FAQs

I lost my files and don't know what to do

The first thing to do is stop using your device by switching off/disconnecting the PC or laptop or pull out the pendrive (cut power to the device, it is the safest action to preserve your data!). You will have much better chances of recovery if the device is unpowered the moment you realise the files are missing. Next, send us a text message 'I LOST MY DATA' on (+356) 79437846, or email us at info@omgdatarecovery.com (without using the drive that contains lost files). We will help you fully to recover your lost files.

I dropped my laptop and now it's not booting

Keep the laptop unpowered as the drive may have incurred a mechanical G shock. Such shocks, when beyond a certain tolerance, will damage the drive and the data if powered. Call us on (+356) 79437846 before you repower the laptop.

Can you fix my PC?

If the problem is the hard disk, that is our expertise and we will certainly do it. For other faults regarding anything else except the hard disk drive, pen drive or SSD (Solid State Device), we suggest you contact your PC vendor or a PC repair shop. We only do Data Recovery but we're experts at it.

I dropped my hard disk drive and it is not being recognised

The hard drive must be switched off immediately for best chances of recovery. If you powered it after the impact and it is making an unusal sound, it is imperative to disconnect it now. If the sound is repetitive clicking type then it has to be diagnosed further. Contact us for data recovery.

I am hearing a clicking noise

The hard disk has failed. The noise is the actuator arm unsuccessfully attempting reads and cycles back and forth the movement limits about once per second. Data may be retrieved by replacing the mechanical or electronic part that failed by firmware reprogramming, PCB repair or swap, spindle repair, head stack assembly or platter transplant. Contact us for data recovery.

My hard disk drive is not booting

It can be a multitude of things. Provided that the hard drive is recognised in the BIOS and mechanically sound, a boot failure is most likely a logical fault such as a corrupted boot sector or partition table. Your data may still be intact but inaccessible. Do not attempt to recover with off the shelf software unless you are absolutely sure what you're doing. Contact us for data recovery.

My hard drive does not power and does not recognise in BIOS

You may have a electronic failure or firmware failure. Your data is in all likelihood, intact, but the drive must be repaired correctly, or else the drive may be easily bricked. Contact us if you have this problem.

My hard drive is spinning and beeping

Switch off the drive immediately! Hard drives don't beep. What you are hearing is most probably the result of a head crash, specifically a very fine high pitched noise caused by the destroyed heads burrowing furrows on the platters at regular intervals with head movement attempting to read. Data is being permanently destroyed on some tracks of the hard disk but may still be intact on others. We can lift data from either side of the damaged area. Certain Maxtor DiamondMax 9/10 family drives may sound a 3 tone melody during a failure. That noise is neither coming out of a speaker but it is produced by the motor on failed bearings and also a high frequency jog by the voice coil. This is a major job but can be done in most cases if switched off early enough. Contact us.

My computer hard drive was subject to liquid infiltration

There is a difference between a SPILL and DROWNING. For an accidental liquid spill just follow the notes below. An exception is for drowning in sea water: Place the hard drive in tupperware immersed in the same sea water. This action will greatly slow down the aggressive alkaline corrosion on the media platters. Bring it to lab as fast as possible in the tupperware and we'll take it from there. For other liquid damage please follow the notes below.

Liquid infiltration is listed here in ascending order of emergency:

1. Bottled or tap water, alcohol, tea, coffee, squashes Submit the drive within 24hrs

2. Carbonated drinks, beer, wine, orange juice Submit the drive within 12hrs

3. All body fluids, semi-solid foods, soup, honey, oil Submit the drive within 6hrs

4. Sea water, toilet water, swimming pool, soapy water Submit the drive as fast as possible

5. Super corrosive acids/alkali, vinegar, hydraulic fluid, battery acid, detergents, drain unblockers CALL US NOW! DO NOT TOUCH WITHOUT PROTECTION! DO NOT RINSE!

DO NOT POWER THE COMPUTER HARD DRIVE! DO NOT USE HAIR DRYERS! They will damage pcbs and erase onboard drive settings!

There is a good chance of recovery as long as the drive has been retrieved as fast as possible and the user ...

