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Data Recovery
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Q. What Is Salvaging Data / Data Recovery?
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| A. A service for salvaging data stored on damaged / failed media, such as magnetic disks and tapes. Salvaging data is necessary when the media fails, for whatever reason, and data needs to be recovered. SalvageData specializes in data salvaging services and our certified specialists and engineers can often recover a surprisingly high percentage of the data from damaged media. |
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About Your Hard Drive / Media Failure
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Q. How can I prevent data loss?
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A. There are some basic practices you can take to avoid hard drive failure.
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1. Make multiple backups and store a copy of your data offsite.
The purpose of backing up is to protect your data. However you must also make sure to protect your backups from damage, in case of a fire or disaster.
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2. Use reliable protection against power surges and spikes with a quality UPS System.
Uninterruptible power supplies protect your computer and data during a power surge or failure. It is also important to make sure that the spare battery in the UPS gives you ample time to close down and save your documents for a shutdown of your system properly, that protects from losing files and damaging hardware components.
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3. Avoid moving your computer when it is in operation.
When a computer system is running, the hard drive read/write heads are floating just microns over the platter surface. Therefore moving the computer system may cause the read/write heads to touch the platters (crash) causing severe damages to the surface. This is not just true for Desktop systems but also for Laptops as well.
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4. Avoid extreme room temperatures.
Heat kills everything, including your hard drive, so your Computer Systems should be in a cool environment that does not over exceed room temperature. Server systems should be in a very cool environment (less than 70 degrees) and constantly monitored for internal and external temperature. Sudden rises and drops in temperature must be avoided.
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5. Maintenance is key.
Conducting routine maintenance such as cleaning of your hard disk drive and updating anti-virus software packages regularly will offer some additional protection. It is also important to regularly defragment your hard disk drive, remove temporary and unused files, and use a scandisk utility to perform routine maintenance checks on the hard drive‘s health. This will help to keep your hard disk drive in top form.
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Q. What caused the failure?
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A. Media failure and data loss can be the result of a variety of events and circumstances, some of which include human error, viruses, sabotage, corruption, natural degradation of media and environmental disasters such as fire and water damages.
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Q. So my computer hard drive has failed, what should I do?
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A. First and foremost, if you consider the data to be important, critical or irreplaceable, the number one rule on avoiding data loss is to shut down the computer, remove power from the device and immediately consult with a professional. Leaving your system running or using utilities in the case of a physical failure will likely cause more damage to the hard drive.
Contact our support staff for a free consultation on how to handle best your particular case.
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Q. Are there cases when data cannot be recovered?
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A. Unfortunately YES.
There are occasions when physical damage to the hard drive's internal components are so severe that the data cannot be salvaged. This typically happens when the platters of a hard drive have been physically scratched and scraped by the read/write head/arm. This type of damage, though rare, is often the result of the client or inexperienced technician having tampered with a failed hard drive by either continuously power-cycling or attempting to recover the data on their own using basic utilities. Such crude procedures, almost invariably, cause critical damage to the logical structure of the data itself and/or to the internal physical components of the hard drive. SalvageData maintains an industry leading success rate, which assures the best probability of salvaging your data. So even if you've been told by "so-and-so-datarecovery" that your data is not recoverable, we offer a second and assuredly more reliable alternative. |
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Recovery Process
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Q. What type of media can SalvageData recover?
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A. SalvageData can recover from the following media:
Hard disk drives, RAID systems, Disk Arrays, Magneto-Optical, SyQuest, Iomega Zip, Iomega Jazz, CD / DVD, USB / Flash drives, music devices, PDAs, tape cartridges, etc..
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Q. What disk drive manufacturers can you recover?
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A. SalvageData can recover data from ALL MANUFACTURERS disk drives.
Our engineers constantly undergo research on new models of drive and products.
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Q. What operating systems can you recover data from?
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A. SalvageData can recover data from the following platforms:
Windows95/98/2000/Vista/7, MAC OS/OSX/Leopard, UNIX Linux/BSD/SUN/Solaris/SCO/HPUX/AIX/SGI, Novell Netware, DOS, OS/2, and many more.
Our engineers constantly undergo research on new software products and operating systems. |
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Q. Which interfaces do you use to recover data?
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A. SalvageData has recovered data using the following interface:
SAS, SCSI, IDE/EIDE, SATA, IEEE1394/Fire wire, USB, PCMCIA
Our engineers constantly undergo research on new systems and standards to ensure they keep their expert knowledge up to date. |
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Q. Will you outsource the recovery?
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A. NO, SalvageData does not outsource its recoveries. All work is done in-house by our certified specialists and engineers.
Not all companies claiming to offer data recovery really do the work themselves. It is always good to ask if their location has a clean room and the tools to do the recovery in-house. You don't want your valuable data traveling around anymore than it has to. This just increases the chance of further damage or being lost during shipment.
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Getting Started
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Q. How do I get started?
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| A. To get started with the data recovery process, click on the “Submit a Case” link at the top of the page to open an account and obtain an RMA case number. Fill out the form by providing as much detail about the specifics of your case and follow the instructions on how to ship in your media.
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Q. What is the process?
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A. The data recovery process is split into an evaluation stage and the recovery stage.
At the evaluation stage, our experienced technicians will diagnose the problem with your media to determine the time, tools, and resources that will be required to salvage the data, based on the extent of damage found. We will then forward a forecasted cost for data recovery services.
