Hard Drive Recovery Services

Time For a Hard Drive Recovery Service?

We always assume that our computers are infallible, but sooner or later every one of us will crash. As much as we know we should back up all our important files, how many of us do that on a regular basis? There are many ways to recover a hard drive.

Of course, if your computer is still under warranty, it's best to contact the manufacturer or, if you have a Mac, take it to one of their Apple Stores. No warranty? There are some common hard disk problems that you can fix yourself, with a bit of self-education. See my article Hard Drive Recovery if you want to try the do-it-yourself route. But unless you're fairly geeky, trying to save the hard drive yourself may cripple it even further, so the best choice would be to engage your local expert, if you have one.

Large electronic or office stores such as Best Buy or Staples can also do the chore for you, but their service is not inexpensive. At Best Buy, diagnosis is $59.99 and recovery starts at $259.99. They will even send out a member of their Geek Squad if you need service in your home or office.

YouTube has instructional videos for specific brands and models. It can be very helpful to get step-by-step instructions, but if your computer has crashed to the point that you cannot get online, this is not a particularly useful solution.

Send Your Hard Drive To a Recovery Service

There are also specialized data recovery services such as Salvage Data, which offer multiple solutions. Whether your problem is human or electrical, personal or business oriented in origin, they work on any system, including the earliest Bigfoot ATA hard drives. The company is authorized by major computer companies giving you that extra security that you may not get from a local IT expert. You can contact them by phone, online or download software for $100 -$200, depending on your operating system.

DTI is another company that can service your hard drive in a clean room environment, and they are authorized by all major hard drive manufacturers. They even go so far as to answer the question of why you should trust them. "Quote From NASA: 'Lockhead Martin referred us' end quote." Their remote data recovery service usually costs less than $100.00 and if there is no data, there is no charge.

HDRG has technicians that have been trained by manufacturers and have a recovery rate of 98%. They will put you in touch with a rep who will talk with you about the problem over the phone and may often be able to repair the damage. Again if there is no recovery, there is no charge.

After your PC is repaired, I recommend that you purchase an external hard drive and begin a daily/weekly regimen of backing up all your important files. The expense will be well worth the security and the costly repairs at another date and time. See my related articles Backing Up Your Files and Free Backup Solutions for more information on free or low-cost backup strategies.

Do you have experience or questions about hard drive recovery? Post your comments below...