Specialist work · urgent cases
A server the entire company runs on should not be waiting behind anything. Urgent work goes straight to the top of the bench, gets its diagnosis the day it lands, and images without a break for as long as the lab is open. You will not hear any performance from us about a place that never shuts. You will hear what urgent actually means.
Run the problem past an engineer
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| The problem | What's behind it | First move |
|---|---|---|
| The main company server or array has gone down | Several disks to image and an array to rebuild — priority by default | Say 'business down' when you ring |
| A rebuild died halfway and nobody wants to touch it | Sensible: each new attempt costs you recoverable data | Switch it off and call |
| A fixed deadline rests on those files | Tax return, hearing, tender — the schedule is built around your date | Give us the date itself |
| The sole copy of something irreplaceable failed | Urgent is not just for companies; a family archive counts as well | You will get a straight answer either way |
| An encryption attack is under way | Contain it first, preserve evidence, then recover | Unplug the network cable; leave the power be |
Every item gets its own case number on the day it lands here. An engineer traces the fault, gives you a plain assessment of what is realistically recoverable, and puts one fixed price in writing. The diagnosis is free, you are under no obligation, and chargeable work starts only when you say go.
Tell us the business has stopped, or name the deadline, and the case is priority from that call. The courier is booked and bench space cleared before it arrives.
Diagnosis happens the day your device arrives. From then it images without a break, ahead of every other job on the bench, and an update is one phone call away whenever you want it.
The moment the recovered files line up with your critical list, we set up the handover: secure transfer, courier or collection, whichever puts you back to work soonest.
You get the full list of recovered files first, and nothing is charged until you approve it. Data goes back on fresh media, return postage paid, and the job stays open on our side until you confirm every file opens at your end.
The sums behind every speed claim: five things govern how long a recovery takes — the nature of the fault, the capacity, the condition of the media, whether the right donor exists, and what was attempted before it reached us. That is why this page gives you opening hours instead of an always-open badge: priority jobs run without a break through the working day, diagnosis is done on the day your device arrives, and you get a real timeline as soon as one can honestly be offered.
Monday, the RAID beneath the booking system failed — a rebuild had already been attempted, and badly. Tuesday, every member was imaged. Wednesday, the array was reassembled virtually. Thursday lunchtime, a checked database went back into service. Priority queue, no theatrics.
On priority, a logical fault on a drive that is otherwise sound often comes back in one to two working days. Dying hardware and multi-disk arrays run longer, because imaging speed sets the pace, not effort. You get an honest timescale on the day diagnosis finishes.
No. Treat with suspicion any lab claiming mechanical work carries on through the night. An urgent job goes to the head of the bench and is worked without a break for as long as the doors are open — Monday to Friday, 9am–5:30pm. That is what honest speed looks like.
No serious lab promises a date on a physical fault before it has been looked at. Timing depends on donor parts and the state of the media. What you get instead: the head of the queue, a diagnosis on the day the drive arrives, and a clear answer the moment the schedule is known.
Yes. Priority moves your job in front of everything else at the bench. The exact cost sits in your fixed written quote, so you see it before you commit — and the diagnosis is free whichever way you go.
Switch a failing device on again and you lose a little more. Open a case before you do — the diagnosis is free, whatever it finds.