Clicking or dropped HDD
Power it off. Do not open the drive, tap it, freeze it, change boards, or repeatedly test whether it spins.
Euless & Irving intake hoursStart a case
Data-loss first aid
The safest recovery step is often the one you do not take.
Use this guide to protect recovery options during the first minutes after data loss. It cannot diagnose the device, but it can help you avoid common actions that make recovery harder.
Match the symptom
Immediate actions by failure type.
Deleted or formatted data
Stop using the device. Do not reinstall, update, copy new files, or save recovered files back to the same storage.
SSD no longer detected
Avoid repeated restarts, initialization, firmware tools, and destructive secure-erase or formatting prompts.
Liquid or power damage
Disconnect power. Do not charge, heat, use rice, or repeatedly test. Ask for guidance before shipping a damaged battery.
RAID or NAS failure
Stop rebuilds, label every disk by bay, preserve removed and replacement disks, and document the event timeline.
Extremely slow device
Cancel scans and file copies that repeatedly stall. A degrading device may worsen with each read attempt.
Prepare the case
Information that helps recovery decisions.
What changed
Drop, liquid, outage, update, repair, cable change, replacement disk, scan, formatting, or unexpected shutdown.
What you observed
Sounds, messages, lights, missing capacity, disconnects, error codes, smells, heat, and the last successful access.
What matters most
Priority folders, file types, date ranges, projects, databases, virtual machines, and irreplaceable records.
What was attempted
Recovery software, repair tools, rebuilds, cloning, board swaps, opening, other shops, and every power-on attempt.
A clear next step
When in doubt, leave the device powered off.
A paused case usually preserves more choices than an improvised repair. Start a case or call before another scan, rebuild, or power cycle.
Start with a case reviewQuestions, answered
What customers ask before starting.
Can I plug the drive into another computer?
Not if it clicks, disconnects, has physical damage, reads extremely slowly, or has already failed multiple detection attempts. Another connection can add stress without providing useful information.
Should I run CHKDSK, First Aid, or fsck?
These tools repair file-system structures; they are not data-recovery tools. On failing or un-imaged media they can alter structures and complicate recovery. Ask for guidance first.
Can I keep using the computer if only some files are missing?
No. Normal activity can overwrite deleted data and trigger background writes. Shut it down and preserve the storage state.
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