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Universities & research

Data recovery for universities.

We do a great deal of work for universities and research groups — and academic data is so often irreplaceable. Based in Newcastle, we handle university and research data recovery across Newcastle and the UK: when a research array fails, a departmental server drops, or a student's drive dies weeks before submission, we recover it in-house, by our own engineers, and keep it confidential. Your data never leaves the UK.

Free 48-hour diagnostic
Handled in-house
No fix, no fee · most jobs
// in short

Irreplaceable research, recovered in-house.

Research RAID and NAS storage, departmental servers and student drives, all recovered by our own engineers — confidential, GDPR-compliant, and never leaving the UK.

Research data
Datasets & results
RAID & NAS
Research storage
In-house
Never outsourced
No fix, no fee
Most jobs
// what we recover

Academic data we recover.

From a research group's storage array to a student's thesis drive — recovered in-house and kept confidential.

01

Research data & datasets

Years of results, datasets and analysis stranded on failed research drives, arrays and storage.

02

Departmental servers & RAID

Departmental and lab servers and RAID arrays holding shared research and administrative data.

03

Research NAS storage

Synology, QNAP and other NAS units used for research and shared group storage.

04

Theses & student work

A PhD or final-year student's external drive or laptop that's given out before submission.

05

Lab & instrument data

Data from lab instruments, microscopes and acquisition PCs sitting on failed local drives.

06

Student & staff records

Administrative records and databases, recovered and handled in line with the UK GDPR.

Related: RAID · NAS · Servers · External drives.

// confidentiality & GDPR

Research and records, handled properly.

Research data and personal records are kept confidential and handled in line with the UK GDPR.

Research data and personal records handled confidentially, only by our own engineers in-house.
Your data never leaves the UK — never sent overseas or to a third party.
ICO-registered (No. ZC173784) and compliant with the UK GDPR and Data Protection Act 2018.
NDAs and confidentiality agreements on request — useful for funded or commercially sensitive research.

More on how we handle your data: Data security & confidentiality.

// irreplaceable data

When the data can’t be re-created.

A failed experiment can be run again; years of gathered data usually can't. We regularly see research that stands for an entire PhD, a multi-year grant or a dataset that simply can't be collected twice — so we treat it that way. We image every drive read-only before touching the data, rebuild failed arrays virtually so nothing is written to your originals, and recover the most that's physically there. Working to a submission or grant-reporting deadline? Tell us when you get in touch and we'll prioritise the job.

// how it works

How it works for departments.

A secure route from failure through to a verified handover.

01

Get in touch

Get in touch by phone or email with what's gone wrong — we'll point you to the safest next step.

02

Free diagnostic

Drop the drives off or send them in insured; we confirm what can be recovered.

03

Written quote

A fixed written quote, and a turnaround, before any chargeable work begins.

04

Recover & verify

We recover in-house, verify what came back, and return it on fresh encrypted media or by secure download.

For a research RAID or NAS: take the drives out, label each with its bay order, and send the disks only — we image each read-only and rebuild the array virtually, so nothing is written to your data.
We can invoice the university or department and accept purchase orders, with 30-day terms for established accounts.

Other sectors we work with: Legal · Healthcare · Finance · Business & enterprise.

// sending your device in

Two simple steps.

Send us your device for a free diagnostic, and tell us a little about what happened — an engineer will review it and confirm your exact quote in writing before any work begins.

1

Send us your device

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.

How to pack it
  • Box the device up in a small, sturdy carton or a padded envelope.
  • You can leave out caddies, cables and power supplies — none of them are needed for the recovery.
  • Pop your details inside — name, address, phone and email, on a slip of paper or via our shipping form — and seal it up.
Post toNewcastle Data Recovery
Rotterdam House, 116 Quayside
Newcastle NE1 3DY
Shipping formPDF · print & include with your devicePDF ↓

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.

2

Need more information?

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.

An engineer reviews every enquiry personally — we usually reply within 30 minutes during the day. Prefer to call? 0191 406 1051.

Thanks — your message is in.

We’ll be in touch shortly. For anything urgent, call 0191 406 1051.

// faq

Common questions.

Fast answers to the questions we hear most.

Yes. We image each disk read-only and rebuild the array virtually, even where several drives have failed. Take the drives out, label each with its bay order, and send the disks alone — not the enclosure.

Yes — it's one of the most common jobs we see. We recover failed external drives and laptops; tell us the submission deadline when you get in touch and we'll move the job up the queue.

Yes. It's worked only by our own engineers in-house, never leaves the UK, and we're ICO-registered and GDPR-compliant. We can sign an NDA on request, which helps with funded or commercially sensitive research.

Yes. We can invoice the university or department and take purchase orders, with 30-day terms for established accounts.

No — we don't do on-site recovery or collection. You can drop drives off or send them in fully insured. For a research array, take the drives out and send the disks alone.

It depends on the device: single drives £300, RAID and NAS from £500 — all plus VAT, with a free diagnostic and a written quote first. No fix, no fee applies to most jobs.

Yes. We're based in Newcastle and recover research and academic data for universities and research groups across Newcastle and the UK. Drop drives off at our Quayside drop-off by appointment, or send them in fully insured — and your data never leaves the UK.

// research data lost?

Array down or a thesis at risk? Let’s recover it.

A free diagnostic and a written quote — handled in-house, confidential, and never leaving the UK.