Data Recovery in Fountainbridge, Edinburgh
Getting back files deleted by mistake in Fountainbridge and EH3
Data Recovery in Fountainbridge: Deleted by Mistake
Fountainbridge has changed more than most of Edinburgh: new flats along the Union Canal and Dundee Street, offices at Edinburgh Quay and around Lochrin Basin, and students and young professionals between Gilmore Place and Viewforth. Plenty of the data jobs that come from here have nothing to do with a broken drive. The drive is fine. The files were deleted, the Recycle Bin was emptied, a memory card was formatted, or a OneDrive or Dropbox folder copied a deletion to every device.
Deleted files often stay on the drive for a while. Windows marks the space as free, and the old data remains until something new is written over it. That is why the first few hours matter so much, and why the most useful thing you can do is stop using the computer or card straight away.
When it reaches us, we never work on the original. We copy the drive or card first and recover from the copy, so the attempt itself cannot make things worse. Cloud folders are checked as well: OneDrive, Google Drive and Dropbox all keep deleted files and older versions for a time, and that is sometimes the quickest way back.
We collect across Fountainbridge, Tollcross, Viewforth, Polwarth and Dalry, or you can bring the device to our workshop. You see a list of what was found, and whether it opens, before anything is copied back.
🗂️ The mistakes we recover from most often: an emptied Recycle Bin, Shift+Delete, a formatted SD card or USB stick, files lost when a folder was moved, and deletions copied across every device by cloud sync.
What's Included
What a recovery job covers when the files were deleted rather than the drive broken.
Copy Made First
The drive or card is copied before anything else, and recovery runs on the copy, so the original stays exactly as it was.
Deleted and Emptied Files
Files removed with Shift+Delete or from an emptied Recycle Bin, found and rebuilt with their names and folders where possible.
Formatted Cards and Sticks
Camera cards, phone cards and USB sticks that were formatted, or that Windows says need formatting.
Cloud Versions Checked
OneDrive, Google Drive and Dropbox recycle bins and version history, which sometimes hold the file in better shape than the drive does.
A List Before Anything Else
You see what was found, and whether it opens, before it is copied to a new drive or back to you.
Kept Private
Your files are only looked at as far as the recovery needs, and our working copies are wiped once you have your data back.
The First Hour After Deleting Something
What you do straight away decides how much can come back.
Stop using it
Every file saved, program installed or update downloaded can land on the space the deleted files still occupy. Shut the laptop down or take the card out of the camera, and leave it.
Do not install recovery software on it
Installing a recovery program onto the same drive can overwrite the very files it is meant to find. Our guide to recovering deleted files in Windows explains which checks are safe to do yourself.
Check the cloud first
If the folder was synced, the deletion may have been copied everywhere, but the cloud usually keeps a copy for a while. Our Dalry and Gorgie guide to files deleted by OneDrive sync shows where to look.
Other Services in Fountainbridge
We offer a full range of computer repair services across the Fountainbridge area.
Data Recovery in Nearby Areas
We also cover data recovery across these neighbouring areas — same-day collection and return available across all of them.
Frequently Asked Questions
What Fountainbridge customers ask after deleting something they needed.
Tell us what was lost, roughly when, what it was stored on (laptop, desktop, memory card, USB stick or cloud folder) and what has been done since. We come back with a clear quote before any work starts.
Not necessarily. Emptying the Recycle Bin removes the files from view, but the data often stays on the drive until something new is written over it. The sooner the computer stops being used, the better the chances.
Yes. Many SSDs clear deleted space automatically in the background, which can make deleted files much harder to get back than on an older hard drive. With an SSD, switching off quickly matters even more.
Often, yes, as long as no new photos have been taken on it since. Take the card out, keep it safe and do not put it back in the camera until we have looked at it.
Check the OneDrive recycle bin on the OneDrive website first, as deleted files are normally kept there for a period. If they are not there, the copy on one of the computers may still be recoverable, so stop using them and get in touch.
Yes, across EH3 and EH11: Fountainbridge, Dundee Street, Gilmore Place, Viewforth, Tollcross, Polwarth and Dalry. We collect and return, or you can drop the device at our workshop.
Simple recoveries from a working drive or card are often done within a day or two. Larger drives, or files that have to be rebuilt piece by piece, take longer, and we tell you which it is when we quote.
Yes. You get a list of the recovered files, and we check that the important ones actually open, before anything is copied to a new drive or back to you.