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.
Level 1: Logical recovery ($49–$149)
The drive works, but the files are gone. This is the most common and least expensive scenario.
- 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.
Critical tip: The moment you realize data is missing, stop using the drive. Every write operation overwrites the deleted data. Put it in a drawer, not back in your laptop.
Level 2: Physical recovery ($149–$299)
The drive is physically damaged but the platters (or flash chips) are intact. This requires opening the drive in a clean environment.
- Head crash — read/write heads touched the platter. We replace the heads with a donor drive. Success rate: 70–85%.
- Motor failure — the spindle motor seized. We transplant the platters. Success rate: 60–80%.
- Water/fire damage — depends on severity. Clean water = good odds. Smoke = much worse.
- SSD controller failure — the flash chips are fine but the controller is dead. We read the chips directly. Success rate: 50–70%.
Level 3: Chip-off recovery ($299–$500+)
The most extreme cases. The drive is destroyed, but the storage chips might still have data.
- Physically shattered drive — platters cracked. Last resort.
- Fire damage — melted casing, potentially intact chips.
- Encryption + controller death — on some SSDs, we need the original controller 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 | Turnaround | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Logical (deleted files, corrupted FS) | Same day – 24 hours | $49–$149 |
| Physical (head crash, motor failure) | 3–7 days | $149–$299 |
| Chip-off / extreme | 7–14 days | $299–$500+ |
| Emergency (business critical) | 24–48 hours | Add $100 rush fee |
Our policy: We diagnose for free and tell you honestly what is recoverable before you pay anything. If we cannot get your data back, you owe us nothing for the attempt (except shipping for mail-in jobs). Recovery is best-effort — the free attempt is a fee waiver, not a guarantee of a recovered drive.
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.