Laptop repair or data recovery: which do you need?
A laptop that won't work doesn't always mean lost files. Here is how to tell whether you need a repair, data recovery, or both.
Published 25 September 2026
When a repair is enough
A broken screen, a dead battery, a faulty charging port or a failed keyboard doesn't affect your files. Once the laptop is repaired, everything is where you left it. See our laptop repair prices.
When you need data recovery
If the drive itself has failed, if files were deleted or the drive was formatted, or if the laptop was badly dropped or soaked, your files may need recovering before, or instead of, a repair.
When you need both
Often the best outcome is recovering your data from a failed drive and fitting a new SSD, so you get a working laptop and your files back together.
Newer MacBooks and ultrabooks
On many recent laptops, including Apple silicon MacBooks, the storage is built into the motherboard. If the board fails, repairing it is also how your data is recovered, so the repair and the recovery are the same job.
Not sure?
Bring it in for a free consultation and we'll tell you which you need.