Folder with a question mark, an endless white screen, or an iMac that won't wake up — the photos and documents inside are usually intact. We recover all iMac generations, including Fusion Drive and T2-era machines.
Free diagnostic on every apple imac job. Fixed quote before any work — and no fix, no fee.
Every apple imac job starts by matching the symptoms to the fault — these ten cover almost everything that reaches the bench.
The iMac can't find a bootable volume — its internal drive has failed or corrupted.
macOS starts loading and hangs; usually a dying drive slowing to a crawl.
The SSD-plus-HDD pair loses sync and the logical volume collapses — both halves must be imaged and rejoined.
The 3.5" drive inside older iMacs fails like any other — it's just glued behind glass.
Firmware or storage failure at boot; data extraction comes first, diagnosis second.
Update dies mid-install and the Mac loops; user data is intact beneath the broken system.
Apple's file systems break in Apple-specific ways; both need native-level parsing to rebuild.
One wrong click in Recovery Mode erases the volume — recoverable if writes stop there.
Encrypted soldered storage needs the board alive — board-level repair plus your password gets the data.
Dead PSU or logic board with a healthy drive inside — extraction is straightforward once it's open.
Opening an iMac means releasing the bonded screen — not a job for a kitchen table. Behind it sits a hard drive, an SSD, or both working together as a Fusion Drive, formatted with Apple's HFS+ or APFS file systems. Because that drive sits behind the display, it needs removing before it's sent to us — we don't provide a drive-removal service, so please take the drive out first (or call us to talk it through), and we recover from the drive directly once it arrives. Fusion Drives are a speciality: both halves must be imaged and logically rejoined before your files exist again as files.
We handle the full range — older iMacs with standard SATA drives, mid-2010s Fusion models, T2-secured Intel machines, and Apple Silicon iMacs where storage is soldered and encrypted. On T2 and Apple Silicon machines your password is part of the recovery, so keep it to hand when you call.
iMac work is Apple-specific from the first tool onwards:
Once you've sent the drive, Fusion pairs are imaged and logically rejoined and APFS / HFS+ volumes rebuilt to extract your files.
Proprietary SSD blades, Fusion pairs and standard SATA drives all attach natively to the imaging rigs.
Failed iMac hard drives get the same head-swap and firmware treatment as any drive.
Native parsers for Apple's file systems, including Fusion Drive logical-volume reassembly.
T2 and Apple Silicon machines are revived, restored or accessed through Apple's own service pathways.
When a T2-era logic board is the blocker, it's repaired far enough to release its encrypted storage.
Every generation opens differently and stores differently — the recovery route is chosen by year and storage type before the screen ever comes off.
Most customers post or courier their device to us — it arrives next morning, and the free diagnostic starts the day it lands.
Sending a drive from a computer, laptop, MacBook, iMac or server? Please remove the internal hard drive or SSD and send us just the drive — we don't provide an internal drive-removal service. If the storage is soldered in (e.g. Apple Silicon), call us first on 0800 689 0668.
↓ Print the booking-in & shipping form (PDF)
Mark the package for the attention of Leeds Data Recovery and we'll call you as soon as we diagnose your media.
Not sure what to send? Call 0800 689 0668 first or use the free online diagnostic.
Free diagnostic, fixed quote, no fix no fee — start now or call the freephone.