HB LaptopsCan I get my files off a dead laptop?
In many cases, yes. What affects whether photos and documents can be saved from a laptop that won't work.
Often, yes. A laptop can stop working while the files on its drive are still fine. Whether we can get them back depends on what failed.
Good chances:
- The screen, keyboard, battery, charger or charging port broke, but the drive is fine.
- Windows or macOS won't start, but the drive isn't damaged.
- The laptop was dropped, but the drive still spins up or is a solid state drive (SSD).
Harder cases:
- The drive itself is failing (clicking sounds, very slow, errors).
- Liquid reached the board on a laptop where the storage is built into the board, like many newer MacBooks.
- The drive is encrypted and you don't have the password or recovery key.
What you can do right now:
- Stop turning it on and off over and over. A failing drive can get worse each time.
- Don't run free recovery programs on a drive that's making noises.
- Find your passwords and any recovery key (Microsoft account or Apple ID) before you come in.
Then, keep a backup going forward. An external drive, iCloud, OneDrive or Google Drive all work. Once your files are safe, we can help set up automatic backups so this doesn't happen again.
What we do: we check the laptop and the drive, tell you what we can save, and give you the price in writing before we start. The check is free.
Bring it to our shop on Adams Ave in Huntington Beach, check in online at hblaptops.com/check-in, or call (714) 962-0696.
Related repairs: Data recovery: get your files back
Questions? Call (714) 962-0696 or check in online. More tips
Bring it in today. We'll take it from here.
Walk in Monday to Friday 10am to 6pm, and Saturday 10am to 2pm, or call or text and talk to a real person.