Lost files, a failed hard drive, or a laptop that will not boot with years of irreplaceable data inside — Mojoo Limited’s UK-wide mail-in data recovery service lets you send your device or drive to our West Bromwich workshop from anywhere in the country. We recover data from failed, damaged, and formatted drives and return your files on a new drive or USB device, alongside your repaired or unrepaired original.
What should I send — the drive or the whole laptop?
This depends on whether you are comfortable removing the drive yourself. If your laptop is a model where the storage drive is accessible by removing the base panel (most laptops from 2015 and earlier), and you are confident doing this without causing additional damage, you can send just the drive — it is lighter, cheaper to post, and marginally faster to process. If you are not comfortable disassembling your laptop, or if it has soldered storage (common on thinner modern laptops), send the whole device. We will extract the drive or work with the device as received. If unsure, call us and we will advise.
Data recovery scenarios we handle by post
Accidental deletion and formatted drives
Accidentally deleted files, emptied recycle bins, and drives that have been formatted (even fully reformatted) often have recoverable data if you act quickly — the key is to stop using the drive immediately, as writing new data overwrites the space where deleted files live. We use professional-grade recovery software to reconstruct deleted file tables and recover files in their original folder structure where possible. Recovery rates for recently deleted files are very high.
Failed or clicking hard drives
A clicking, grinding, or beeping hard drive is a sign of mechanical failure — the read/write heads are making contact with the platters. If you can hear clicking, power the drive off immediately and do not attempt to run recovery software on it — every additional spin increases the risk of permanent data loss. Send it to us as soon as possible. We carry out a full assessment and advise on the best recovery path. Severe mechanical failures that require cleanroom work are referred to specialist partners — we will tell you this honestly rather than attempting a recovery that requires equipment we do not have.
Dead laptop with important files
If your laptop will not power on but you need the data from inside, this is one of the most common mail-in recovery jobs we handle. In the majority of cases, a laptop that will not power on has a failed PSU, motherboard, or battery — not a failed drive. We extract the drive, connect it to our diagnostic equipment, and assess its health before attempting recovery. If the drive is healthy, data transfer is straightforward and highly reliable.
Ransomware encrypted files
Ransomware encrypts your files and demands payment for the decryption key. Before paying anything, contact us — many ransomware strains have known decryptors available through the No More Ransom project, and Windows Shadow Copies may preserve unencrypted versions of your files if the ransomware did not delete them. We assess your specific infection and advise honestly on what is and is not recoverable. See also our mail-in virus removal service for post-recovery disinfection.
SSD and flash storage recovery
SSDs and flash storage (USB drives, SD cards, eMMC) present different recovery challenges to HDDs — deleted data is often truly gone on SSDs due to the TRIM command, but logically failed or corrupted SSDs frequently yield high recovery rates. We assess each case individually and give you an honest view of recovery likelihood before any work begins. See our dedicated SSD data recovery page for full detail.
No recovery, no fee
We operate a no-recovery, no-fee policy on all mail-in data recovery work. If we cannot recover the files you need, you pay nothing beyond the agreed assessment fee (which applies to physically damaged drives requiring disassembly). We will tell you our honest assessment of recovery likelihood after initial diagnosis — before you commit to any work — so you can make an informed decision.
Pricing and turnaround
Mail-in data recovery starts from £80 for logical failures (deleted files, formatted drives, software corruption). Mechanically damaged drives and complex cases are quoted individually after assessment. Turnaround is typically 2–5 working days from arrival depending on the complexity of the recovery. Recovered data is returned on a new USB drive or external hard drive (included in the price for standard recoveries), alongside your original device. See our data recovery pricing page for a full breakdown.
How to send your drive or laptop for data recovery
Call 07958 468 173 or email info@mojoo.co.uk before sending — describe the fault and we will advise on whether to send the drive or the whole device. Pack carefully following our packaging guide and send by Royal Mail Special Delivery to: Mojoo Limited, 4 Atlas Grove, West Bromwich, B70 9EB. We email confirmation on arrival and call with an assessment and quote before any recovery work begins.