Hard drive clicking or dropped
Turn it off and leave it off. Do not open the drive, freeze it, or keep testing cables if it sounds abnormal.
Data loss first aid
The First 10 Minutes After Data Loss
If the files matter, the safest first move is usually to stop. Repeated power cycles, rebuilds, repairs, format prompts, recovery scans, and new writes can make a recoverable case harder.
- Stop unsafe attempts
- Preserve current state
- Write down symptoms
Minute 0 to 2
Stop the device from changing.
- Power down failed, clicking, dropped, wet, overheating, very slow, or repeatedly disconnecting storage.
- Do not initialize, format, run disk repair, rebuild, reset, update, restore, or install recovery software onto the affected device.
- For RAID/NAS, do not change drive order or start another rebuild.
- For phones, do not charge, heat, rice-dry, repeatedly restart, or approve a repair that can erase data.
External drive or SSD not detected
Do not initialize, format, repair, or copy new files onto the device. Note whether it appears in system tools.
RAID or NAS failure
Do not rebuild, reinitialize, swap several drives, or change drive order. Record the NAS model, drive count, and messages.
Phone or water damage
Power down if possible. Do not charge, heat, rice-dry, repeatedly restart, update, reset, or approve repair steps if the data matters.
Deleted or formatted files
Stop using the device. New activity can overwrite deleted data. Do not install recovery software onto the same drive.
Business system failure
Preserve the current state, record who touched the system and what changed, and call before rebuilds or write-heavy scans.
Minute 5 to 10
Choose the right intake path.
Call Aceon or send the case details before more attempts. Include your contact details, device type, what happened, what was already tried, and the priority files.