Unless you are in a major city, the likelihood of finding a local, qualified data recovery company is going to be difficult at best. There are really only a handful of good companies out there, and most are going to be concentrated in New York, California, Florida or Texas. Some of our customers are nervous about shipping their media at first, but if you take the proper precautions, there’s really nothing to be worried about. And just because a company says they are local, that isn’t always the case. Many simply use virtual offices to show a local presence and they still end up shipping your media somewhere else. We receive hard drives from all over the world, so it doesn’t matter where you are, we can get your recovered data back to you quickly and efficiently.
STEP 1 – Create Your Data Recovery Case In Our Ticket System
NOTE: We never charge an evaluation fee, and in most cases there are no attempt fees if the data is unrecoverable. Data recovery costs vary greatly. Expect to pay at least $400 for most recoveries, and hard drives with physical problems can exceed $1,000. However, there is no charge for us to take a look and we will always confirm the cost with you before we proceed with any recovery attempts.
Your first step is to fill out our very simple form to create your case in our ticket system. Once that is done you will receive a case number and shipping instructions. You can create your case by clicking HERE.
To see how easy it is to create your case, check out the video below…
STEP 2 – Ship Your Storage Device To Us
After you’ve established your case within our ticket system, all you have to do now is ship your media to us. Shipping your hard drive or other storage device is very easy and safe as long as you take the proper precautions. If you have a hard drive, try to put it in an anti-static bag if you have one (see pictures below). If you don’t have an anti-static bag, you can wrap it in aluminum foil. This is done to prevent any electrostatic discharge (note: external hard drives do not need to be wrapped in anti-static or foil). Then wrap the device in 4 or 5 layers of bubble-wrap, and place it in a well fitting box so that it doesn’t move around. Add extra padding if needed. We recommend shipping via UPS or FedEx if at all possible. Just ship to the address provided on the confirmation page when you create your case. Include a note with your NAME and the CASE NUMBER that was issued to you.
STEP 3 – Evaluation Of Your Storage Device
Once we receive your media, we will begin the initial evaluation. We generally complete most evaluations within 1 to 2 business days. When completed, we will let you know, what we have found and the exact cost of the recovery should it be successful. We will not proceed with any recovery attempts until we verify costs with you first. You can then elect to proceed with the recovery or not. If you decide not to proceed, you are only charged for return shipping of your drive if you want it shipped back.
Pricing can vary depending on the type of of hard drive you have and the failure that has occurred. Data recovery is not cheap. So you have to weigh out the value of your data. Is it something you absolutely cannot live without? Or is it just data you’d like to have, but it’s not really that big of a deal? Most reputable companies charge at least $400 for a recovery, and that price can increase rapidly if there is physical damage to the drive that needs to be repaired first.
With that in mind, it’s important to note that we do not charge evaluation fees. We will be happy to take a look at your storage device and give you an exact price quote before you pay anything at all.
STEP 4 – Recovery Of Your Lost Data
After the evaluation has been completed, and you’ve authorized us to proceed, we will begin the actual recovery process. Most recoveries, unless Expedited, will require about 5 to 10 business days to complete. If your media has been physically damaged, we may need to order parts, and in many cases a recovery may require 4 or 5 attempts before it can be fully completed. You most likely won’t receive daily updates during the recovery process, but we will update you at critical stages. You can always Log In To Your Case and ask for updates, or post questions if you like.
During the recovery process we will start by repairing your media if necessary. We will not repair it to a point where you would ever use it again, it’s just so we can create an image of your data. Once the imaging process has completed, we will then rebuild the file structure and pull the data from the image.
STEP 5 – Transfer Of Your Recovered Data
The final step in the recovery process involves transferring your data to a destination drive. Once the data is transferred, we will send you an invoice. Once the payment has been processed we will ship your recovered data back to you. We will hold on to the recovered data for up to 10 days just to make sure you’ve received everything OK, and have had a chance to review the recovery data to make sure everything looks good. After 10 days we will wipe the stored data from our server.
