The lab is taking new cases · 9am–5:30pm, Mon–Fri In a hurry? Call 0800 6890668
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The lab · free fault check & price

Find the fault now. Take a fixed price after.

Answer two questions and you'll learn the likely fault, what's worth doing in the next five minutes, and a realistic timescale for the bench work. Then send the details across — there's no charge for the diagnosis once it lands, and the figure we write down is the figure you pay.

Speak to an engineer about it
0800 6890668

Begin with the free fault check.

What happens in a case →
Free fault check online · no commitment SDR-2026-····

What sort of device is it?

Choose whichever comes nearest.

A pair of questions, a straight answer, and the single step worth taking before your device travels. None of it replaces the free diagnosis carried out once an engineer has the thing in hand — treat it as the advice you'd hear on the phone, only reachable at midnight.

Send us the details.

No charge to diagnose · one written price · nothing owed. This reaches our support desk; expect an answer inside a working day, Mon–Fri 9am–5:30pm.

What follows once you hit send.

01

A reply inside one working day

Every enquiry lands with an engineer. You'll get a candid first view on the odds, on what to avoid doing in the meantime, and on where the device should be posted.

A real engineer, not a botOften the same day
02

Diagnosis once it reaches us Free

We log the device against a case reference of its own and examine it properly — confirming the fault and whether the data can come back.

Case number assignedExamined once it lands
03

One fixed price, and your call

The quote comes to you in writing. Say yes and recovery begins; say no and the device is returned — nothing to pay for the assessment, and no ill feeling.

Quote fixed in writing

Complete the shipping form.

Want the PDF instead? →

Address it to · post fully insured, or bring it in · Mon–Fri 9am–5:30pm

Guildford Data Recovery
Building 2, Ground Floor
Guildford Business Park
Guildford, GU2 8XH

Put the device in a padded envelope or a small box, sealed, with this form tucked in beside it. Nobody collects — send it tracked and fully insured, or bring it round on a weekday during office hours.

We want the drive, not the machine: with a PC, laptop, Mac or a CCTV/DVR recorder, pull the drive out and send that alone — any computer shop will do it while you wait.

Two exceptions: an external drive still in its case, and a NAS (better to pull the disks out, since those housings run large). Phones and tablets fall outside what we recover.

1About you
2The device

Type of device — tick any that apply

RAID / server: post the disks only, not the chassis or controller, each marked with the bay it sat in — 1, 2, 3… NAS: the whole box is fine too.

3The fault

What's wrong — tick any that apply

4Files you need
Once your media has been assessed we'll call and email you. 0800 6890668 · southampton-datarecovery.co.uk Most jobs: no data back, no charge
Print a copy for the parcel, send it ahead online, or do both — filing early means the case is open before your device arrives.

Type into it here and the printed sheet carries your answers across. Prefer pen and paper? download the PDF and use that instead — both work equally well, we just need one of them in the parcel.

Getting it ready to travel.

Pack it with careUse the original case where you still have it, pad every face generously, and let nothing rattle around. Small items belong in a jiffy bag placed inside a box — never rolling about by themselves.
Send it tracked and insuredChoose a tracked, insured service and hang on to the receipt. Whatever the outcome, return postage to you is on us.
Mark up multi-drive setsShip RAID and server disks loose, each one labelled with the bay it came from. The array order matters to the rebuild, and working it out afterwards eats time.
Talk to us about awkward jobs firstFor a server, a large NAS or anything you'd sooner not trust to a courier, ring 0800 6890668 and we'll settle on the safest way to move it.

Sort these before boxing it

  • Send your passwords too — BitLocker keys, FileVault or login passwords, written on the shipping form. Encryption locks us out as firmly as anyone.
  • Say which folders come first — tell us what you care about most and verification starts there.
  • External drives: the unit alone — cables can stay at home. On WD portables above all, the disk and its board are a matched set.
  • Leave power adapters out unless we ask for them, and any broken fragments should travel in the box, not the bin.

Worth saying twice: whatever answer the checker gave you, resist switching the device on for one more look. Most of the avoidable damage reaching this bench comes from a final hopeful try by someone who already knew better.

Questions people ask first, answered plainly.

Does the online checker count as the free diagnosis?

No, and the distinction is important. What the tool above does is turn your description into a straight first opinion, right away. A free diagnosis means an engineer with the device in front of them, finding the real fault. One points you in a direction; the other is what your quote rests on.

What will data recovery cost me?

Pick your device in the checker above and it names the band you start from: cards and memory sticks at £250 + VAT, a lone drive of any type at £300 + VAT, recorders at £400 + VAT, and £500 + VAT upwards once two or more disks are involved. Our pricing page sets out every band; the free assessment when it arrives converts yours into a firm written figure.

Which jobs come under 'no fix, no fee'?

For most work, no fee is charged if the files you wanted don't come back. Exceptions get their own quote before we start — chiefly drives with mechanical or electronic damage, and anything another outfit has already opened or worked on.

When will I get a reply?

Inside one working day, and usually inside 30 minutes; replies outside office hours take longer. After the device arrives, most single-drive diagnoses are done within 48 hours.

Two minutes today, one figure back.

Use the checker, send the form, post the device. From there the decisions are all yours — and either way the assessment is free.

0800 6890668

Book a free diagnosis Posting your device