Apple modified how you recover your data three times: APFS, FileVault (everywhere), then soldering the storage to the logic board and welding it to the T2 or Apple silicon. Scotland's Macs continue to arrive at our Mac data recovery in Edinburgh: flashing question mark folders, dead MacBooks, iMacs with split Fusion drives. We simply require the drive, not the entire Mac. We do not work with soldered T2 and Apple silicon storage. A no-charge diagnostic, honest odds, fixed quote.
Older Mac models with removable disks, which include most of the older MacBook models (pre-2016) and many iMac models, are the friendlier ones. In these models you remove the disk from the case, and it follows the normal bench procedure, with HFS+ and APFS handled natively. In an iMac with a Fusion drive, the two components of your data will reside in a single logical volume created by a small amount of space on an SSD and a larger portion of space on a traditional hard drive. Since both halves are needed, both will come out. In newer T2 and Apple-silicon based Mac models, the flash memory is attached to the logic board via soldering and encrypted using that same logic board. If you want to recover data from those systems, you have to get that logic board to read the data again. Soldered storage is something that we do not take on; therefore, we will tell you so before you send anything. For a removable disk, you'll hear the realistic odds at the free diagnostic, before any decision.
A flashing folder with a question mark indicates there is no bootable system on the Mac. Ninety percent of the time this is due to the failure of the internal hard drive (or corruption). The instinct to fight is to run the First Aid feature of Disk Utility over and over again, or worse, to erase and reinstall macOS ("to restore the system"), which will result in the loss of all data. When you have FileVault installed on a system, there are additional things you should know about recovering an encrypted volume; specifically, FileVault requires your password (or your FileVault recovery key) before your volume can be recovered. So, now would be a good time to pull up your recovery key from your Apple account information or the printed copy of it while we go through the diagnostic process. Time Machine users: tell us the state of your backup too, as sometimes the fastest recovery is a gap-fill between a stale backup and the failed drive.
Yes: a Time Machine drive is just an external disk, and when it fails to mount or starts to die, we image it first, then rebuild the backup structure from that copy. This is a common job in Edinburgh because people often try to use their Time Machine drive after they have lost access to their Mac, only to find the backup itself is failing. If both your Mac and the backup are struggling, we can often give you the fullest possible set of files by restoring file versions between the two devices.
Stop trying to reboot-cycle it: with each boot you're pounding on an already failing hard drive. This folder generally indicates there was no bootable operating system located, almost always because the internal drive has failed or is corrupted. Where that drive can come out, the recovery process images it and restores the APFS structures (we take the drive, not the MacBook, and if the storage is soldered onto the board, we cannot perform this service). Your responsibility is to find your FileVault recovery key while our team performs the recovery.
Honestly? Not by us. The storage chip for each logic board is soldered and has been encrypted to be accessible only from that single logic board. In order for recovery to occur, it would take board-level repair (enough to enable the logic board to access its own flash), which is beyond what we do with regard to soldered storage. So, before you send anything over to us, we will advise you as such, not after.
Yes, for an encrypted volume: your login password or the FileVault recovery key is mathematically required; there is no lab method around this. Locate the FileVault recovery key via the iCloud settings of your Apple ID, or whatever place you chose to store it during the initial setup process. If neither exists, then even perfectly recovered data remains inaccessible due to encryption.
First, a free diagnostic, then a fixed written quote before any work is done. This means no surprises on the invoice (because we don't give you an invoice until you approve the number).
Examples of some of our other work from the bench that are similar to this kind of job.
It will take only two moves to place your device at our service area, and once that has been accomplished, the clock on your free look starts.
First get a quote, over the telephone or using the online quotation form. When sending your internal drive, remove all cables, caddies and power supplies, as they will have little use when sent to us. But when sending an external drive, send the complete item, including its original casing, together with the supplied cable and power supply. Ensure that the device is securely wrapped and unable to move during transportation. Either post it insured to 4 Redheughs Rigg Westpoint, South Gyle, Edinburgh EH12 9DQ or call into our offices Monday to Friday, 9am to 5:30pm, with no appointment needed. Please include a brief description of how your device was damaged. If you have printed a shipping form, please attach it along with the device.
Once the arrival of your device has been confirmed, the diagnostic will run free of charge, and then when we make the phone call to you, we'll name the problem and tell you the fixed price to fix it. The bench will remain dormant on your device until you give us permission to proceed.
£300 + VAT fixed, free diagnostic first. APFS and removable Mac drives handled on this bench; soldered T2 and Apple Silicon storage not handled.