Data & recovery
Data recovery: what is possible and what it costs
The most stressful repair is the one where your photos, documents, or business files are on the line. Here is what is actually recoverable, what is not, and what each stage costs.
The three levels of data recovery
Not all data loss is the same. The cost depends on how the data was lost, not how much data there is. One rule decides everything: if your drive still reads, moving your files is part of the repair. If the drive is dead, clicking, or needs lab work, we refer you to a specialist rather than risk your data.
Level 1: The drive still reads (data rescue, $149)
The drive works, but the files are gone, the file system is corrupt, or the machine no longer boots from it. This is the most common and the only level this bench prices: the data rescue is $149 flat, photos, documents, and files back onto a drive you can read.
- Accidentally deleted files — still on the drive, just marked as free space. High recovery rate if you stop using the drive immediately.
- Formatted drive — same as above, usually recoverable. Quick format is better than full format for recovery.
- Corrupted filesystem — the drive is fine, the index is broken. We rebuild it.
- Lost partition — partition table damaged. Usually fixable.
Level 2: Dead, clicking, or physically damaged (referred out)
The drive has physical damage but the platters (or flash chips) may be intact. This work requires opening the drive in a clean room, and that is specialist-lab territory: no price from this bench, on purpose. Opening a drive outside a lab risks the data permanently, so we hand it off intact to a lab that does this work every day and help you choose one.
- Head crash — read/write heads touched the platter. Donor-drive head replacement in a clean room.
- Motor failure — the spindle motor seized. Platter transplant in a clean room.
- Water/fire damage — depends on severity, and the lab makes that call.
- SSD controller failure — the flash chips are fine but the controller is dead. Chip-level reading, lab work.
Level 3: Chip-off and extreme cases (referred out)
The most extreme cases. The drive is destroyed, but the storage chips might still have data. This is chip-off forensics work: specialist labs only, and pricing is theirs, not ours.
- Physically shattered drive — platters cracked. Last resort.
- Fire damage — melted casing, potentially intact chips.
- Encryption + controller death — on some SSDs, the original controller is needed to decrypt. If it is dead, recovery may be impossible.
What we cannot recover
We will not waste your money. Here is when recovery is impossible:
- Encrypted drive + dead controller — without the encryption key, the data is mathematically irrecoverable. This includes FileVault (Mac), BitLocker (Windows), and self-encrypting drives.
- Overwritten data — if the drive has been written to extensively after deletion, the original data is gone. SSDs with TRIM make this worse — deleted data is often purged immediately.
- Full-disk encryption with forgotten password — no backdoor. We cannot help, and neither can anyone else.
- Physical destruction — if the platters are ground up or the flash chips are shattered, there is nothing to read.
Turnaround times
| Recovery type | Who does it | Turnaround | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Logical (deleted files, corrupted FS, non-booting but still reads) | This bench | Same day – 24 hours | $149 data rescue |
| Physical (head crash, motor failure, water/fire) | Specialist lab — we refer you | Set by the lab | No price from this bench |
| Chip-off / extreme | Specialist lab — we refer you | Set by the lab | No price from this bench |
Prevention is cheaper
- 3-2-1 backup: 3 copies, 2 different media, 1 offsite. This is the only guarantee.
- Cloud sync is not a backup — it syncs deletions too. Use a separate backup service.
- SSDs die without warning — unlike hard drives, they often fail silently. Check SMART data periodically.
- Drop your laptop? Power it off immediately. A spinning hard drive + impact = head crash.