Cause of loss · files deleted or missing
People calling from around Hull contact us regarding the file. The important thing to determine is which drive it was located on. When you delete a file on a traditional hard disk drive (HDD), you remove its name from the index and mark its cluster(s) as available; the contents of those cluster(s) remain intact until the computer assigns those cluster(s) to store new information. A solid state drive (SSD) does not have this same delay. TRIM allows the controller to clear the assigned cell(s) for reuse by the operating system, typically while you're trying to figure out what to do with the situation. Both HDDs & SSDs are explained in detail below.
An engineer will take the details
0800 6890668
| The symptoms | What the fault is | What to try |
|---|---|---|
| Completely gone, with no trace in the Recycle Bin | Never even entered the Recycle Bin: a stick, card, Shift+Delete, etc., or something that was just too large for the bin | Do not write anything else to the drive. |
| Exceeding the bin's capacity | Windows immediately deleted it; therefore, it never resided in the Recycle Bin. | The content of the original file usually remains unaltered |
| Gone missing from a memory card/USB stick | Memory cards/USB sticks don't have a place to keep it. Therefore, the reference to that particular file is immediately removed. | Just pull it out & stop right here. |
| Everything went away after syncing! | OneDrive or equivalent has replicated a deletion performed on some other device. | First check the online recycling bin for that account/service. |
| You regularly open this folder, and now nothing is in it. | Deletion, sync clash or other profile | Turn it off before looking for it |
| It's on a solid-state disk and the file is gone | TRIM sends the request to the controller and the controller will clear those blocks (within a few seconds) | Cut power right away |
Every piece of gear that shows up receives a case number on the very same day it arrives. An engineer examines it and determines what is really wrong with it and there is no charge for this. We give you straight language about which files we will be able to copy from the disk and which ones we won't be able to. Then we provide you with a single price quote, in writing, based upon these findings. We don't begin working on anything until you agree to the quoted price.
A running computer continuously writes to its own hard drive all day long without asking permission from anyone: thumbnails, browser caches, an update quietly unpacking itself. Those write operations take place wherever there is available room, which now includes your file. Therefore the disk is pulled out (only the drive comes to us, never the entire PC) and imaged.
If the index remains intact, then names, dates & folder structures return along with data when restored. If the index is not intact, then individual files need to be extracted from the image using signature bytes at the beginning of each format.
A file count on a report does not prove anything. All files are reviewed, and if you have said something is important, it is reviewed individually.
You will not be charged while you think about this. First, you receive a list of everything that was recovered from the drive. Once you have seen the list and given us the go-ahead, the bill comes next. Files are returned to you on media purchased specifically for this job and we cover the return postage as well. Your job is kept open by us until you can view them on your personal computer.
The same keystroke generates different results on an HDD vs an SSD. On an HDD the data resides exactly where it was created and may reside there for years until another file needs that location. If the same delete happens on an SSD such as a WD Blue or a Seagate BarraCuda, the TRIM function empties the cells in minutes. Therefore, when asking about drives and files, we always ask about the drive first.
Twelve months' worth of accounts disappeared from an office machine in Hull's Old Town with a single keystroke, bin included. The disk was imaged the same day and the index rebuilt using this image instead of rebuilding using the original drive. The folder returned entire, with all of its corresponding filenames and dates intact.
It's the storage method that determines whether the information will be deleted when you delete the file. Hard disks leave the content stored until another file comes along that also wants that space (sectors), and most of these jobs come back. On an SSD using TRIM, the empty blocks are cleared by the drive itself. Typically this happens as you continue to use your computer.
Not on a hard disk. It bypasses the queue, that is all. Both paths free the same cluster(s) and leave the byte(s) in them. The bin was always convenient, never protective.
No. Say yes to the question regarding removing content from storage media and Windows performs it there and then, without holding any items back for later processing. Content typically remains in flash memory; our tools only read from the chip(s), not from the directory.
The drive takes care of cleaning itself after it is done using a group of blocks. After the file system is done using a block, TRIM signals that fact to the SSD and the SSD erases those blocks before writing to them again. None of this shows up on screen. That is why an SSD offers minutes instead of weeks.
Leave it off. There are only a few start attempts left in your failing drive and each attempt uses up a little more of what remains. Our complimentary diagnosis will determine what files are readable.