugged matters, and the built-in tools are docume…
Updated 2026-09-16
How to restore files from Time Machine
Time Machine can bring back a deleted file, an older version of a document, or everything on a new Mac. This guide walks through the documented restore steps, h…
Updated 2026-09-13
How to restore files from File History and Previous Versions
A file is missing or you need an older version of it, and a File History backup may exist. Restore it through File Explorer's Previous Versions tab, which previ…
Updated 2026-09-13
How to test that your backup actually works
A backup counts only if files come back out of it. This guide shows what a real test looks like on Windows, Mac, iPhone, and Android: pull one file back out, th…
Updated 2026-09-14