The working copy.
The photo library or document folder you use every day. It is convenient, current, and vulnerable to mistakes.
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Personal files deserve a recovery plan
Photos, records, and years of work are not just data.
We help Greater Boston households understand where important files live, build backups that can be checked, and take a careful first look when a computer, phone, or drive stops cooperating.
Tell Tyler what is going onPreserve first. Organize second.
What we protect
The files that cannot be downloaded again.
Family photos, tax records, a parent’s scanned documents, creative work, school projects, and the contents of an old computer carry meaning that is easy to underestimate until access is lost.
We approach those files differently from replaceable software. Before cleaning up, consolidating, or migrating anything, we identify the originals, possible copies, account ownership, and the condition of the device holding them.
Three copies that people confuse
Sync, storage, and backup are not the same.
The synced copy.
A cloud service may mirror changes across devices. Useful, but a deletion or account lockout can affect access everywhere.
The recovery copy.
An independent backup with history and a known restore process. This is the copy intended for the day something goes wrong.
When something has already gone wrong
A careful recovery starts by doing less.
Repeated attempts can turn a recoverable problem into a harder one. We first decide whether the device is safe to inspect.
- 01
Stop writes and unnecessary restarts.
Do not install recovery tools on the affected drive or keep using the device for ordinary work.
- 02
Inventory every possible copy.
We check old computers, phones, external drives, cloud accounts, email, shared albums, and family members’ devices.
- 03
Assess the failure honestly.
Logical issues may be handled locally. Physical symptoms and high-value data are referred to a specialist before more damage occurs.
- 04
Recover to a different destination.
Recovered files are written to separate storage, reviewed, and then incorporated into a new backup plan.
What we leave behind
A recovery plan the household can explain.
A backup is only useful if someone knows where it is, what it protects, and how to tell whether it is still working.
- A known primary home for photos and important documents
- At least one independent copy for irreplaceable files
- Clear ownership and recovery information for cloud accounts
- A documented schedule or automatic process that can be checked
- A restore test or practical explanation of how recovery would begin
Practical questions
Before we come into your home.
Can you recover files from a failed drive?
Sometimes. We can assess the symptoms and perform limited logical recovery when it is safe. Drives that click, disappear repeatedly, have physical damage, or contain truly irreplaceable data should be powered down and may need a specialist clean-room recovery lab.
Is iCloud Photos or Google Photos a backup?
It is primarily a synced library. Deletions and account problems can propagate. For irreplaceable photos, we recommend an additional independent copy with a recovery method you understand.
Should I keep using a computer or drive after files disappear?
No. Continued use can overwrite recoverable data. Stop saving files, installing software, or repeatedly restarting the device and contact us with what happened.
Can you organize years of photos?
We can consolidate libraries, identify obvious duplicates and exports, and establish a clearer primary library and backup path. Large collections are handled in stages so the originals remain protected.
If the files may be missing, stop using the device.
Tell Tyler what happened, where the files were last seen, and whether another copy may exist. The first decision is how to avoid making recovery harder.