Zip, Jaz, floppy and removable disk recovery

The removable media of the 1990s and early 2000s, and the archives still sitting on them.

Ask about data recovery Call 020 7237 6805

About these devices

Before USB sticks, work was carried and archived on removable disks. Design studios, architects, musicians and photographers filled boxes of them, and most have not been read since the drive that used them was thrown away.

The disks themselves often outlast the drives. Reading them needs working drives of the right type and, for disks from older Macs or other systems, the means to interpret the format.

What can go wrong

Unreadable sectors

Magnetic coatings wear and shed. Disks are read repeatedly at low level and the good reads combined.

Damaged drives damaging disks

A failing Zip drive, known for its clicking, can ruin every disk put into it. Do not test disks in a suspect drive.

Mould and dirt

Disks stored in damp places need cleaning before they go near a drive.

Unknown formats

Disks from old Macs, music hardware and dedicated word processors use formats Windows does not recognise.

If you have an unusual format, tell us what it is and what machine wrote it. If we have, or can obtain, the equipment to read it, we will say so before you send anything.

Sending older storage

Do not power it up "to see if it still works". Old drives often have one start left in them.
Send any cables, power supplies, enclosures or cartridges that belong with it.
Tell us what computer and system it was used with: Windows 98, Mac OS 9, a server, a camera.
If there are several disks or drives, number them and keep them in order.

Recovery starts with a professional evaluation, charged at £94.80. It tells you what has failed and what can be recovered, and you then receive a fixed price for the recovery itself.

We collect drives and devices by insured courier from anywhere in the UK, or you can post yours tracked and insured, or bring it to the workshop in London SE1. See how to send a drive safely.

Common questions

I have a box of fifty Zip disks. Do I have to pay per disk?

Tell us how many there are and what they are likely to hold, and we will quote for the set.

The files are from 1998. Will I be able to open them?

We recover the files as they were saved. Many old formats can still be opened or converted, and we can advise on that.

Get a price from a technician

Tell us the make, the model and what has gone wrong. A technician replies with a price and the quickest way to get your laptop to us – normally the same working day.

020 7237 6805

Creative IT workshop
Unit 1, 80 Willow Walk, London SE1 5SY
Monday to Saturday, 9am–6pm