Houston Tech Guys Frequently Asked Questions - FAQs

Professional data recovery is the process of safely retrieving lost, deleted, or inaccessible files using advanced tools that prevent further damage to the device. It is essential because DIY software or repeated power-ups can permanently overwrite or destroy recoverable data. Houston Tech Guys provides expert data recovery in Houston using industry-grade hardware, clean-work practices, and specialized software to restore critical personal and business files securely and efficiently.

Yes. We specialize in recovering data from failed or failing hard drives, even when they make clicking sounds, stop spinning, or refuse to boot. Using professional recovery equipment designed for fragile drives, we extract your documents, photos, and business files safely before additional damage occurs. Our Houston data recovery specialists handle everything from light corruption to severe mechanical failure.

Data loss is typically caused by mechanical hard-drive failure, accidental deletion, corrupted file systems, failed updates, malware infections, power surges, or physical damage from drops or spills. As one of Houston’s trusted data recovery teams, Houston Tech Guys has extensive experience restoring files from every type of failure—from simple user mistakes to complete system crashes.

Often yes. Emptying the recycle bin only removes file references, but the actual data usually remains on the drive until overwritten. Using deep-scan techniques and advanced recovery software, Houston Tech Guys can restore deleted files as long as the device has not been heavily used since deletion. Acting quickly dramatically increases your success rate.

Yes. We provide professional business data recovery for servers, RAID systems, NAS devices, employee computers, and office networks. When critical files such as databases, financial documents, or project folders go missing, we help Houston businesses recover data quickly and minimize downtime. We also offer long-term data protection and backup solutions to prevent future losses.

Yes. A non-booting laptop often still has a functioning internal drive. Our technicians remove the SSD or HDD, connect it to specialized recovery hardware, and safely recover your files—even if the operating system is corrupted or the motherboard is damaged. This includes documents, photos, videos, and business data.

Recovery time varies depending on the type of failure. Simple recoveries from accidental deletion or software corruption may take a few hours. More complex issues—such as mechanical failures, damaged drives, or RAID issues—may take several days to complete. Houston Tech Guys provides clear timelines, progress updates, and transparent expectations based on your specific issue.

Yes. We offer full SSD recovery services, including flash-chip extraction, firmware repair, and controller-level recovery. SSDs behave differently than traditional spinning drives and require more advanced techniques, but our team is trained to recover data from both personal and business SSDs experiencing failure or corruption.

Yes. We remove ransomware, prevent further encryption, recover accessible files, and restore clean backups whenever possible. Paying attackers is risky and not guaranteed, so we focus on professional, safe recovery methods. Houston Tech Guys also strengthens your system with advanced cybersecurity measures to guard against future ransomware attacks.

Not always. Success depends on the type of damage, the condition of the drive, and whether data has been overwritten. However, using advanced tools, clean techniques, and controlled imaging, Houston Tech Guys maximizes recovery success and often retrieves partial or full datasets even in severe failure scenarios.

Costs vary depending on the type of device, severity of damage, and whether mechanical repair or lab techniques are required. Logical recoveries (like accidental deletion) cost less, while physically damaged drives require more advanced equipment. Houston Tech Guys provides upfront evaluations and pricing so you know the cost before committing.

Yes. USB flash drives, SD cards, and camera memory cards are prone to corruption, accidental deletion, and physical damage. We recover photos, videos, documents, and project files using specialized tools designed for portable storage media.

Yes. Formatting a drive doesn’t erase data—it only resets file pointers. As long as new data hasn’t overwritten the old content, recovery is usually possible. Houston Tech Guys performs deep-sector scans to restore files from formatted or partially formatted drives.

Yes. For urgent business and personal cases, we offer same-day and expedited data recovery services. We prioritize time-sensitive recoveries such as business databases, legal files, event media, and financial documents.

Absolutely. We follow strict confidentiality and data-handling policies to ensure your files are protected at all times. Your information is never shared, copied unnecessarily, or accessed outside the recovery process. Houston Tech Guys is trusted by Houston businesses and families for secure and private data recovery.

Yes. We can restore corrupted or missing PST/OST files, email folders, attachments, contacts, and calendars. This is crucial for businesses that rely heavily on Outlook or Exchange for communication.

Yes. Many viruses delete, hide, or corrupt files, but recovery is often possible. We remove infections, rebuild damaged file systems, and recover as many files as the system still contains.

Yes. We offer complete backup plans including cloud storage, external drive backups, automated scheduling, and business-grade redundancy solutions. Preventing future data loss is a core part of our service.