- Did not power the drive. Powering a drive that has been damaged by liquids may physically render the drive totally unrecoverable due head/media abrasion

- Did not open the drive. Opening the drive in amateur attempt to clean it is another way how to destroy the content.

- Did not change pcb. SATA drives in the vast majority of them have specific firmware data only valid for that particular drive (not model!). Changing the pcb may change drive characteristics, burn the heads and render the drive expensive to recover.

OMG Data Recovery is a lab that is equipped specifically for hard drive disasters, and we are the only ones in Malta. We chemically neutralise damage under specific lab procedures, restore/replace the mechanical components, repair the electronics, then realign, reprogram, recalibrate the drive prior imaging. Your safest bet to the data is to STOP & CALL. Contact us on (+356) 79437846 or info@omgdatarecovery.com

I have a lot of bad sectors on my drive. What can you do?

We can read unstable sectors on drives in lab. However please note that the quality of success of the recovery directly depends on how much the drive was stressed. Stress is the attempt by software and usb connection to attempt to read a faulty drive. If the drive is faulty and 'hangs' somewhere along a read (or worse a software scan) then the chances of ruining the drive is greatly increased. Contact us when you can and prevent further damage by keeping the drive off.

I gave my hard drive to a friend who said he put it in the freezer to recover it. It didn't work. Why?

The fridge/freezer method (myth) is a hard drive destroyer! It will definitely damage it to the point of destruction if not treated immediately. Why: Hard drives are not sealed. Neither they have a vacuum. The heads need to fly on air molecules. The hard drive lid has portholes to equalize pressure, hence the ability to use it in a laptop in an aircraft. Once in the freezer, water vapour in the air condenses and later freezes, yes inside the drive. Worse still once the drive is taken out of the freezer, it is subject to a second condensing effect as the cold metal alloys hit ambient air. Some people even wrap it in a bag! Even worse! The destruction occurs in 2 phases: First, as today's heads fly about 10 to 15 nm (1/1000 of a human hair) over the platter at an angular velocity of about 85km/hr, you can imagine what happens when, instead of skimming the surface, they collide with a drop of water! Second, a latent defect will surface in time due to corrosion, imbalance etc. The myth may have worked for 10 minutes in a drive of the 90s when sectors were addressed via a servo head and the materials were in those days subject to expansion and contraction. Today the drives have advanced alloys and more importantly do not have servo heads and surfaces. Unfortunately in Malta there are too many amateurs who read internet myths and employ them dangerously on people's data without care! We go to extreme lengths to preserve your data. Send us an email if you think your drive has been in the cold hell of a fridge. We can recover from hard drive cold temperature exposure if the user allowed it to warm up slowly (2 hours min) before powering it up.

I have an Iomega external drive that suddenly stopped working on its own, without any clicking. Can you recover my files?

Yes. Iomega is an enclosure manufacturer like Lacie, Verbatim, IcyBox, Freecom etc. The enclosure has a SATA-USB adapter. The drive inside would be a Seagate,Western Digital, Hitachi, Samsung or Toshiba. You should check the power supply first. Do this once. If you still have trouble, contact us on 79 437846 or info@omgdatarecovery.com

I have accidentally erased all photos on the camera SD card and used it again. Can you recover old photos?

Yes, provided that you have not filled it up to capacity. The empty space might contain partial photos or even whole ones. We can recover those as well.

I tried to swap the 'controller board' to recover my drive but wouldn't work. Can you recover the drive?

Yes we can. We have a dedicated lab, special tools, specific procedures, a huge library of drives and access to over a million different types of pcbs worldwide to be able to recover drives with burnt or fried pcbs. Please note that only old drives used to work with common pcbs. Drives manufactured around 2002 and after cannot have their pcbs swapped. Each drive pcb belongs to that drive only. This is due to minute manufacturing differences between each different drive of the same model. Exchanging the pcb may also damage the drive. This is due to parameter differences within firmware which may even burn the heads. The best and cheapest way to recover your drive is to contact us without attempting recoveries that may damage the drive further.

My SD card is not recognised. The computer cannot read it. It's telling me to format it! Do you do SD card recovery?

