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ADR / Media and machines / Toshiba laptops and drives

Toshiba · Satellite, Satellite Pro, Tecra, Portégé, Qosmio

Toshiba laptop data recovery, London. Post the drive and keep the laptop; on a Toshiba that is very nearly the whole job.

The cost of a single drive is £300 + VAT, and there is no charge for the initial assessment. Most Toshiba calls come down to one of four different problems. The first and commonest is a 2.5in disk drive at the end of its hours: a lid with "TOSHIBA" on it puts the laptop at 2019 or older, and its disk has run continuously since it was new. The second is a hard drive password entered into Setup on the drive itself, which no reinstall will touch. The third is flash memory soldered onto the motherboard, as on a Click or a Chromebook, where there is nothing to unscrew; soldered storage is not taken on by us, so if you're unsure whether you have soldered flash storage or a removable drive, please contact us first. The fourth is BitLocker encryption with the key missing. Which of the other three problems it is determines the type of work required and the price associated with it, and we decide that before we ever speak a price. Packages arrive from Hackney, Wandsworth, Bromley, Richmond and Hammersmith.

Only pay if we recover your data, on most jobs A free look first, then one figure in writing Media posted in from Croydon, Ealing and Camden

Put it to an engineer — the first look costs nothing
0203 0868633

Toshiba: what the symptom usually means.

Different fault? Try the finder →
What is going onThe usual reason for itWhere that leaves you
It displays the Toshiba logo and then hangsThe disk cannot provide Windows with what it needs to start up. However, your documents are usually unharmedTake out the drive, get a quote first, then send that
A tick or faint knock coming from a SatelliteOlder 2.5in disks that are about ready to wear their heads outShut it off and keep it shut off
Setup wants a hard disk password that nobody setA password stored within the drive's own firmware, where Windows never sees itTell us before you seal the box
The M.2 card in a Portégé has disappeared from the list of drivesIts controller has stopped responding, while the flash behind that controller frequently remains intactPost the card by itself
BitLocker wants its forty-eight digitsGenuine encryption, doing exactly as someone set it up to doFind the key before you post the drive
There is nothing inside to unscrew and removeOn a Click or a Chromebook the flash memory is part of the mainboardSoldered flash is not taken on; ring us first if you're unsure whether you have soldered flash or a removable drive
Packing it and posting it: get a quotation first (either via the telephone or with our online form), then make certain it is adequately padded so that it does not move around when it travels, and post it tracked and insured to our Guildford intake lab, or take it directly to us there, Monday to Friday, 9am to 5:30pm (no appointment needed). We cover the postage costs for the trip home. Would you prefer to discuss packing the item with one of our engineers prior to sealing the package? Please call us. All aspects of how to pack and post it are detailed within the guide to packing and posting.

Four ways a Toshiba stops, and what each of them means.

Satellite and Satellite ProThese make up most of our work, with a 2.5in disk underneath a hatch on the bottom of the computer. Typically, there are three or four screws holding it in place, and once they're removed, you'll see the drive lift out. However, that does not apply to the small ones such as a Click, a Chromebook or one of the little Satellites, due to their design: their flash memory is mounted directly to the board, and we do not accept soldered storage. Read us the model number off the base and before you even pick up a screwdriver we'll let you know which type you have.
Tecra and Portégé, the work machinesWork laptops come equipped with two additional features. Setup allows a password to be written directly onto the drive itself, into firmware where reinstalls never reach, and BitLocker may be layered over the top of that password. Neither will hinder your ability to contact us for assistance, and both are answered straight while your assessment still costs nothing.
The 1.8in disk in a PortégéNot all Toshiba drives are of the standard 2.5in variety. The thinnest Portégé models used a 1.8in disk with its own special connector, and standard equipment is unable to read one. Contact us with the model number found on the underside of your computer and we'll inform you whether or not you have a 1.8in disk within your unit before you open it.
Soldered flash, and what it altersDue to the fact that the flash memory is part of the mainboard on a Click, a Chromebook or one of the smallest Satellites, there is no drive of any kind to remove from these units. Therefore, with nothing to unscrew, these units are not accepted: we do not take on storage that is soldered to the mainboard. Please contact us first if you are uncertain about the type of storage you possess.

From the box arriving to your files going back.