Upon receiving a quote, the customer has the opportunity to approve or decline the recovery services prior to any data recovery efforts being performed. |
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Q. What is involved with the evaluation process?
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A. The specifics of make, design, cause of failure, and extent of damage to the media device ultimately determine how it is to be handled. However, an in-depth evaluation of the average single hard disk drive can take anywhere from 2 to 3 days of lab time to determine what can be salvaged.
Though each case is handled differently, most tend to follow in this order:
- Step 1 – Receive media at one of our locations via drop off or carrier delivery.
- Step 2 – Perform an in-depth physical, electrical, and logical evaluation of the media to identify the problem.
- Step 3 – A detailed report and quote is prepared for the customer to review and approve.
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Q. How long does the evaluation process take?
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| A. Standard evaluations are guaranteed to be completed within 72 hours upon arriving at our facilities. If you require an emergency same day evaluation (6 - 24 hour window), please contact our customer service representative for more details about our service options. |
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Q. What's the cost for an evaluation?
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A. The evaluation is FREE, we do NOT charge an evaluation fee.*
We do not charge a bench or lab fee for looking at your hard drive. There are no hidden costs. The purpose of the evaluation is to determine if, in fact, data can be recovered and what that process will likely entail, so that we can provide you with a detailed report. Based on this objective assessment, you can make a decision as to whether or not you would like to have your data salvaged / recovered. Your only expense associated with the evaluation will be the shipping charges if you require the failed media to be returned.
*Based upon your specific problem description over the phone at the time of initial consultation, we will do our best to provide you with a reasonable pre-quote range over the phone or via email. By sending media to us, you agree that you are comfortable with this quote range and to operate on good faith intentions of using our recovery services and resources for the purpose of having us recover data from your media. Upon completion of the evaluation, if it is determined possible for us to successfully recover data from your media and you decline to proceed or to use our recovery services, SalvageData reserves the right to charge a ninety dollar processing fee (resource allocation, storage, labor, and applicable taxes). However, if data is determined to be unrecoverable, there will not be an evaluation or processing fee.
*Hard drives that have been opened for previous recovery attempts (I.E. by other data recovery centers, the owner, local technicians, etc.) are subjected to a two hundred dollar second chance re-evaluation fee.
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Costs and Pricing
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Q. What is the cost for data recovery services?
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A. Data recovery costs vary based on the amount of time, tools, resources, and parts involved.
Please Click here to go to our service options and pricing page for the different service options, estimated turnaround time frames, and pricing details. |
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Your Case
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Q. How do I track my media or case?
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| A. SalvageData has an online customer tracking portal to keep you informed along the way to insure you are aware of the progress of your recovery. To track your case, please go to our Case Tracker System to view progress details.
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Q. Will I be contacted before any major work is done?
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A. When your media is in the hands of someone, you should be notified about any and all recovery costs. SalvageData will contact you with a firm cost quotation after the media has been diagnosed. If you decide to proceed with the recovery, we will assign your project to the next available engineer.
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Q. How long will it take to recover my data?
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A. Once approved for recovery, it mostly depends on the level of service selected. For example, our standard recovery service will take an average of 4 to 5 business days to complete. Customers who opt for our emergency service can expect a full recovery to be completed ASAP with the highest priority level and resources allocated to such cases, often projects can be completed in as little as 24-48 hours.
Please click here to see our service schedule for details on recovery time and to get an idea of associated costs.
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Q. What is involved with the recovery process?
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A. SalvageData performs a thorough lab data extraction and recovery service.
Though each case is handled differently, most tend to follow in this order:
- Step 1 – Stabilize, repair, and replace physical point(s) of failure, if any.
- Step 2 – Make sector by sector binary track extraction of media.
- Step 3 – Address any logical damages / corruptions that may have resulted as part of failure, if any.
- Step 4 – Identify and determine type and amount of recovered data.
- Step 5 – Verify file structures and check for missing or incomplete binaries.
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Q. How will my data be returned?
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A. Typically, we return your recovered data via CD / DVD format, up to 13GB. For recoveries exceeding 13GB worth of data, we request that it be placed to some sort of external media (I.E. appropriately sized flash drive or external USB / FireWire hard drive), formatted to your specifications. You may also supply the hard drive or media of your choice, in order for us to return the data.
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Q. How about confidentiality? How safe is my data?
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A. Our facilities, lab, and office space are in class "A" buildings with more than adequate security. Unlike industry competitors, many of whom seek to reduce costs by sending business to loosely regulated locations in Asia or South America, your hard drive will under no circumstance leave our premises, for we never outsource recoveries. All recovery work is administered on-site by our own dependable staff. After completion of any recovery, the individually assigned engineer and his direct manager are the only ones with access to your data, which is stored on highly secure file servers.
To see the details about our industry leading Iron Clad Data Confidentiality Policy, click here for details.
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Q. Will the warranty be voided on my media?
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A. No. SalvageData is authorized by all leading manufacturers to work on all hard drive brands including, but not limited to: Western Digital, Maxtor, Hitachi, IBM, Fujitsu, Seagate, Toshiba, Quantum, and Samsung without voiding the warranty.
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Answers To The Most Frequently Asked Data Recovery Questions - SalvageData