Yes we do. Flash media such as SD cards, Pen drives and Solid State Devices (SSD) store data differently than hard drives. Logical failures, when the computer sees the media but cannot read it, are recoverable by software. Physical failures on the other hand is a different process. The data is stored in memory chips that are controlled by a controller chip. Most often than not, the removable media become unrecognisable due to a controller failure. In this case we remove the memory chip and read it through special hardware. The data is read would be scattered. We then use specialized software to rebuild and reorganise the data blocks into a file system where from we copy the files back on another media.

Windows Picture and Fax Viewer is reporting 'Drawing Failed' when trying to open a JPG image. What can I do?

Contact us! We can recover those photos albeit partially. If neither Windows Picture and Fax Viewer nor Windows Picture Manager nor any other application can display the image, it is because the data necessary to uncompress the image is incomplete or gone. Our algorithmic software however attempts recovery by iteration and most often than not manages to recover a very high percentage of the corrupted images.

A video file is not playing on VLC. It looks corrupted. Can you repair it?

Yes we can most times. Contact us on info@omgdatarecovery.com

After loosing files Windows offered me to run CHKDSK. I cannot see the lost files

CHKDSK with the command line option /f uses a destructive method to recover data ie it writes the 'lost chains to files' on free space which may contain past data, including the files you actually lost. The files are written as filennnn.chk where nnnn is a number. Unfortunately we find that using chkdsk creates more problems and sometimes even further data loss and data recovery becomes more challenging and expensive. We can recover data from CHKDSK issues. The user, on realising data loss should always power down the system immediately and contact us on info@omgdatarecovery.com

I have a Western Digital drive that is not being recognised. Other companies have wrote it off. What about you?

We also do Western Digital HDDs. Other companies wrote them off because certain WD drives are notoriously difficult in certain recoveries. We will recover file system issues, firmware issues and PCB board (electronics) repair. However, certain other repairs that involve head stack or platter exchange involve a much higher cost on certain WD drives. This is because WD, unlike other drives, loose critical alignment during the operation. Although it is doable, it will be more costly than others due to the difficulty, instruments and time.

After I heard a buzzing noise I opening the lid and undid the screws of the platters. The noise is gone.

So is your data! Once the lid is opened the disks and head components are subjected to a multitude of hazards including dust that will damage heads and obliterate data, finger prints that will make paste on the disks obliterating more data, static electricity from the fingers burning the chip that amplifies electrical signals from the heads (pre amp). Lastly, a turn of the platter screws causing a platter movement of even 1 micrometer (about one hundredth the width of an average human hair) will render the data completely unrecoverable for ever. You can use the platters as a mirror, a coaster or a frisbee!

Do you analyse hard disk faults to give me a quote?

Yes of course. It's free. We will let you know an estimate of the costs. Just contact us and optionally we will collect the hard drive in Malta for a small fee that is refunded after recovery. Or have it sent to us. For onsite analysis a small fee is incurred.

I don't know how to take out the hard disk. Can you help?

Yes. Call us and we will give you a step by step guide while on the phone. If you are really stuck, either bring the laptop/desktop to us in Lija or alternatively, we will come and remove it ourselves for a small fee.

I have an old hard disk. What do I do with it?

Do not just throw it away! You have three options with us: a) We will wipe your data securely from the hard disk for a fee

b) You can donate the hard disk to us for spares and we will wipe it securely for you - FREE + one free logical recovery within a year.

I bought a new drive and want to transfer large amounts of files on it but am afraid it will take too long. Can you help?

Of course! For a small fee we will use our high speed data systems to transfer or clone your drive.

After a virus attack my computer crashed. I formatted and re-installed Windows twice. Can you still recover my old files?

Yes, but be prepared that some of the files may be overwritten by the re-installation of Windows.

I tried to do my own data recovery and I messed up. Can you help?

Of course! The majority of cases we receive in fact have passed through some previous attempt of data recovery but resulting in further loss of data and higher challenges for us to recover the data. Prices will go up after failed attempts by third parties to recover data. We will assure you that we will keep the prices quoted if you followed our basic 3 item checklist that is to 1) SWITCH OFF THE POWER immediately you realise the data loss 2) CONTACT US immediately. Unfortunately the more attempts by third parties at data recovery, the costlier it is to recover. Therefore to keep costs down please switch off and contact us on (+356) 79 437846 or info@omgdatarecovery.com

I gave my faulty hard drive to a friend who is in IT, who opened it, ie the metal lid but could not recover. Can you handle it?