Yes. We recover high-resolution videos, CAD files, Photoshop projects, 3D models, and other large-format data commonly used by creative professionals and engineering teams.

Yes. Whether you’re recovering family photos or restoring a full business database, Houston Tech Guys provides tailored solutions to meet your needs.

Yes. We can extract data from outdated operating systems, legacy drives, and older hardware even if the computer no longer turns on.

Yes. We recover data from macOS systems, including MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, iMac, and external macOS drives using APFS, HFS+, and other Apple file systems.

Yes. If your external drive doesn’t show up, the issue may be with the enclosure or file system. We remove the drive, repair logical errors, and recover your files directly using professional equipment.

Yes. We specialize in RAID and NAS recovery for both homes and businesses, including RAID 0, 1, 5, 6, and 10. We restore data after disk failure, controller issues, drive rebuild errors, and software corruption.

Yes. We recover deleted files from business servers and network drives, restoring shared folders and critical documents needed by your team.

Yes. For non-physical issues like accidental deletion or mild corruption, we can perform secure remote data recovery without requiring a visit.

Yes. Power failures often cause file system corruption or drive damage. We stabilize the device, repair the file structure, and recover your files whenever possible.

Yes. We recover data from BitLocker, FileVault, and other encrypted drives with proper credentials. Encryption does not prevent professional recovery.

Yes. We restore RAW files, JPEGs, 4K/8K videos, and other media from corrupted or physically damaged SD cards used in cameras, drones, and action cams.

Yes. We recover files after ransomware, malware, and intrusion attacks. We also help secure your systems to prevent future breaches.

Yes. We restore corrupted QuickBooks databases, company files, backups, and financial records essential for accounting operations.

Yes. We provide NAS data recovery for personal users, small businesses, and enterprise environments.

Yes. Failed or interrupted updates often damage system files. We can recover user documents, profiles, and data even if the OS no longer loads.

Yes. We support data recovery for Linux file systems such as EXT3, EXT4, XFS, and BTRFS.

Yes. We provide VM data recovery for VMware, Hyper-V, VirtualBox, and cloud-based virtual environments.

Yes. We specialize in recovering priceless family photos, videos, and personal memories from damaged or non-working computers.

Yes. Depending on account access and cloud retention settings, we can often restore deleted, overwritten, or corrupted cloud files.

Yes. We recover SQL databases, Access files, and other structured datasets essential to business operations.

Yes. We recover DAW project files, audio recordings, stems, and session data for musicians and producers.

Yes. We specialize in recovering from multi-disk RAID systems commonly used by creative professionals and businesses.

Yes. We provide automated backup solutions, cloud systems, and monitoring tools to ensure your data stays protected long after the recovery.

Yes. We help students and teachers recover documents, presentations, research files, and coursework from damaged or corrupted computers.

Yes. We restore AutoCAD files, 3D models, blueprints, and engineering projects used by designers and architects.

Yes. We perform diagnostics to detect early signs of drive failure, allowing you to protect your data before a disaster occurs.

Yes. Liquid damage can short-circuit the motherboard or power components, but the storage drive is often still recoverable. We safely remove the drive, clean it, and use specialized recovery hardware to extract documents, photos, and work files from water-damaged laptops and desktops.

Yes. Even computers that have been dropped, crushed, or physically damaged may contain intact drives. Houston Tech Guys uses controlled imaging tools to recover data from shock-damaged hard drives and SSDs without causing further harm.

Yes. SSDs are prone to firmware corruption, controller failure, and electrical issues. We use advanced SSD-specific recovery methods, including chip-level data extraction when necessary.

Yes. Clicking or grinding noises usually indicate mechanical failure, such as head crashes or spindle issues. We immediately stop the drive from spinning, stabilize it, and use professional imaging tools to salvage readable sectors before the damage spreads.

Yes. We recover data from iPhones and Android devices that won’t boot, have battery failure, firmware issues, or physical damage. This includes photos, messages, videos, app data, and contacts.

Yes. Whether the device has a broken screen, software corruption, or battery failure, Houston Tech Guys can often extract files from the tablet’s internal storage.

Yes. Frequent crashes often indicate drive corruption or file-system errors. We stabilize the drive, retrieve recoverable files, and help repair or reinstall your system afterward.

Yes. USB drives frequently become unreadable due to improper ejection, corruption, or physical damage. We repair the drive structure and extract files using specialized flash-memory tools.

Yes. We recover photos, RAW footage, aerial videos, and mission data from camera cards that are corrupted, physically damaged, or accidentally formatted.

