professional data recovery in berkeley
secure recovery for academic, creative, nonprofit & personal data
Berkeley researchers, educators, nonprofit organizations, creative professionals, independent businesses, students, and families rely on data stored across laptops, external drives, encrypted SSDs, RAID systems, camera media, and backup storage.
A failed drive, corrupted research volume, inaccessible Mac, damaged memory card, or accidentally deleted folder can interrupt academic work, community projects, creative production, business operations, and access to irreplaceable personal files.
With 26+ years of experience, Kotar Data Recovery helps Berkeley clients recover data from hard drives, SSDs, Macs, RAID and NAS systems, phones, flash storage, virtual machines, encrypted volumes, and damaged backup devices.
Free, secure courier pickup is available throughout Berkeley and across the Bay Area. You can also request a free shipping label or visit our San Jose lab by appointment.
We will examine your device within 2 hours after it arrives at our lab and provide the recovery options and a fixed quote before any work begins.
data recovery services in berkeley
Hard drive data recovery for failed internal drives, external drives, clicking HDDs, dropped drives, backup drives, and devices that are no longer detected
SSD data recovery for failed NVMe, SATA, M.2, PCIe, external, laptop, firmware-damaged, controller-damaged, and encrypted SSDs
RAID data recovery for research storage, RAID arrays, servers, NAS systems, degraded volumes, controller failures, multiple-drive failures, and failed rebuilds
Mac data recovery for MacBook, iMac, APFS, FileVault, Fusion Drive, and Time Machine failures
Smartphone data recovery for iPhone, Android, tablets, water damage, boot loops, deleted photos, messages, contacts, and documents
Photo and flash memory recovery for SD cards, microSD cards, USB drives, camera media, audio recorders, creative projects, and corrupted removable storage
Lost file recovery for deleted, formatted, missing, corrupted, or inaccessible research files, documents, media, and personal data
Virtual machine data recovery for VMware, Hyper-V, VMDK, VHDX, KVM, snapshots, guest systems, and damaged datastores
Cloud data recovery for Google Drive, OneDrive, Dropbox, iCloud, Microsoft 365, failed syncs, incomplete backups, and overwritten files
Helium HDD recovery for high-capacity helium drives used in research storage, servers, NAS systems, RAID arrays, archives, and enterprise environments
common berkeley data loss scenarios
Research or academic files become inaccessible after an SSD, external drive, laboratory storage volume, or backup device stops mounting
RAID, NAS, or shared storage failure after multiple drive errors, controller problems, power events, degraded volumes, or failed rebuilds
MacBook or iMac will not boot because of APFS errors, FileVault problems, startup loops, failed storage, or an inaccessible data volume
Hard drive clicking, dropped, or not detected because of possible head, motor, firmware, PCB, or media damage
SSD not recognized after an update, restart, sudden shutdown, power event, firmware failure, or controller problem
Creative project files become inaccessible on camera cards, USB drives, external drives, editing storage, or damaged backup media
Files deleted, formatted, or lost during migration affecting research materials, educational records, nonprofit documents, archives, photographs, videos, or personal files
External hard drive will not mount or keeps disconnecting with slow reads, timeouts, corrupted folders, clicking sounds, or missing files
Phone damaged by water, impact, or charging failure with photos, messages, contacts, documents, or application data still needed
Cloud-sync or backup failure affecting shared folders, academic work, organizational files, overwritten documents, or incomplete online backups
why berkeley chooses kotar
Experience with academic, creative, nonprofit, and archival data including research files, educational materials, photography, video, community records, encrypted laptops, external backups, and shared storage
Professional Bay Area data recovery lab serving Berkeley researchers, educators, students, nonprofit organizations, creative professionals, businesses, independent professionals, and families
26+ years of data recovery experience with physical, logical, electronic, firmware, file-system, encrypted-storage, and multi-drive failures
All recovery work performed in-house at our San Jose lab without subcontracting your device or data
Free, secure courier pickup available in Berkeley and across the Bay Area
Free shipping label available when shipping is more convenient
Free evaluation within 2 hours after your device arrives at our lab
No data, no fee guarantee
Fixed quote before recovery begins so you know the cost before approving the work
Cleanroom capability for clicking, dropped, physically damaged, or unstable hard drives
Advanced recovery tools for research storage, RAID, NAS, SSD, Mac, phone, virtual machine, encrypted-drive, and flash-memory cases
Secure handling for academic research, unpublished work, nonprofit records, legal files, financial information, creative projects, organizational data, and personal files
Emergency service available for urgent research, RAID, server, business, and shared-storage cases
berkeley data recovery success stories
A Berkeley research lab lost access to microscopy data after a RAID array failure. Our engineers protected the original drives, reconstructed the storage layout, and recovered the accessible research files so the project could continue without repeating months of work.
A North Berkeley family lost access to years of baby photos after a USB drive stopped working. Our lab created the safest available recovery copy and restored the accessible family photo archive.
popular recoveries in berkeley
Academic research files and educational materials
Microscopy, laboratory, and scientific project data
Creative project files, photography, audio, and video archives
Nonprofit, community, and public-interest records
Encrypted MacBook, APFS, and FileVault storage
External research, archival, and backup drives
RAID arrays, NAS systems, and shared organizational storage
NVMe, SATA, M.2, PCIe, and external SSD failures
MacBook, iMac, and Time Machine recovery
Internal, external, portable, and backup hard drive failures
USB drives, SD cards, microSD cards, and camera media
iPhone and Android photos, messages, contacts, and documents
Virtual machines, damaged datastores, and application files
Deleted, formatted, corrupted, and missing files
High-capacity helium hard drives used for archival and enterprise storage
our data recovery process in berkeley
Schedule your recovery by arranging free courier pickup anywhere in Berkeley and across the Bay Area, requesting a free shipping label, or visiting our San Jose lab by appointment.
Receive a professional evaluation within 2 hours after your device arrives at our lab, including diagnostics, recovery options, and a fixed quote.
Approve the quote before our engineers begin secure in-house recovery work.
Recovery is performed in-house using the safest available method for your device and failure type.
Recovered data is verified to confirm files are accessible before delivery.
Get your data back on your own drive, a new drive, or a loaner drive.
See our full process here
berkeley data recovery FAQs
Do you offer free pickup or shipping in Berkeley?
Yes. We offer free, secure courier pickup in Berkeley and across the Bay Area. We can also provide a free shipping label if shipping is more convenient.
Can you recover academic, laboratory, and archival files?
Yes. We recover research files, microscopy data, educational materials, laboratory storage, community archives, project documents, and other important data from hard drives, SSDs, Macs, RAID systems, external storage, and removable media.
Can you recover creative projects and professional media?
Yes. We recover photographs, video footage, audio files, design projects, editing libraries, and other creative work from camera cards, USB drives, external drives, SSDs, Macs, and damaged backup storage.
How do you protect confidential research and organizational data?
All recovery work is performed in-house at our San Jose lab using secure handling procedures. We protect research files, unpublished work, nonprofit records, legal documents, financial information, creative projects, organizational data, and personal files throughout the recovery process.
begin your data recovery in berkeley
Call (408) 455-4310 for immediate assistance
Email restore@kotar.us
request your free data recovery evaluation here