Laptop Data Recovery in London
Dropped, liquid-damaged or failed laptop? We recover data from every laptop brand and model.
Recover your files from a failed laptop
Laptops take knocks, spills and heat that desktop computers never see, so their drives fail more often. If your laptop won’t start, shows a “no boot device” error or makes clicking sounds, your files may still be recoverable. Data Doctor recovers data from laptops of every make at our London lab, starting with a free initial consultation.
Common laptop failures
- Dropped laptop – damaged heads on hard drives, cracked boards on SSDs.
- Liquid spills – corrosion on the drive or motherboard.
- “No bootable device” or “operating system not found” errors.
- Clicking, beeping or grinding noises from the hard drive.
- Blue screen errors, freezing and very slow start-up – early signs of drive failure.
- Accidental deletion, formatting or a failed Windows reset.
- Soldered SSDs in ultrabooks, where the storage is part of the motherboard.
Safe and Confidential Laptop Data Recovery services
Signs your laptop drive is failing
Laptop drives often give warnings before they fail completely. Look out for the laptop taking much longer to start, programs freezing, files that won’t open, repeated “Windows is checking your disk” messages, or new noises from the hard drive. If you spot any of these, copy your important files to another drive straight away. If the laptop has already stopped working, switch it off and book a free initial consultation rather than repeatedly restarting it.
All laptop brands
We recover data from Dell, HP, Lenovo, Asus, Acer, Toshiba, Samsung, Sony VAIO, Fujitsu, Alienware, Compaq, Microsoft Surface and Apple MacBooks.
Our laptop recovery process
- Free initial consultation – we check whether the fault is physical or logical.
- Diagnosis and quote – physical faults need a clean room diagnostic (£79 + VAT); you approve the price before we start.
- Repair and imaging – physical faults are repaired in our clean room and the drive is cloned.
- Recovery and return – your files are checked and copied to an external drive (available at the current market price). Standard jobs take 2–4 working days.
Business laptops and encrypted drives
Company laptops are often protected with BitLocker, FileVault or third-party encryption. We can recover encrypted drives as long as you can supply the password or recovery key – your IT department may hold it. Every job is handled in our controlled-access lab and your data is only returned to you.
Before you send your laptop
- Switch it off if you hear clicking or grinding.
- After a spill, don’t power it on or charge it – remove the battery if you can.
- Don’t run Windows reset or recovery partitions, which overwrite data.
- If BitLocker is enabled, find your recovery key (often in your Microsoft account).
Frequently asked questions
Do I need to send the whole laptop?
For most laptops the drive alone is enough. For MacBooks and laptops with soldered storage, send the whole machine with its charger.
Can data be recovered from a laptop that was dropped?
Usually. A dropped hard drive normally needs a head replacement in our clean room, which we can do in-house.
How much does laptop data recovery cost?
Deleted-file recovery starts at £99 + VAT, physical hard drive recovery is £450 + VAT plus any donor drive, and SSD repairs are £450–£650 + VAT. The initial consultation is free. See our price list.
Can you recover data from a laptop with a soldered SSD?
Often, yes. Where the storage is soldered to the motherboard, we repair the board so the laptop can start and the data can be copied off.
How long does laptop recovery take?
Diagnosis normally takes around 24 hours, and most recoveries are complete in 2–4 working days.