Data Recovery Services
Computer crashes, hardware failures and other damage can delete or corrupt your data. Find out how data recovery services preserve your data.
So much important data is stored on both personal and business computers. While there are many different ways to backup your data, there are still situations where your data is at risk. Data can become corrupt due to virus attacks, physical damage to the computer or a mechanical failure. Some users also accidentally delete data. Your data can also become corrupt during transfers, including trying to pull data from your backup.
Fortunately, it is possible to recover your data from your hard drive. What data is recoverable, as well as the overall difficulty, is largely determined by what caused the data loss. For example, data recovery for accidental deletion or a virus is easier to recover than data lost from physical damage. There are several different recovery options, ranging in cost and complexity. For extreme cases, data specialists must use an environmentally controlled area, known as a cleanroom, to recover your data.
Hard Drive Recovery
Most data loss occurs because of hard drive failure. If your computer unexpectedly crashes, you not only lose whatever you were working on at the time, but are at risk of having other data on your computer corrupted. As the size of hard drives increased, crashes became more damaging, since so much data was stored in a single location.
When this data is lost or corrupt, it is not entirely deleted from your computer. Instead, it is stored in an unusable file on your hard drive. Data recovery specialists use specialized software to scan your hard drive for the missing data, piecing it back together and restoring it to a useable format.
Despite the name, the methods used in hard drive recovery also apply to other devices. This includes data stored on flash drive, tablets, SD cards and smartphones.
RAID Data Recovery
RAID is a built-in data storage system on your computer. Whenever you save data on your computer, the information is stored in one or more RAID drives. RAID data recovery is much more complex than traditional hard drive recovery. If your data is overwritten or becomes corrupt after installing new software, data specialists can attempt to recreate your data using the information stored in your RAID drives. Reconstructing RAID storage is difficult and requires deeper knowledge of the computer’s software, hardware and firmware.
Data Tape Recovery
Another method to store information is on a digital data tape. Tapes are meant to contain large amounts of information and are mostly used by businesses. While data tapes typically have built-in backup options, it is still possible to lose data. In many cases, data loss is a result of hardware failure. The data still exists on the tape, but your computer cannot read from the tape. Data tape recovery requires a cleanroom, as dust particles or temperature changes can damage the tape and permanently destroy your data.
CBL Data Recovery
CBL has several different service plans, based on how quickly you need your data. Priority data recovery offers same day recovery, while standard recovery takes up to two days. Economy recovery takes up to one week, based on technician availability. In addition to recovering data from computers, flash drives and smartphones, CBL also gets data off of VMware and CCTV. The company primarily specializes in hard drive and RAID recovery. Pricing varies based on the complexity of the recovery and how quickly you want your data. After a free evaluation, CBL will provide a quote for their services.
ACE Data Recovery Service
ACE is one of the oldest data recovery services, with multiple locations throughout the United States. They are a popular service because they employ a strict, no data, no charge policy. The company boasts a 98% success rate, meaning few customers have ever needed to use this policy. On average, it takes three to five days to recover data, but there are expediated services available for an extra charge. ACE offers free evaluations, followed by a quote based on the complexity of recovering the data.
In addition to traditional data recovery, ACE also specializes in tape duplication and recovering data from older systems, including obsolete technology. In emergency situations, they can send technicians on site to recover your data. They also have specialized cleanrooms for tape media.
Secure Data Recovery
Secure is available in most states. It is one of the younger data recovery services, but it boasts some of the quickest recovery times, typically taking less than 48 hours to recover your data. They offer expedited services as well, for a small fee. As of writing, they are also the only data recovery service using ISO 4 cleanrooms, making them an excellent choice to repair damaged hard drives. On average, data recovery costs $1,000, but the complexity and desired turn around time can change the price.
Stellar Data Recovery
Stellar specializes in data recovery for businesses. Along with hard drive and RAID recovery, Stellar provides email repair and conversion. They also have specialized software for smartphones, iPads and tablets, cameras and drones. Stellar charges a monthly fee for their services, which begins at $79.99. You can request a free trial, or sign up for a limited plan that provides 1 GB of data recovery for free.
