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Notes from the bench

The questions that come down this phone two or three times a week, set out once and set out properly — written by the people who do the work, with no jargon, no affiliate links and nothing dressed up to frighten you.

// troubleshooting · 7 min read

An external hard drive that will not show up — the safe checks, and the point where you stop

A minute of looking and listening sorts nearly every vanished drive into one of three categories. How to tell which you are in, which checks are harmless, and where persistence starts eating files.

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// troubleshooting · 7 min read

A corrupted SanDisk card has lost its index, not your pictures — here is how they come back

The format prompt is reporting a broken index, not missing pictures. What SanDisk cards do when they fail, the five minutes of checking that costs nothing, and how a sector-by-sector image brings a shoot back.

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// business · 8 min read

Ransomware recovery: where files genuinely survive an attack, and why the ransom is not one of those places

Modern ransomware encryption is not broken by clever software. Recovery comes from the places the attack missed — and the decisions made in the first hour decide how many of those places are left.

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// guides · 7 min read

What data recovery actually costs in Aberdeen in 2026 — the figures, not a funnel

The real price bands, what pushes a job from one into the next, three questions that flush out a call centre pretending to be a laboratory, and how to hold the bill down safely.

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// business · 8 min read

Disaster recovery in Aberdeen — the difference between a continuity plan and a salvage bench

One phrase covering two entirely separate trades. What planning buys, what a bench buys, which of the two an Aberdeen firm needs at three on a Thursday afternoon with the server down, and four habits worth more than any retainer.

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// guides · 8 min read

Erasing a Mac in the correct order: files off, checked, then wipe once

How it goes on Apple Silicon and T2 machines, and on older Intel kit, why the order cannot be shuffled, and an honest answer on how much of your data lives through a modern erase. None of it.

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The assessment is free and takes 2 working days once your parcel lands, the written figure is fixed, and logical faults carry no fix no fee. Online or by phone.