This is one of the worst situations that can happen to a relatively recoverable hard drive. Friends amateur technicians who are not data recovery engineers with dedicated labs costing several hundred thousand euros, should not attempt opening the hard drive. Several faults will occur that will mask the original fault including dust particulates, static, finger grease, heads/platter alignment etc, rendering data recovery difficult, costly and even perhaps writing it off. Hence it is our policy that we do not accept opened drives from the general public. We will only accept such drives for forensic cases.

My pendrive is asking me to Format? Why? Where is my data?

The pendrive suffered corruption of the file system or a physical failure of the controller chip. In both cases, the data may still be intact and we can recover it. It is important to gently pull out the pendrive as soon as you think it suffered a fault and contact us on (+356) 79 437846 or info@omgdatarecovery.com

My hard disk is asking me to Format? Where did my files go?

DO NOT press Y to format. Your files will be recovered only if you switch off the computer and call us. The drive failed to recognise a valid file system and hence is asking you to format. We recover from these types of faults. Contact us immediately on (+356) 79 437846 or info@omgdatarecovery.com

I broke my pendrive!

If you think you can pull it out slowly, do so gently and try extracting it by pulling from the connector nearest to the USB port. Contact us for recovery as your data may still be 100% intact.

My pendrive is not being recognised by the computer. It is saying Unrecognised USB device or nothing at all!

The pendrive suffered a physical fault of some sort and we need to analyse it. Do not attempt to uncover the circuitry, solder anything, physically push the chips etc. You may permanently damage the data. If you have data still on the pendrive we can recover it. It is important to gently pull out the pendrive as soon as you think it suffered a fault and contact us on (+356) 79 437846 or info@omgdatarecovery.com

No questions asked. However: if you're not the owner of the computer, the legal onus is entirely yours and therefore we will indemnify ourselves of any legal liability/responsibility. It is only your responsibility.

I have a password protected computer and I would like to access the data. Can you help?

Yes. We are able to access password protected computers, sites and also hard drives. Contact us on 79 437846

I have an encrypted password locked drive? Can you recover the data?

Please be aware that password locked drives and hardware encryption by password are two separate and different security features. Yes we recover encrypted drives of certain models such as Western Digital external drives (WD MyBook, Passport), Dell and Toshiba laptops etc. We can recover most password hardware locked drives as well that require a password at booting or BIOS level. Contact us on 79 437846

Our relative is deceased and we would like to access the files, facebook and emails. Can you help?

Yes and we will do it with respect. Special cases with special requests from relatives will be taken. Call us on 79 437846

I would like to know what my son/daughter is doing online. Is it possible?

Yes. Call us on 79 437846

I would like to monitor my employee's online presence and need professional help.

Call us on 79 437846. You will be able to monitor everything.

Our legal team needs to gather evidence from seized computers. We would like your expert professional help.

Forensic eDiscovery Cases. Call 79 437846

I am a Private Investigator and would like to use your Data Recovery, eDiscovery and Forensic services.

Call us on 79 437846 or send us an email on info@omgdatarecovery.com

I need your services for a litigation case. How can we proceed?

eDiscovery and Court Expert Representation cases including separation, divorce, intellectual property, etc please call/msg on 79 437846 or send us an email on info@omgdatarecovery.com

I have deleted an important SMS message on my phone. Can you recover it?

We can recover a recently deleted SMS message from your smart phone memory and sim card. It is vitally important though, not to do any more operations on the phone, to switch it off and send it straight away. Phone recoveries are always treated as top priority unless the client specifies otherwise. We usually have a 24hr turnaround on phones. Send us an email with your phone make and model to check if we can do it. info@omgdatarecovery.com

I lost my contacts in my phone. Can you recover them?

Yes, provided you contact us in time. The more the phone is used the lesser the chances of recovery. Contact us now

Is it possible to recover photos, text messages, contacts etc from an old phone that has no sim card?

Yes. Many phone brands, especially old ones store the data in internal memory which we can access by special equipment and methods.

My child dropped my iPhone in the toilet! Can you recover it?

