FAQ

First and foremost, turn off all power to your storage device immediately! If you continue to leave your drive running, or try to recover the data yourself, you will significantly lower your chances for a successful recovery. Do not run any software utilities on your failing storage device. Many of these utilities will change the structure of the data on your disk and possibly cause permanent data loss. We have seen countless times where people try to recover the data themselves or have a technically inclined friend help, only to cause the drive to become unrecoverable. Give us a call first at 1-866-401-5860 and have a professional that is properly trained and equipped ensure a safe recovery of your data.

It depends on the type of failure and what you do with the device after initial failure. For hard drives, powering them on when the drive has failed or after being dropped can lower the chances of recovery. If the drive is making any unusual noise (clicking, buzzing, beeping, grinding) immediately power it off and contact us. Any attempts to open the drive, or run software on a failed drive with mechanical problems, will reduce the chances of recovery and may increase the recovery cost.

We provide data recovery services on any type of storage device (desktop drives, laptop drives, SSD drives, SCSI drives, USB keys and CompactFlash media) and any operating systems (Windows, Mac, Unix, Linux).

There are many factors that can influence the length of time it may take to perform a successful data recovery. However, as a guideline, cases involving logical damage to the storage device can take 1-3 days while cases involving physical damage to the storage device (where parts need replacement or the platter surface has sustained damage) can take one day to over a week.

We will return your recovered data on a USB key or Portable Hard Drive (for an additional cost) unless you provide us with a new unused (blank media) for this purpose and in almost every case the data is in the same file structure that it was on the original device.

Yes, we do recover data from accidental deletion and formatted drives and drives have been ghosted over often very successfully (in most cases, if the level of file corruption is too high then the data recovered will be in RAW format which means no files names. So the less the drive is used after format, the more will be recoverable.

Yes. There are instances when physical damage to the hard drive is so severe that no data can be salvaged. This usually occurs when the read/write heads actually "crash" and gouge the magnetic storage media to the point where the data is destroyed. Cycling a failed drive on and off after a failure has occurred can cause more damage to the hard drive and the data to be lost forever. If your drive has experienced a mechanical or electrical failure, the use of recovery softwares can also cause permanent loss of your data.

You can call us toll-free at 1-866-401-5860 or fill out our Online Data Recovery Evaluation Form. Properly package your defective storage device in an anti-static bag in a box at least twice the size of the hard drive or storage device. Pack the media with plenty of packing material to ensure no movement while in transit. Please include your service agreement in the box. We offer free pick-up services in the Montreal area.

Our fees are determined based on the type of storage device, the media's physical or logical damage, the degree of difficulty and complexity as well as the time, expertise and parts required to fully recover and reconstruct your data. That is why we will always provide you with a potential cost until we have an opportunity to properly evaluate your defective storage device to determine the best and worst case scenario when recovering your data.

Data recovery costs vary depending on the complexity of the device, the amount of labor and parts needed to recover the data. Our skilled customer service professionals will give a range of pricing for your specific situation. Once we have received the device and properly performed an evaluation, a quote will be issued. Don't trust your mission critical data to just anyone as attempts to recover data by an unqualified company or individual can put your data at risk. If your data is important, give us a call at 1-866-401-5860 as our objective is to get you up and running as fast as possible at an affordable price.