01

Logged the day it lands, and the first look costs nothing Free

As soon as your parcel arrives here, an engineer assigns a case number that same day, prior to determining what has really failed, which is the first thing done and costs you nothing. In addition to a note of what can and cannot be recovered from your drive, you will receive at the same time the fixed, written price for restoring what can be recovered. You can accept this quote, or decline it, which will result in no further obligation on your part and nothing owed to us.

Nothing to pay for lookingA single figure, put in writingNothing owed at this stage
02

The drive is out before anything gets power

None of our technicians press any buttons or attempt to restart a system in the hope of receiving a better answer. The only item sent to us is the storage device, which is a 2.5in disk on most of them or an M.2 card on a late Portégé or Tecra, and behind a write blocker we settle this question early: laptop or drive? When it becomes apparent that the problem lies with the laptop itself, our process changes to simply a straightforward copy operation and thus, pricing decreases.

A write blocker in front of itLaptop or drive: which has failed
03

An image is made before any repair

From then on, each subsequent step runs against the image, while none run against what arrived in the post. Where the heads have ceased operation, the disk is opened and fitted with a donor stack that matches on model and production batch. When flash memory begins to fail due to heat, it is read in short bursts, each followed by a brief cooling period. Easy ground is addressed first and the harder ground is dealt with after that is accomplished safely.

Mechanical work where heads have goneSoldered flash not taken on
04

Opened up here before it travels

Our word alone isn't sufficient proof. Everything we read back from your data (documents, spreadsheets, photos, emails, music) is opened here, and the folder tree is compared against the description you provided during your phone call when you contacted us. Every file you identified as critical is examined completely and not just checked against an inventory list.

Each file opened hereThe ones you named are checked first
05

You see the file list before you pay

You will see what has been recovered as a list first, after which a bill exists. Accepting the list means that a bill will be issued. Rejecting the list means that a bill will not be issued, and in most cases you only pay if we recover your data. The recovered data travels from here back to you via new media purchased specifically for your project, with the cost of postage paid by us. Your case is not resolved (i.e., "closed") until you personally view the files on a computer of your own.

No charge until you accept the figureFresh media, supplied with the jobThe post home is ours

What arrives most often

  • The screen that displays the Toshiba logo does not point fingers: it merely states that your system was unable to read the files necessary to start up properly. The aforementioned screen is produced by three separate issues independent of one another: (a) the age of your disk drive; (b) a failed Windows install; (c) your drive has become disconnected from its socket connection. The only method available to determine which issue is responsible for this behaviour is to examine the contents of your storage device.
  • Some of these systems have nothing that can be removed: on a Click, a Chromebook or one of the smallest Satellites the flash is soldered into the mainboard. No panel to remove, no screw to turn, no card to slide out. Systems with soldered storage are therefore not taken on by our team, and they stand as the one exception to everything else written here; if in doubt about which type of machine you have, call us first.
  • The recovery partition is a trap on these machines: hold 0 while powering up your Toshiba and it will offer to restore your laptop back to its factory settings. This is a rebuild, not a repair: it installs a brand new version of Windows on top of all the files you are attempting to recover. If someone has previously completed this process, please advise us, because it changes what is still there to find.
  • Questions about locks are answered before you owe any money: a Tecra or a Portégé purchased for work will often carry two (one password on the drive itself and BitLocker sitting over it), and neither will open without what it asks for. There are approximately four locations where a BitLocker key can be found: a Microsoft account, an employer's directory records, an old memory stick, or a sheet of paper somewhere within someone's files. Check these four areas, and then call us however it works out.

Two things this page will not soften: no laboratory can bypass encryption without having either the password or the recovery key in their possession, regardless of claims made during advertising, and a volume in such a state remains locked. Secondly, a platter that has been damaged due to failure of its head no longer physically contains the data previously located upon those tracks, therefore there is nothing anyone can retrieve. Overwriting acts the same way: a factory restore followed by several weeks of normal usage will forever result in the loss of a portion of what was once stored. Both of these points are said to you while the work remains free. The cost of recovering one drive is £300 + VAT, written down immediately after completion of the initial free assessment, and the timeframe is typically three to four working days from delivery of the parcel to dispatch of the new media. We only take storage devices: no phones, no tablets. In most cases you only pay if we recover your data.

One job, followed all the way through.