We will recover the data no problem but we do not recover phones from toilets. You must fetch it yourself and clean the outside as much as you can. Put it in a bag and call us on 79437846. We will do the rest.

My smartphone 'got smashed' to pieces and I had important data on it. Can you recover anything?

Yes it is possible, sometimes even possible to recover everything but it all depends on the state of the individual flash memory chips. Collect the pieces carefully even if the circuitry is broken. The microSD might still work on your pc but if not we can recover it for you as well if the chips are not cracked.

Do you unlock phones, jailbreak iPhones etc?

We unlock phones for forensic investigation purposes only, so really the answer is no.

My Xbox hard drive failed. Can you recover it?

Yes we can but it depends on the fault. As Xbox drives are encrypted and individually assigned to a particular console, the recovery must have the same drive. The drives cannot be cloned or copied as they will not work on any console. This is a copy protection feature.

What is the process when someone has a faulty device for data recovery?

These are the steps in the process :

a) Client contacts OMG about the fault. We will pick it up at a mutually agreed place and time. Else we have it delivered (Gozo Express, DHL, TNT, etc)

b) Diagnostic evaluation occurs within 48hrs and a quote is communicated to client. The evaluation is free

c) Client either accepts quote and gives go-ahead, or else decides not to go ahead in which case no costs are incurred and client picks up the device

d) Data Recovery process commences and client is given periodical updates

e) On successful data recovery, client device is delivered and payment is affected. Should it be unsuccessful there is zero cost to client

What kind of recoveries can you do?

We do them all. We categorise recoveries into 7 classes: logical failure, unstable drive, firmware corruption, electronic fault, mechanical fault, forensic recovery and flash recovery. We recover from Windows, iOS, OSX, Linux and Android

Which brands of drives do you do recoveries on?

We do them all. The main ones are: Seagate, Western Digital, Toshiba, Samsung, Hitachi, Fujitsu, Maxtor, Quantum, IBM and others not so well known. Also, we are experienced in handling external enclosures such as Icy Box, Verbatim, Intenso, Iomega, LaCie, Freecom, Buffalo, Manhattan etc. Contact us on if you have trouble with one of these drives.

Do you do Apple devices? I have a Macbook Air and it uses an SSD

Yes we do and yes we do Macbook Air SSDs as well as all kinds of SSD such as M.2, NVMe, mSATA, SATA, PCIe etc

What about RAID, NAS, Servers and VM recoveries?

We recover RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 4, RAID 5 (and variants), RAID 6 (and variants), Nested RAIDs (10, 60), Hybrid RAIDs, JBODs with extended partitions, etc from NAS brands such as Synology, Qnap, Thecus, Netgear, onboard RAID, Western Digital My Book etc from lost configurations, firmware issues, dual drive failures and other human error corruption. Moreover we also recover from SQL Server corruption and Virtual Machine corruption.

Do you do onsite data recovery?

No. We use state of the art diagnostic hardware, factory level systems, special methods and dedicated tools for data recovery in our lab that guarantee best results. However we offer pickup and delivery in Malta and courier service internationally at nominal fees.

When will you update me on the recovery?

We will update you 1) on Assessment result with Quote, 2) when we have a query and 3) on successful completion or otherwise. While we do not update the client during jobs undergoing operations or research, nevertheless, we will return all calls and messages when client requests information. For Business Priority, VIP and Mission Critical Cases updates will be periodical even through the recovery phases.

I am returning to your lab with the hard drive job that I previously cancelled.

Sorry it is policy not to re-accept a hard drive that was already assessed and then cancelled by the client. The reason is because once the hard drive is taken out of lab, its state usually changes because the client would re-attempt to power it or take it to a technician, only to find that it will not be possible to recover it elsewhere. Hence we do not usually re-accept them, unless of course, the client is back to the wall with important data lost, then we will re-assess at a cost agreed with the client.

Another ad of a shop offers 'quick and easy' 'same day support'. Why not you?

