A phone that won’t turn on, a laptop that took a knock, an external drive that clicks and won’t open — and years of photos and documents on it. It’s a sickening moment, but it often isn’t the end of the story. A lot of data is recoverable, if you do the right things first.
First, do no harm
What you do in the first few minutes matters more than anything:
- Water damage? Don’t try to charge or power it on — that’s when short circuits do the real damage. Power it off and leave it off.
- A drive making clicking or grinding noises? Stop using it immediately. Every attempt to read it can make things worse.
- Accidentally deleted files? Stop saving anything new to that device — new data can overwrite what you’re trying to get back.
- Don’t keep retrying or run random “recovery” tools you found online; they often overwrite the very data you want.
What’s usually recoverable
- Deleted photos and files that haven’t been overwritten yet.
- Data from drives with logical faults (corruption, failed formatting).
- Photos and messages from many phones that won’t start, depending on the fault.
- Files from water- or drop-damaged devices, often after specialist work.
What’s harder
Physically destroyed storage, or drives that have been heavily written over after the loss, are tougher — which is exactly why stopping early matters so much. Encrypted devices also need the passcode or key.
The real lesson: back up before you need to
Once your photos are safe, set up a backup so this is never a crisis again — ideally automatic phone backup plus a second copy of the irreplaceable stuff (see our guide on backups that actually work).
Got a dead phone, a dropped laptop or a drive that won’t open? Stop using it and bring it in. We’ll assess what’s recoverable, here in the South West, and tell you honestly what the chances are before you spend a cent on recovery.