Devices · NVMe & solid-state
A solid-state drive gives no warning noise; it just disappears. The cause: a failed controller, corrupted firmware, or the mains dropping mid-write. Work of this kind happens at the flash itself, and nowhere else does acting quickly count for as much.
Speak to an engineer about it
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| The wording | What that tells you | First step |
|---|---|---|
| Model name reads SATAFIRM S11 | A Phison controller dropped into ROM mode — the name gives it away | Keep manufacturer utilities away from it |
| BIOS shows no sign of the SSD | Firmware or controller has failed; your files sit on the NAND | Bench work at chip level |
| Capacity reads 0GB, or something wrong | Corruption in the flash translation layer (FTL) | No more power cycles |
| A sharp drop in SMART health | Genuine wear, or firmware misreporting it | Read the maker's advisory, then image |
| Error 0x800701E3 raised on an SSD volume | The hardware faulted during a read | Image it; skip the repair utilities |
| Boot device not found, straight after an update | The flash upgrade hung part-way and bricked it | Keep the power off |
As soon as it lands with us, your device gets its own case number. An engineer works out the fault, says what can genuinely be pulled off, then puts one fixed price in writing — no charge for diagnosis, no obligation, and no chargeable work until you approve it.
Each fresh power-up pushes an ailing SSD deeper into self-protection. We bring it up in a safe technological mode and speak to the flash on our terms.
With the controller out of action, we read the flash chips straight and rebuild the translation layer in software: the index that turns raw NAND dumps back into documents and photographs.
Wear-levelling spreads each file over all the chips, so we reorder the pieces, rebuild the file system, and check the result against a full listing.
You sign off a complete list of the recovered files first; only then does the recovery fee fall due. Everything returns on fresh media, postage paid, and the job stays open until you confirm the files open at your end.
Straight from the maker: in its 990 Pro notice Samsung said the sudden health readings 'were found to be caused by issues with the SSD's firmware', and that the February 2023 release halts the reported wear without undoing it. Read the advisory before you write a drive off.
A botched firmware update on a laptop left the system drive dead. We woke it in technical mode, rebuilt the translation tables, and pulled back ten years of a photographer's edited catalogues, intact.
Possibly, provided you shut it down immediately. TRIM means an SSD quietly wipes deleted data on its own, which no hard drive does. More vanishes with every minute of power. Here, pulling the plug really is the correct response.
Seldom. Not being detected usually points to the controller or firmware, while the NAND holding your files is generally fine. Chip-level reads bring most of them back.
Different, not hopeless. Spinning disks break mechanically; SSDs fail electronically and logically. The kit differs, but where TRIM has not run the odds compare well.
Soldered-down storage falls under our Mac and laptop work — the same chip-level methods, carried out on the machine's own board.
Powering a damaged device up again costs you data. Start a case first; diagnosis is free whatever you decide.