We do offer that service! If the cause of data loss is easy to identify and if the drive is intact we will recover it within half a day. In fact for that service we charge less half of what others charge ... simply because it is quick. Most importantly we use the correct recovery procedure and no trial and errors. However, if the fault on the hard drive requires replacement or physical hard drive surgery, no matter what others say, it can take between a day to up to a few weeks or more if there is a need to source an exact part (matching part + date and place of manufacture) and waiting for it to be shipped. Quick fix solutions commonly claimed by PC shops often result in permanent loss of data because they do not have the time or the hardware for low level, electronic level, time consuming procedures. What you can rest your mind is that we employ all technical resources in the correct methodical way to give you back your files from the dead hard drive and get you back to business as usual.

Is my computer hacked? And not detected by the anti-virus?

Certainly possible. And you will be shocked to realise that in a study that we commissioned more than 75% of people are unaware that their browsing habits, personal details, passwords, files, and even credit card details are vulnerable to certain types of malicious routines that lie in inaccessible areas, laying in hiding, in pieces, undetectable, until a trigger wakes them up and activates tiny code that intercepts data and may even take hold of your computer remotely and transparently to you. This is because antivirus and antimalware software project a false sense of security. They do not detect trojans that use crypters and binders. For eg. Never mind your antivirus: if you have ever received junk mail addressed to you personally, then you might want to contact us. If you have a slow and heating laptop you might want to give us a call. If you experienced mysterious quick opening, quick closing windows on boot up, contact us. If your browser automatically displays sites you didn't specifically wanted, you may need us. We have specially written software that scours the medium, studies processes in RAM and monitors performance just for these type of malicious codes that would go undetected by the best. We will offer you to clean and secure your hard disk for a small fee. Send us a text message SMS with the words 'clean me' and we will attend to you fast!

My hard drive warranty is still valid. Will it be voided if it is submitted for Data Recovery?

It depends on form factor and fault. Here is a guideline for that answer however always consult with the OMG D.R. Engineer for a definitive reply. Always state warranty status on handing over the drive.

Internal Drives : Warranty is maintained unless the drive has an electronic or a mechanical fault.

External Drives : Warranty is maintained if the drive has suffered a logical failure. If the drive has not suffered an electrical or mechanical fault, Warranty is maintained on some generic enclosures which can be opened by screws without tearing any warranty seals. Warranty is voided on enclosures that are sealed with clips, if the drive needs to be accessed via SATA or has an electronic or mechanical fault.

I would like to cancel the recovery

The recovery can be canceled during the following stages:

1) Quote Not Accepted. The client can collect the device at no cost. The quote is canceled. The device will have to be re-quoted, possibly at a higher cost if client decides once again to resubmit it for recovery. This is due to possible degrading of the device if submitted to a 3rd party as the device is not in our control.

2) Stop Recovery after Quote Accepted: Recovery will be aborted. A cancellation fee of €50 or 25% of the quoted price, whichever is higher, applies. Device will not be reassembled to finished stage. If parts were quoted extra, then the parts must be paid in full in addition to the cancellation fee. The parts will be returned to client.

What can I do with a dead hard drive that I would not like to recover?

You may:

1) Shelve it in a safe place just in case one day you want it recovered

2) Donate it for research (see next question below)

3) Have it obliterated. Check details in Other Services

4) Have it recycled. Warning before Recycling! Contact us to render the drive data totally unrecoverable for recycling

5) Use it as a paperweight, display piece, mirror, or a fan

I would like to donate the drive for Research. What exactly happens?

Thank you for donating the drive for R&D. Periodically we carry out research on the drive hardware, electronics, and other components as part of reverse engineering systems. This enables us in designing better solutions to hard drive problems. The hard drive submitted for recovery is labelled, categorised and stored for research. Ownership of the drive is therefore relinquished to OMG as during research the drive is practically rendered useless as it may be disassembled. However, if during the course of research the dead drive was restored and data is readable, the former owner would be contacted so that the is data submitted back. There would be no charge in this case. Once again we thank all users who donated their dead drives for R&D.

I have very sensitive confidential information on my drive. How secure can you be?

