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Data Recovery

Data Recovery

🌐Service overview

The IT Service Desk provides assistance with recovering lost, deleted, or corrupted data from university-owned devices and network storage.

While recovery is not guaranteed, technicians use specialized tools and best practices to attempt retrieval of critical academic, research, or administrative data.

Why use this service?

  • You accidentally deleted important files

  • Files are corrupted or inaccessible

  • You are experiencing a system or storage failure

  • You need help recovering critical university data

Who can use this service?

  • Faculty and administrative staff

  • Students with university-owned data

  • University departments and units

Who can not use this service?

  • Recovery of data from personally owned devices (unless approved)

  • Non-university related data recovery requests

  • Requests where data has been permanently overwritten or is unrecoverable

How do I use this service?

  • Submit a request through the service portal

  • Provide details about the issue (device, file type, location, timeline)

  • IT will assess the recovery options and begin the process

  • 👉 Raise a support request here: General Support Request

What if I have issue with the service?

see Need Help below.

Timelines

Initial Response

1 Business day

Time to resolution

  • Varies based on severity and recoverability of data

🔄 What to expect (process)

  1. Request submission
    You submit a request with details about the data loss

  2. Assessment

    IT evaluates the device or storage and determines recovery feasibility

  3. Recovery attempt
    Technicians use tools and methods to attempt data recovery

  4. Review results
    Recovered data (if successful) is validated with the user

  5. Confirmation and closure
    Request is closed once recovery is completed or attempts are exhausted

⚠️ Important notes

  • Data recovery is not guaranteed

  • Success depends on factors such as device condition and time since data loss

  • Avoid using the affected device to prevent overwriting data

  • Encrypted drives (e.g., BitLocker or other full-disk encryption) may significantly limit or prevent data recovery if encryption keys are unavailable

 

⚡ Quick Actions

Raise a support request here: https://laurentian.atlassian.net/servicedesk/customer/portal/5/group/58/create/212

Need help?

Contact the Service Desk online

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