Data Recovery

Disasters happen. Hard drives are mechanical parts, and as such they die usually earlier than other parts. A motor can spin only so long. The hard drive read/write head sits so close to the magnetic platter that a hair cannot fit between them. In fact, the only thing keeping the read/write head from making contact with the platter is the air from rapidly spinning platter. A slight jar can cause the read/write head to land on the platter. Sometimes, the read/write head gets stuck. And then there are the non-mechanical problems.

If your hard drive went for a swim, it could die. If your hard drive was burned to a crisp, it could die. If your hard drive had a surge of electricity, it could die. If smoke got in the hard drive, it could die. If your hard drive had a visit with an 18-wheeler's tire, it could die. Or, it could die for no good reason.

Hard drive crashes can and do happen. Thus the best prevention to backup important files. A recent backup can save time and a lot of money. Data recovery is not cheap. Price estimates are listed below. If you have a recent backup, Techs-on-Call can get your computer back running quickly. The cost is a flat $200 plus the cost of a new hard drive. This service includes re-installing all your programs and files. This will take approximately 2 to 5 hours, depending on how many programs you had and other factors. If time is not an issue, we can take the do this service off-site for a flat $180 plus the cost of a new hard drive.

And then there is human error. Suppose you accidently deleted a file. Or worse, you accidently formatted your hard drive. There is still a chance that your data is still there.

What Are Your Options?

Sometimes, the drive is dying but not dead. If your data is becoming corrupted, it may still be possible to save your data without the high expense. You'll know your drive is becoming corrupted and dying because it is still accessible. It is when the hard drive becomes inaccessible that you'll have a money problem. Viruses, worms, and malware also do not require an expensive data recovery option.

Techs-on-Call charges $50 per hour for commercial customers and $40 per hour for home users to remove viruses and spyware. In most cases, this will take between 1 hour and 2 hours to remove. Although is some very rare cases, it may take 3 hours or more. You'll know if it is a virus or spyware because the problem is sudden and only happens under certain conditions. Please note that in some rare cases, it is impossible to remove spyware. In that case, you must re-install your windows. That service costs $175 and includes the whole gambit, re-installing all programs and copying all files back.

If, on the other hand, files are slowly becoming more and more corrupted, your hard drive is dying. The best action to take then is to stop using the drive and have a new one installed. If no critical system files were damaged, transferring your files to the new hard drive could be quick and painless. In some cases, critical files were damaged and a new install of Windows is needed.

However, if your drive truly is dead, then more expensive measures must be taken. You may either contact Techs-on-Call directly or contact our repair provider directly, it is your choice. Before you contact anyone, the first thing you must do is turn off your computer to prevent further damage. If you can, disconnect the drive. If you cannot, please call Techs-on-Call to take care of the whole process. We'll disconnect the drive and we'll ship it off for you. Plus we'll give you a price quote which is guaranteed never to be higher than the estimated price. And if that wasn't enough, there is no minimum fee if the drive is irreparable.

Techs-on-Call is an authorized partner for DriveSavers. DriveSavers is an industry leading repair company that saved the Simpsons season 7 (a very good year), Sean Cannery's movie Entrapment, and many others. They are recommended by NASA, Microsoft, Apple computers, and many major hard drive manufacturers.

If you prefer, you can contact DriveSavers directly at 1-800-440-1904. If you mention Reseller ID#: DS17109 you will get a 10% discount on all work plus no minimum charge if the data cannot be recovered. Visit DriveSavers at drivesavers.com to see their credentials.

As for the accidental formatting or deletion, sending the drive may be necessary. DriveSavers can recover files with professional programs. However, Techs-on-Call may be able to help too. The first thing you must do is discontinue use of the drive. When a file is deleted or the hard drive is formatted, the data is not removed. Deleting a file tells the operating system that this space is free to use. Files may or may not be written there at any time. Formating a hard drive tells the operating system the whole drive is blank. Except low-level formatting, which requires special programs you most likely don't have access to. In both cases, the data is still there, you just have to find it. And that can be very tricky and time-consuming. And there is no guarentee, especially if the drive has been used a lot. You need to act quickly to keep your mistake from being a big problem.

Note: RAID devices are subject to a $200 minimum fee.

How Can Your Prevent Problems?

One of the best ways to prevent catastrophic file loss is by using a RAID 1 array. What this is when you have two hard drives of equal size and both simultaneously do the exact same thing. This essentially is a mirror. In the event one dies, the other has an exact copy ready to take over. The only downtime is the time used to set up the RAID 1 array and switch over to the good hard drive. This provides the most security but with a small performance hit.

If you have 3 or more hard drives, you can use a RAID 5 array. RAID 5 increases your performance and provides a method of recovery in case one hard drive dies. RAID 5 is like RAID 0 in that all the drives are used to make one big drive with data being equally split across the two. However, RAID 5 adds error correction. If one dies, the system is able to recover your files. However, since the extra drives are not mirrors or clones, there is the small chance of file loss.

Finally, a RAID 0+1 array provides the security of RAID 1 with the performance of RAID 0. You'll need 4 hard drives of equal size. Two are used to make one big drive for better performance, two are mirrors of those first two.

RAID is the best way to protect your data. Companies with critical files also have tape backups. These are expensive, but can backup your whole system. And, unlike hard drives, since tapes are removable they are not subject to water, fire, and electrical hazards like hard drives. Removable tapes can be stored in fire-proof and water-proof locations.

But, if you cannot afford those options -- which is most home users -- all is not hopeless. You can back up only important files easily with CD's and DVD's. Rewritable CD's and DVD's are not cheap, but are much cheaper than these other options. A weekly backup onto rewritable discs should keep you covered in case of drive failure. Techs-on-Call can use these backups to get up and running again quickly.

How Much Will It Cost Me?

Below are some estimates of costs. Unless specified otherwise, these are for a general idea only and not the final cost.