When data seems lost, there is still a way forward
A hard drive that will not start, an unreadable NAS, a degraded RAID: data loss is one of the most expensive incidents for a business - and one of the most underestimated. Xion IT Group provides data recovery from damaged or inaccessible media, working with one of the largest specialists in the sector in Europe: specialised laboratories, clean rooms and cutting-edge technology, with professional yet cost-effective solutions.
How it works
- Contact and initial assessment - tell us what happened; we will immediately explain how to secure the media.
- Diagnosis - the media is analysed to determine the type of damage and the real chances of recovery.
- Recovery - specialist technicians extract the data using laboratory tools and procedures.
- Secure return - the recovered data is delivered back to you on new media, securely.
Guaranteed confidentiality
All recovered information is handled with the utmost confidentiality: strict internal protocols and full compliance with Italian privacy law and GDPR. Your data remains yours, from start to finish.
The best recovery is the one you never need
After the emergency, we help businesses avoid ever facing the same situation again: with Remote Backup XRB, your data is copied automatically to a protected data centre, safe from failures, theft and fire.
The cases we deal with most often
- Hard drives that will not start — repeated clicking, drives not recognised by the system, start-ups that freeze;
- Failed SSDs — solid-state drive failures are less frequent but more sudden and harder to predict;
- Degraded NAS and RAID — the most common false sense of security: RAID protects against one failure, not two, nor against configuration errors;
- Files deleted or partitions formatted by mistake;
- Damaged media caused by drops, flooding or power surges;
- Data encrypted by ransomware — where no backup exists, the laboratory may sometimes still be able to help.
The three types of damage, and why the distinction matters
Quotation, timescales and probability of success depend on which of the three you are dealing with. Recognising it is also how you can tell whether the person advising you knows what they are talking about.
Logical damage. The media is physically sound but the data cannot be read: damaged partition, corrupted file system, accidental deletion, formatting. This is the case with the highest probability of full recovery — on one condition: that no further writing has taken place on the media. Every subsequent write can overwrite exactly what is being saved.
Electronic damage. The drive board is burnt out, often due to a power issue. The media does not power on at all. Work is carried out on the components, and the chances are good because the data on the platters is intact.
Mechanical damage. The heads have touched the surface, the motor is jammed, the drive is making noise. This is the case where every attempt to power it on makes the situation measurably worse, and the only possible intervention takes place in a controlled environment with specialist equipment. It is also the case where DIY recovery attempts cause the most damage.
RAID, NAS and virtual machines: why they are different cases
In business environments, a single drive is the exception. In most emergencies we handle, the data sits on a composite system, and that changes the approach.
RAID is not a backup, and this is the most widespread misunderstanding. It is designed to tolerate the failure of one drive, not to protect against deletion, encryption or human error — all of which are propagated across every drive at the same instant. When an array degrades, there is only one rule: do not start the rebuild. On an already weakened array, rebuilding is the moment of maximum stress for the remaining drives, and if a second one fails during the operation, recovery becomes much more difficult.
A NAS has its own internal logic. Data is not stored on the drives in the same way as on a computer: there is a management layer that must be reconstructed. Removing the drives and connecting them to a PC does not work, and often makes matters worse.
Virtual machines add another layer. The virtual disk file may be intact while the system inside will not boot, or vice versa. Snapshot chains left in place for months are among the most frequent causes we encounter.
How much it costs and how long it takes
We do not publish a price list because it would be a made-up number: the cost depends on the type of damage, the type of media and what has been done before calling us. What we can guarantee is the right order — first the diagnosis, then the quotation. The assessment identifies the damage, what can be recovered and with what probability; only then do you decide, with a clear picture rather than in the dark.
On timescales, one counterintuitive point applies: urgency is the main enemy. A recovery carried out carefully on media that has been handled properly succeeds; one rushed through on media that has already been stressed five times often does not. The time that really matters is not the laboratory’s: it is the first few hours at your company.
What NOT to do (seriously)
In data recovery, the worst damage is caused by DIY attempts:
- Do not repeatedly restart a drive that is making unusual noises: every spin can damage the surfaces irreversibly;
- Never open the drive — outside a clean room, dust completes the disaster;
- Do not install recovery software on the drive you need to recover: you risk overwriting the very data you are trying to save;
- Do not freeze the drive — it is an urban myth that only gives you condensation;
- In the event of ransomware, disconnect from the network and power down — and call us before touching anything else.
Why timing matters
The chances of recovery decrease every time the damaged media is used. The right process is: stop everything, describe what happened to us, have the media sent to the laboratory for diagnosis. From there, decisions can be made with a clear picture of feasibility and costs — with no surprises.
And after recovery?
The service always ends with the same question: how do we make sure this never happens again? The answer is almost always XRB Remote Backup — automatic, encrypted, off-site copies with multiple versions — plus a health check of the media as part of our managed service.