Frequently Asked Questions

Q: I just need one file. How much will that cost?

A: Data Recovery is normally a "All or Nothing" deal. If we fix your drive we can access all of your files. If we can't fix it, you get no files. The only discount you will see is there will be no $5.00 DVD burn charge if we can e-mail you the file.

Q: I just dropped my hard drive and now it rattles when I shake it. Can you fix it?

A: Some hard drives have glass platters. If you broke them, nobody on this earth can help you.

Q: I just plugged my laptop power supply in my USB drive and smoke came out. Can you fix?

A; Yes. That is one of the most common failures of USB drives.

Q: Can I open my drive to see if anything is broken?

A: No! Opening the sealed chamber where the platters are located will expose the platter to dust. One speck of dust can cause a head crash which could make it impossible to recover anything.

Q: Why can't you just put my hard disk platter in another drive and read the data?

A: There are hundreds of different hard drive formats and hundreds of different hard drive heads. Most hard drives have more than one head and more than one platter. Most drives also read from all the heads at the same time. This means if your drive has six heads, all six heads have to be on the same track and sector. Due to tolerance conditions the location of each of your heads relative to each other is unique to your drive. Most of the time the easiest and fastest way to get data off of your drive is to fix your drive.

Q: I just spilled a cup of tea on my laptop. Should I turn it on to see if it still works?

A: No! The dumping of the liquid causes very little damage when the laptop is off. The major damage will occur when the power is turned on. Most hard drives have a foam pad between the circuit board and casting. This pad can hold water for days. The best thing to do is send the drive to us.

Q: I just had a major head crash. Why can't you recover 100% of my data?

A: When a head crashes it slams hard onto the disk surface and often causes unrepairable damage to the the thinly applied magnetic coating on the disk surface. If a new head runs across this damaged area, it would be destroyed very quickly. The extent of the damage to the disk surface determines how much data can be recovered.

Q: Should I run Check Disk (CHKDSK) (aka Windows Error Checking Tool) on my computer?

A: CHKDSK works OK with very minor disk errors but makes a mess of things when you have anything more than a simple problem. It actually will delete and destroy many of your important files. Back up your important files or make a mirror copy of your drive before you run it.

Q: Is a RAID 5 or RAID mirror a good way to back up my data?

A: No. Many events that destroy one drive will destroy the other drives as well. Some examples are: Power supply failure, failure of computer cooling fan, fire, flood, theft or knocking the computer over. Many times people do not notice that one RAID drive has gone bad and do nothing until the second drive also fails.

Q: I found this great deal for a used drive on e-bay. Should I buy it?

A: No! There is no easy way to tell if the drive is close to end of life or not. It is like buying a car on e-bay and not knowing how many miles are on it. Even if it says the drive is "factory refurbished" or "reconditioned". The drives ball bearings are never replaced when it is "reconditioned" and this is the number one failure item. Buy a new drive. It would be well worth it in the long run.