Yes. Depending on how the device syncs with Google accounts, we can often restore downloaded files, offline documents, and ChromeOS local data.

Yes. We assist with restoring deleted, corrupted, or overwritten files from OneDrive, Google Drive, Dropbox, iCloud, and other cloud environments, depending on retention policies and version history.

Yes. We recover databases, shared folders, QuickBooks files, and virtual machines from Windows and Linux servers experiencing crashes, update failures, or hardware malfunction.

Yes. We extract files from VMware, Hyper-V, VirtualBox, Azure VHDs, and cloud snapshots affected by corruption or accidental deletion.

Yes. We remove ransomware, attempt data decryption when possible, recover unaffected files, and rebuild systems from clean backups.

Yes. We perform forensic-grade data extraction, metadata preservation, and chain-of-custody documentation suitable for civil, corporate, or legal investigations.

Yes. We recover corrupted QuickBooks databases, lost invoices, company records, and backups essential for business operations.

Yes. We handle Synology, QNAP, Buffalo, WD, and other NAS systems suffering drive failure, RAID issues, corruption, or accidental deletion.

Yes. Windows update failures can corrupt user profiles or file systems. We recover user documents, photos, and data even if Windows no longer boots.

Yes. We recover APFS and HFS+ partitions, Time Machine backups, and user folders affected by macOS update errors.

Yes. We support EXT3, EXT4, XFS, BTRFS, ZFS, and LVM configurations commonly used in Linux workstations and servers.

Yes. We restore Adobe Premiere projects, DaVinci Resolve files, Photoshop PSDs, After Effects projects, and other professional media files.

Yes. We restore AutoCAD DWGs, SolidWorks, 3D models, architectural plans, and engineering datasets used by Houston construction and design firms.

Yes. Fire-damaged machines often contain partially readable drives. We carefully clean, dry, and image the storage device to salvage any remaining data.

Yes. Water exposure commonly causes electrical failure, not data destruction. We disassemble, clean, and recover data from moisture-damaged drives.

Yes. Water exposure commonly causes electrical failure, not data destruction. We disassemble, clean, and recover data from moisture-damaged drives.

Yes. We provide local pickup for residents and businesses who cannot transport their device safely.

Yes. We handle multi-disk RAID enclosures, including failures caused by power loss, drive rebuild errors, or controller malfunction.

Yes. Time Machine and other backup drives frequently fail due to age or corruption. We recover backup snapshots and user folders.

Yes. Partition errors can delete or overwrite key structures, but many files remain recoverable with professional tools.

Yes. We restore corrupted PST/OST files, Apple Mail archives, Thunderbird profiles, and Exchange data.

Yes. We diagnose SSD controller or firmware failures and use advanced recovery tools to extract data when the drive disappears from the BIOS.

Yes. We handle portable SSD failures caused by cable issues, PCB damage, firmware corruption, or internal component failure.

Yes. Resetting or reinstalling an OS often leaves large portions of data intact until overwritten. We perform deep scans to recover deleted structures.

Yes. For sensitive business environments, we offer on-site recovery to keep confidential files within your facility.

Yes. Overheating can cause drive platters or NAND chips to malfunction, but data is often recoverable once the device cools and is handled professionally.

Yes. We extract footage from HDD-based camcorders, cinema cameras, action cameras, and DVR storage.

Yes. We remove the internal drive from the enclosure and connect it to our recovery hardware for safe data extraction.

Yes. We restore research papers, slideshows, homework, coding projects, and other student files.

Yes. We extract recordings, media files, and storage data from smart devices and home media hubs.

Yes. For urgent personal or business needs, we provide after-hours and weekend emergency recovery services in Houston.

Yes. We handle large media drives used for 4K/8K editing, restoring project files and footage with sector-level recovery.

Yes. If requested, we securely wipe or physically destroy damaged drives after successfully recovering your data.

Yes. We install automated cloud backups, local redundancy systems, RAID configurations, and business-grade backup solutions to prevent future data loss.

Houston residents trust Houston Tech Guys because we provide safe, confidential, and highly professional data recovery using advanced industry tools and years of hands-on IT expertise. We serve both home users and businesses across Houston with fast turnaround times, honest pricing, and consistently high recovery success rates. We also prioritize your privacy — we never store or keep any recovered data. If we temporarily save your files, it is only for the purpose of transferring them back to you when you do not provide your own external drive or storage device. Once the transfer is complete, all customer data is fully removed from our systems to ensure complete confidentiality and peace of mind.