Total. Your data is yours, no one else's. You would assign us the job to recover the lost data for you and get paid for a successful recovery. We have been since 1987 recovering data and the proof that we have had 100% customer satisfaction for our recoveries, with hundreds of repeat clients, meaning that we are trusted. Your confidentiality is paramount to you and to us and it is completely guarded. It is guarded by physical security (access control to the lab), IT security (multiple layers of encryption, credentials, firewalls and physical segregation), Procedural Security ans Ethical Security (explained below). Confidentiality is crucial to our business, as it is the basis of our existence, and we protect it at all costs. The Ethic of Confidentiality is cast in stone and is untouchable.

Who are your main clients?

We do not discuss individual clients but we have done recoveries for government, military, major international organisations, VIPs, large local companies, celebrities, small businesses, professionals, students, home pc users, and many other individuals. We do not classify clients but we classify the job to be done. Every client is very important to us as much as the data is important to the client.

Do you share any details?

Absolutely not. We never disclose names of our clients nor discuss details of their cases. We do discuss data recovery techniques with other engineers at international fora and symposia but that's just the methods and procedures. Client details are totally irrelevant to the techniques of cases themselves but even so they are never mentioned.

Is my device secure with you?

Your device is secured by a 4 level security system. a) Physical Security in terms of storage, anti-theft systems, alarms, fire prevention, monitoring and network protection levels b) IT Security in terms of firewalls, encryption, user authorisation, latest hardware and firmware updates c) Procedural Security in terms of ESD protection, non destructive recovery techniques, minimal handling or movement and d) Ethical Security in terms of one person one device, absolute adherence to confidentiality.

Can I come in the lab?

Sorry no. No one comes in the lab as it is a sensitive area containing clients' data, sensitive instruments and controlled environment and is completely protected from third parties. Besides we carry out research and have built custom equipment and devices that are considered commercially sensitive in our industry. Therefore even physical presence of third parties is forbidden near the lab.

Do you keep the clients' data?

The client's recovered data is transferred as an image on server until such time that the client confirms the files are ok OR until 15 days (or as agreed by client) from recovery, whichever is earlier. Therefore the client has a a limited time to confirm or request another copy of a file/s after which secure deletion occurs. As far as client contact numbers are concerned, we keep them for our records and future reference. In compliance with GPDR rules in force from 25th May 2018, we fully comply with clients' requests for keeping their details in our database for future reference. We do not share/discuss/disclose client details, not even names, with anyone.

Where are your legal Terms and Conditions?

At the bottom of this page are the Conditions of Service and Terms & Conditions. By engaging our services you are agreeing to the Conditions of Service and Terms & Conditions.

How long can I leave the device with you?

Kindly check the Conditions of Service at the bottom of this page and Terms & Conditions.

I want to remain anonymous at all costs.

Certainly. Call us with an anonymous number or ID withheld, contact us with a temporary generic email and give us an alias/nickname/nom-de-plume by which we can refer to you. There are a number of options available for device collection/delivery including PO Box, safe deposit box, proxy, client determined place of pickup and delivery etc. Contact us anonymously first by the name 'ANON' and we can discuss the case.

Do you sign NDAs?

Yes, Non Disclosure Agreements are signed.

Are you GPDR Compliant

Yes, we are.

Do you provide data and device destruction service?

Yes! We have a specialised certified service for destroying drives. The service is called HDD Terminator. We securely destroy hard drives, SSDs, mobiles, smartphones, pendrives, sdcards, microsdcards, LTO tapes, CDs, DVDs and other media. The service guarantees unrecoverability and we provide a Certificate of Secure Data Destruction for compliance to your IT ISO audits. The service can be provided onsite or cast live to your company's headquarters. Click here: HDD Terminator

Why should I come to you and not send it to UK for example?

It is of course your free choice entirely, it is your drive and your data, and you solely decide who to employ to recover your data. After all, the UK data recovery companies employ a large number of people due to economies of scale but the core engineers are most of them our colleagues having the exact same equipment and lab as us. Moreover, we do exchange techniques, research, firmware and parts between us as it is important for all parties to have central access to all resources. However, we have lower costs because we operate a minimum overhead business saving up to 60% of costs of a drive recovered abroad giving the savings back to client ... together with their data. Additionally, you save on transport costs (up tot GBP100 each way by courier) and also diagnostic charges, which some of our colleagues abroad charge for their time due to the large number of cases they have. OMG Data Recovery is the same data recovery lab setup as UK ones but cost-wise catered for Malta. Moreover one thing some clients want is Security, Confidentiality and Trust. They want to know where their drive containing their data is physically located, who is responsible for it and whether they can just call and talk frankly in Maltese to the engineer actually working on their drive, at any time, any day. We do not have opening and closing hours, and if you are anxious about the drive at any point you can just call. Here's the number: 79437846. This gives clients in Malta ease of access and great peace of mind, certainly something one needs when losing data. Recover it, and get back to business as usual with OMG Data Recovery.

