When a drive shows up as RAW, a card throws an error, or your files simply won’t open, the data is usually still sitting there — it’s the structure around it that’s been damaged. We rebuild corrupt file systems and repair broken files from any hard drive, SSD, USB stick or memory card, in-house.
$ bdr diagnose /dev/sda → Device: WD My Passport (2 TB) · external → Status: CORRUPT — file system RAW, data intact → Client: confidential · Benwell NE1 3DY $ bdr engineer-working → Forensic image: taken · originals untouched → File system: rebuilt from NTFS structures → Restored: 2,840 folders · 61,200 files $ bdr verify → ✓ documents — 38,400 files → ✓ photos — 22,800 files → ✓ drive readable again — recovered
Face a corrupt drive and Windows will often offer to ‘scan and fix’ it, or to format it. Utilities like chkdsk can shift or overwrite data as they try to repair, and a format clears the file table outright — either one can turn something recoverable into something that isn’t. Don’t format, keep chkdsk and fsck switched off, and if the drive is making any odd noise, power it down and talk to us first.
Corruption usually harms the structure around your data rather than the data itself — which is exactly why it’s so often recoverable. These are the causes we see most.
We recover from corruption on every kind of storage and every major brand. If it holds your files, the odds are we can help.
Hard drives · SSDs · USB sticks · SD, microSD and CF cards · external and portable drives · the drives inside laptops, PCs and Macs.
Recovering from corruption is a careful, copy-first job. We never work on your original device — we image it, rebuild the file system, then repair and recover your files from that copy.
Tell us what’s corrupt and which device it’s on. We work out whether it’s the file system, individual files or failing hardware, and send a written quote — usually within 48 hours.
We take a forensic image of the device and work only from that copy, so nothing is altered and a failing drive never takes any extra strain.
We reconstruct the corrupt file-system structures to bring back access to your folders and files wherever that can be done.
Where individual files have been damaged, we repair them where possible, or carve the intact data out by its file signature.
We confirm the recovered files open as they should and are intact before any of it comes back to you.
Your recovered files go back on fresh media, organised and ready to use.
We copy your data onto an external drive and post it back, or offer it as a free download for anything up to 75GB.
We recover from corrupt file systems and damaged files on hard drives, SSDs, USB sticks, memory cards and external drives — rebuilding the file system and repairing or carving out your files, always from a forensic copy.
Tell us what’s corrupt and we’ll get back to you, usually within a working day.
We’ll be in touch shortly. If it’s urgent, call 0191 406 1051.
No hidden charges and no hard sell — just a free diagnostic and a quote in writing before any work begins.
A handful of recent corruption jobs across different devices. Identifying details removed, every result verified.
NTFS had corrupted after a power cut. We imaged the drive, rebuilt the file system from its structures, and brought the whole folder tree back.
The card had been pulled mid-write, corrupting the file system. We rebuilt it and recovered the photos and video the camera couldn’t read.
Unsafe removal had damaged the file system. Working from a forensic image, we repaired it and recovered every file intact.
Real client stories from our two-decade testimonial archive.
Two months ago I my Canon 2d Digital Camera fell and broke. The camera card seemed intact but when I connected it to my Macbook it did not read it. I took card into the Cribbs Causeway Jessops to get them to try and read pictures from card but they are could not read it on their photo machine. I was recommended to Newcastle Data Recovery by Jessops. They got the data back of all photos on card, many thanks for your speedy service.
Send the device in for its free diagnostic and tell us briefly what happened; an engineer reviews it and confirms your exact quote in writing before anything starts.
Getting your data back begins with getting the device to us. Pack it up safely, pop your contact details inside, and send it over — once we’ve run the free diagnostic, we’ll confirm your exact price in writing before any work starts.
Posting it? A tracked, insured service is what we’d recommend. Rather drop it in? You’re welcome Monday to Friday, 9am to 5:30pm — just package the device up as above first.
Want a bit more detail first? Fill in the form with more about your issue and an engineer will review it and send you a custom quote.
We’ll be in touch shortly. If it’s urgent, call 0191 406 1051.
The things people most often ask us about recovering corrupted files and drives.
Usually. Corruption tends to damage the structure around your data — the file system, or a file’s internal header — rather than the data itself. We rebuild the file system or repair the files to get your data back, all from a forensic copy of the device.
It usually means the file system has gone corrupt, not that the drive is empty — your data is still sitting underneath. Don’t format it; we can rebuild the file system and recover the files instead.
Please don’t. On a corrupt or failing drive, chkdsk and tools like it can shift or overwrite data while attempting a repair, which frequently makes recovery harder. Imaging the drive first is far safer — and it’s exactly what we do.
Yes — corrupt cards are extremely common, usually from being removed while still writing. We rebuild the card’s file system and recover the photos and videos, even when the camera or phone can no longer read it.
Most often an improper shutdown, a power cut, or removing a drive or card mid-write. Bad sectors, software crashes and interrupted transfers all play their part too.
Sometimes. One-off corruption from a power cut is usually just logical, but repeated corruption or bad sectors can mean the drive is starting to fail. We’ll tell you at the diagnostic stage, and if it’s failing we image it on specialist hardware to keep your data safe.
It’s £250 + VAT for memory cards and USB sticks, and £300 + VAT for hard drives, with a free diagnostic first and no fix, no fee on most jobs. Where a physically failing drive is behind the corruption, we’ll confirm any higher price in writing before starting.
Hard drives, SSDs, USB sticks, SD, microSD and CF cards, external and portable drives, and the disks inside laptops, PCs and Macs. If it holds your files, we can usually help.
Most corrupted-file recoveries are done inside 1 to 3 working days, often sooner, with the diagnostic usually finished within 48 hours. Genuinely urgent cases can be moved up — just say so.
Bring it to our Newcastle location Monday to Friday, 9am to 5:30pm, or post it in fully insured. Seal it up and tuck your contact details inside — name, address, phone number and email — so we can book it in. Once it arrives we run the free diagnostic and send a written quote before any work starts.
A free diagnostic, no fix no fee on most jobs, and corruption recovery from any drive, stick or card. Don’t run repair tools — begin your recovery today.