Data recovery in Sedona, from a computer that will not start.
Data recovery for homes and offices in Sedona and the Verde Valley. The computer stopped working and the photos, records and documents are still inside it. I take the drive out, copy everything to a new drive or your new computer, and check the copy with you before anything is wiped.
📞 Call (928) 852-8873 Book a visit online
Thomas Karl does every visit himself. Helping Sedona with technology since 2020. Sedona Tech Solutions LLC, founded 2025.
If the computer will not start, leave it off.
Turning it on again and again rarely helps, and if the drive inside is the part that is failing, every start can make it worse. A drive that clicks, buzzes or grinds should not be powered on at all. Leave it as it is and call. Often the drive is fine and only the computer around it has died, and then getting your files back is careful copying, not guesswork.
Copy first, check everything, wipe nothing until you say so.
I check whether the drive itself is healthy before quoting anything, and tell you plainly what I found. Data recovery is quoted after that look, because every case is different.
I take the drive out and make a complete copy of it on my own equipment. Your files are recovered from that copy, so the original is handled as little as possible while the work is done.
Every file is checked and a second copy is kept. Your files go where you want them: a new computer, an external drive, or your Google or Microsoft account. Nothing is wiped until you have looked through the copy yourself.
Photos, documents and the records you were worried about.
When the drive is readable, everything stored on it can be copied: photos and home videos, documents and spreadsheets, the desktop and the Downloads folder, and email that was kept on the computer rather than online. Windows and Mac, desktops and laptops.
What cannot be recovered, and what to ask first.
A locked phone without its passcode. Modern iPhones and Android phones encrypt their storage with the passcode, so no one can read that data without it, at any price. Photos that were already backed up to iCloud or Google Photos can still be reached through the account, from another device.
An encrypted drive without its key. Many newer Windows computers encrypt the drive with BitLocker. The files can only be read with the recovery key, which is often saved in your Microsoft account. I ask about it before taking anything apart.
A drive that is failing physically. If the drive itself is the part that has failed, I tell you that plainly at the free look, before any paid work starts.
What data recovery costs in Sedona
Data recovery is quoted after a free look, because every case is different. If a drive cannot be read, what is charged is set out in the Terms of Service, and you are told before any paid work starts. Time on site, such as setting up a new computer with your files on it, is billed at the standard $95 an hour, first hour minimum.
“He is patient with people having little knowledge of PC like us. He helped us setting up our new PC with Window 11, transferred all the data and pictures from old computer to the new.”
— Emily · Google review
Where we work: No travel charge in Sedona, Village of Oak Creek, Cornville, Cottonwood, Clarkdale, Camp Verde, Rimrock and Lake Montezuma. Flagstaff, Prescott and Prescott Valley by appointment, $60 trip charge.
Questions people ask first.
Can you get files off a computer that will not start?
Yes, when the drive inside is healthy. I take the drive out, copy everything to a new drive or your new computer, and check the copy with you before anything is wiped.
How much does data recovery cost?
It is quoted after a free look, because every case is different. Time on site, such as setting up a new computer with your files, is $95 an hour, first hour minimum.
Will you wipe my old computer?
Not until you have checked the copy yourself and said so. A second copy is kept while you look.
My drive is clicking. What should I do?
Turn the computer off and leave it off. A drive that clicks, buzzes or grinds may be failing physically, and every start can make it worse. Call, and we will decide the next step together.
The computer asks for a BitLocker recovery key. Is that a problem?
It can be. BitLocker encrypts the drive, so the files can only be read with the key. The key is often saved in your Microsoft account, and I ask about it before taking anything apart.
Can you get photos off a locked phone?
Not without the passcode. Modern iPhones and Android phones encrypt their storage with it, so no one can read the data without it, at any price. Photos that were backed up to iCloud or Google Photos can still be reached through the account.
Computer repair in Sedona: when the computer itself is worth fixing, at your home or office.
Virus and malware removal: when the files are fine but the computer is not safe to use.
Computer will not start, and your files are on it?
Leave it off and call. Tell me what happened, and I will tell you plainly what can be done.