Data Recovery

Data Recovery

Hard drives are great. They hold all our information and provide easy access to our data. Unfortunately they are mechanical devices that can fail at any time.

Hard drives can fail because of many reasons:

• Defective from manufacture
• Power Surge (Electrical Storm)
• Abuse
• Neglect (Dropped)
• Age (3+ Years)

We have the tools and experience to recovery your data.

I believe my hard drive is failing. What should I do?

Do not do anything. The more you use it, the less of a chance the data will be recovered. Think of it like a car engine that is failing. The more you drive it, the more damage you do.

Another company already told me there was no way to recover my data. Should I still bring it to you?

Yes. Some computer repair shops are not allowed to open the computer. Others just want you to purchase a new computer.

My hard drive is making a clicking or clanking noise. Is there any hope?

Yes. But you may not like the answer. We partner with Gillware Data Recovery Services. They can disassemble your hard drive and recover your data with their special equipment. It can be expensive, but Gillware offers a free estimate and free shipping to their service center. And they will provide a quote before they recover any data.

Does the freezer trick work?

The freezer trick is when you wrap the hard drive in an air-tight package and place it in the freezer overnight. Once it is really cold, you have a few minutes to recover your data. Hard drive manufacturer frown on this solution.

However, desperate times… We have used this several times. It has actually worked 3 times in the past 12 years. I can’t remember how many times we have tried it.

Can you recover data from an external hard drive?

Yes. But we will need to crack open the enclosure. Once we do this it probably will not go back together.

Can you recover data from a solid state drive?

Maybe. The drives use flash memory instead of magnetic storage. Solid state drives are very new to the utility software market. We talked with data recovery experts and they told us that more popular brands have a better chance of data recovery.

How much does is cost to evaluate my hard drive?

We will evaluate the hard drive for free. However, if the drive is severely damaged, our partner Gillware Data Recovery will evaluate and estimate the drive for free. They even pay for the shipping to their location. If you decide not to have your data recovered they will charge shipping to send it back.