What about other data recovery companies in Malta?

There are no other. We are the only specialised data recovery lab in Malta due to the experience, rate of success, range of services offered, knowledge sharing to the IT community, heavy DR hardware and training investment, speed of service, courtesy of service, confidentiality and security. However due to our success and high quality service, we do serve all IT companies as B2B services and their clients. We are considered the go-to place for data recovery as we offer business friendly options to companies and best personal service to individuals. We aim to be constantly the best data recovery service in Malta and the Mediterranean.

How do we ship the hard disk, pen drive, SD card or iPOD?

If you live in Malta we will pick it up and deliver back, for free, from any location. If you live in Gozo contact us for pickup and delivery using Gozo Express service. International Clients: Pack the drive in an anti static wrapper/envelope similar to what hard drives/electronics are packed in when first bought. It is highly recommended to use a local courier company (eg DHL, TNT, UPS or Fedex) as usually they will over-pack it properly for you.

Where shall I send it to?

Address the package to OMG Data Recovery, Main Street, Lija, LJA 1509, MALTA. If coming in person, kindly send a WhatsApp message on 79437846 for appointment at the lab at OMG Data Labs, triq tal-Mirakli, Lija

What is the payment procedure?

For residents of Malta & Gozo: Payment in PayPal, Cash or Cheque on delivery of media.

For International customers: We accept a variety of methods of payments. The easiest, safest and most convenient is to affect payment by REVOLUT or BOV Pay. If you wish to pay by wire or via Western Union kindly contact us so that we give you the necessary details. Visit our Payments area for the various payment options.

I don't have a Paypal account. How can I pay?

You do not need a Paypal account. Just go to this address replacing nnn with the amount you want to pay: paypal.me/omgdr/nnn. Eg. If you want to send €250 you can click this address: paypal.me/omgdr/250

Can I pay by Bank Draft?

As international Bank Cheques take at least 28 days to clear we prefer other methods of payment as they are relatively instant and therefore you can have your recovered files immediately.

Our corporation pays on credit. Do you accept payment in 60 days?

For Governments and Corporations only we accept payments within 60 days of agreement.

What happens if I cancel the recovery job after I gave you the go ahead to proceed?

A cancellation fee of 25% of the quote OR €50, whichever is the highest, applies. This is because we commence the process immediately once we receive the go ahead from the client. If the quote contains an entry for parts, then the cost of the parts have to be paid in addition to the cancellation fee. The parts will be returned to client.

I ruined the recovered data. Can you do it again? At what price?

Yes and it is free of charge unless you have confirmed the recovered files have been received or 15 days have passed since the recovery, whichever is earlier. After your confirmation or 30 days have passed since recovery, your data on our servers is securely deleted forever. Any other subsequent case is treated like any other normal recovery.

Are there any other hidden labour charges?

No.

How can I contact you?

You may call, email or SMS, WhatsApp, chat on messenger on facebook.com/OMGDR. Send us an SMS or WhatsApp message on (+356) 79 437846 with 'OMG' or an email at info@omgdatarecovery.com with your contact number and we will call you back as soon as possible. If you call and we can't attend immediately kindly send us an SMS text message and we will return the call asap. Otherwise we're on Facebook, Twitter, Live and Skype. Search for 'omgdatarecovery'. If you are calling with an 'unknown' number or Caller ID withheld and the mobile is unreachable please send a text message SMS and we will return the call within same day. We will otherwise be unable to call you back if we do not have the number you are calling from.

What are your opening hours?

We may be contacted 24x7. If we cannot respond immediately we will call you back shortly after as long as your phone settings have not withheld ID. We will respond to every message and email. Meetings by appointment. If you intend coming to our Lija Lab for device delivery/collection, call or message before for appointment.