LDN · ADR-2026-3401JOB LOGGED ✓

A year of slowing down, and then the EliteBook stopped at the logo

A land agent in Islington had a collection of tenancy paperwork, valuation documents and site photographs going back nine years, stored on an HP EliteBook that the practice's IT department had never opened. From the spring things began to slow down, and eventually the laptop wouldn't get beyond the logo screen. The hard drive was removed, and behind a write blocker it slowly started to read. However, the hard drive contained a band around the middle that would not respond at any speed setting. This band was left until the rest of the disk had been safely copied, and was then worked in small passes over two nights. No file travelled anywhere until all folders had been opened and reviewed on our workbench, with the tenancy agreements and valuations being reviewed first, due to them both being named in the telephone call.

Every last folder opened before going backThe entire disk cloned before any repair

What helps, and what harms.

Do this much first

  • Shut it down now and leave it off
  • Recite the screen to us word for word
  • Say whether Setup was ever locked with a password
  • Antistatic bag for the drive; get a quote first, then send this alone

What sets us back

  • Allowing the factory restore to run at start-up
  • Reinstalling Windows onto that disk
  • Permitting Windows to fix a failing disk
  • Placing any new content onto the disk you want back

Questions answered before you commit.

It sticks at the Toshiba logo. Is the disk finished?

It might be; however, there are possibly two or three other causes for the same screen display, and staring at the screen will not inform you as to which cause. The computer is stating that it cannot read the files from which it begins. A 2.5in hard drive with too many hours behind it may do this. Additionally, a broken Windows installation will produce this error, and so will a hard drive that has become loose from its connector. As long as the computer remains off, the problem area is not put under pressure, whereas restarting only puts it under the same load again. Leave it off, then contact us via phone or complete our quotation request form to obtain a quote first. Then send the hard drive alone or drop it off at our Guildford intake lab, Monday to Friday, 9am to 5:30pm (no appointment needed), and a few minutes of complimentary assessment will determine which of the three it is.

Setup is asking for a hard disk password and nobody remembers setting one.

Business Toshiba computers have an option to create a password on their drives. Windows holds no copy of the password; instead, it is stored within the firmware of the hard drive, which is why reinstalling Windows changes nothing. While a password is set, normal bench ports are unable to communicate with the hard drive, so please tell us about it while you are still packing, as this decides what the assessment tackles first. Where a Tecra or a Portégé laptop was handed on by an employer, whoever configured it very often still has the password. It is best to ask them prior to writing it off.

BitLocker wants forty-eight digits and we do not have them.

The volume remains closed. This is not a limitation of our bench: BitLocker is doing exactly what someone intended for it to do, and since we do not possess the key, it prevents everyone, including ourselves, from accessing the volume. The good news is that the key exists more often than not. There are four possible locations where the key may reside: a Microsoft account, a company directory record, an older memory stick, or a printed document located somewhere in a desk drawer. Meanwhile, we can make a copy of the entire volume using imaging techniques and keep the image securely until such time that you find the key. None of this work requires payment.

Should the whole laptop come, or just the drive?

Only send the hard drive; do not send the entire laptop. Almost every Toshiba laptop has a small panel located underneath, with three or four screws behind it, and once they are removed the hard drive lifts straight out, or on a late Portégé the M.2 card slides out of its slot. Put it into an antistatic bag, put that in a padded box, and you are finished. It will be cheaper to just post the drive than to post a whole laptop, which costs more in postage as well as handing a courier more to break. This does not apply to smaller models such as a Click, a Chromebook or one of the little Satellites, since they keep their flash memory installed directly onto the motherboard, and soldered memory storage is not something we accept. Call us to see if this applies to your model. Get a quote first, by phone or with the form, before sending anything. We don't have a counter in London; however, you can post it to us, tracked and insured, or you can drop it off at our Guildford intake lab, Monday to Friday, 9am to 5:30pm (no appointment needed).

Begin here if yours is doing the same thing.

Servers that refuse to come up → A mirrored RAID 1 pair → After a ransomware incident → Every device we take →

Nothing gets worse while the power is off.

It doesn't cost you anything for us to look at it. All we do is give you a breakdown of what opened and what did not, plus a single fixed price to complete, written down before you agree to let us continue. On most jobs, you only pay if we recover your data. Please don't turn on the drive until you get that breakdown.

0203 0868633

Get it assessed Sending it to Guildford