The hard drive clicks, the computer no longer finds its drive, or the only photos from last summer are on a USB stick that nothing recognizes. Right now you don't want a waiting loop or a shipping box. You want to know: who am I handing this to? This page answers exactly that.
Benjamin Riedel
Data recovery specialist in Stuttgart-Sillenbuch
At a glance
- Business owner since 2004
- Data recovery since 2014
- Specialist device since 2015
- Own specialist workshop in Stuttgart-Sillenbuch
- Around 80–90% success rate
- Trained two IT specialists
Three things you can count on
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You call, I answer.
Behind +49 711 3588558 there is no call center, just me. On the phone we sort out what happened and how urgent it is. That first assessment costs you nothing, and sometimes it simply is: leave the device off and come by.
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You hand me your drive in person.
My workshop is at Gosheimer Weg 11 in Stuttgart-Sillenbuch. You see where your drive is kept, and you see who works on it. Unlike at the drop-off points of large labs, your drive does not automatically go on a journey. If you live further away, you send me the drive well padded after a quick call.
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One contact from drop-off to handover
I take your case on the phone, make the diagnosis, tell you the price and hand the data back to you. If I bring in a colleague for a special case, you hear about it beforehand, and you still only deal with me.
Who's behind the number
I'm Benjamin Riedel, a trained IT systems electronics technician and a business owner in Stuttgart since 2004. I have been recovering data since 2014, and today it is my focus. I work alone in my specialist workshop in Stuttgart-Sillenbuch: I'm the one who answers the phone, and I'm the one who will later hold your drive in his hands.
My path from PC service to data recovery
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2004 Starting out from home
I started on 13 December 2004 as a PC service, working from home.
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Workshop years Nellingen, Olgastraße, Ameisenbergstraße
Workshops in Ostfildern-Nellingen and in Stuttgart's Olgastraße followed, then from 2014 the Ameisenbergstraße in Stuttgart-Ost. During that time I trained two IT specialists, one in systems integration and one in software development.
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2014 The first data recoveries
In my own workshop in Ameisenbergstraße the first data recoveries came in, at first alongside the PC service. The requests grew.
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2015 My mentor from the USA
Through an international professional forum I got talking with an experienced data recovery specialist from the USA. He became my mentor: we exchanged expertise for months, he guided me through my first difficult cases, and I saw: this works.
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December 2015 The first specialist device
In the end, two very similar cases shortly after one another tipped the balance. In December 2015 my first specialist device arrived in the workshop, an MRT Pro. With it I read failing hard drives gently, sector by sector, and can secure the most important areas first. Since then, data recovery has been my focus.
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2026 The workshop moves to Stuttgart-Sillenbuch
Since summer 2026 my workshop has been at Gosheimer Weg 11 in Stuttgart-Sillenbuch, with free parking at the door and the Sillenbuch stop of the U7 light rail line around the corner.
Why I recover data
Losing data is the moment you find out what a backup is really worth. People come to me whose family photos, thesis or business files sit on a drive that no longer cooperates.
“Giving people in need their data back – that is incredibly satisfying for me. That keeps me in this work.”
Benjamin Riedel
In roughly 80 to 90 percent of cases the recovery succeeds, depending on the type of damage. And the sooner you call, the more is left to save.
How I work
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On the copy, never on the original
First I take a sector-by-sector image of your drive. Only then does the actual recovery begin. The ailing original stays protected.
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Fixed price after the diagnosis
After the initial diagnosis you know what is possible and what it costs. No job without your go-ahead.
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You check the file list first
Before you take your data home, we check the list of recovered files together, on site or by phone.
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Findings in plain language
I explain what is wrong with your drive in pictures, not jargon. If Windows "forgot the table of contents", that's what I'll say.
How my workshop is equipped
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Reading MRT Pro Specialist device for selective hardware imaging, since December 2015: reads failing drives gently, sector by sector.
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Opening cleanly Sentry Air Systems laminar-flow bench Filtered air to ISO class 5 at the workbench, a particle counter monitors the conditions; this is where I open hard drives.
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Working inside Precision tools for work inside the drive (head combs) For example when the read/write heads are stuck to the platter.
If you like, I'm happy to show you my workshop when you drop off your drive.
Upfront when a colleague fits better
Even specialists have their own fields. I handle around eight out of ten cases completely myself in my workshop. If a case needs special technology or experience with a particular model that a colleague masters better, I tell you before the job: who, where and what it costs. Your drive leaves my workshop only with your consent, and I remain your contact.
Rescue stories: real cases from my workshop →
Data recovery: procedure, types of damage, costs →
Lost your data? Then call me.
You'll speak to me right away, not to a hotline. The first assessment is free.