Is SalvageData free?

SalvageData is a data recovery service that helps individuals and businesses recover lost or deleted data from storage devices like hard drives, SSDs, USB drives, and RAID arrays. Their services are not free – they charge fees based on the type of device, the cause of data loss, and the required recovery process. However, SalvageData does offer free evaluations and price estimates for data recovery, so you can get a sense of what it would cost before committing to their paid services.

What does SalvageData offer?

SalvageData offers data recovery services for all types of storage devices and operating systems. Their capabilities include:

– Hard drive recovery – SalvageData can recover data from crashed, failing, or damaged hard drives. This includes traditional spinning hard drives as well as SSDs.

– RAID recovery – They can rebuild and recover data from failed or corrupted RAID arrays. This includes RAID 0, 1, 5, 6 and 10 configurations.

– External drive recovery – SalvageData can recover data from all types of external drives like USB flash drives, SD cards, and external HDDs/SSDs.

– Tape drive recovery – They support data recovery from backup tapes including DLT, LTO, AIT, VXA, DAT, QIC, and more.

– Mobile device recovery – Lost data from phones, tablets, and other mobile devices can be recovered.

– Mac recovery – SalvageData supports data recovery on Mac computers and storage devices.

– SQL and database repair – Corrupted SQL databases and other types of logical failures can be repaired and data recovered.

What types of data loss does SalvageData handle?

Some examples of data loss scenarios that SalvageData can help recover data from include:

– Hardware failures – Such as electrical failures, head crashes, motor failure, read/write head failure, etc.

– Logical failures – Like file system corruption, partition loss, boot sector damage, virus/malware attacks.

– Accidental deletion – When a file or partition has been deleted unintentionally.

– Natural disasters – If a drive is damaged due to a flood, fire or other natural disaster.

– Water damage – Drives exposed to moisture or submerged in water.

– Intentional damage – When a drive has been physically damaged on purpose.

– Formatting/repartitioning – Data is still recoverable after formatting or repartitioning.

– Operating system crashes – Such as blue screen errors, macOS kernel panics, Linux crashes.

– Ransomware encryption – In some cases, SalvageData can recover data after a ransomware attack.

So in summary, if your data loss is due to mechanical failure, logical damage, accidental actions, malware, or physical damage – SalvageData has experience recovering data in those situations.

What types of storage devices does SalvageData work with?

SalvageData supports data recovery from all makes, models, and interfaces of storage devices, including:

– Hard disk drives (HDD) – All makes and sizes including laptop, desktop, and enterprise HDDs.

– Solid state drives (SSD) – Including NVMe, SATA, and IDE interface SSDs.

– External drives – Such as portable hard drives, SSDs, USB flash drives, SD cards, etc.

– RAID arrays – All RAID levels including hardware and software RAID.

– SAN and NAS devices – Recovery from storage area networks and network attached storage.

– Tape drives – All backup tape drive formats.

– Floppy diskettes

– Optical media – Such as CDs, DVDs, and Blu-ray discs.

– Smartphones and tablets – iOS and Android devices.

So whether your data loss occurred on an individual storage device like a single hard drive or SSD, or a more complex storage system like a RAID, SAN or NAS – SalvageData has the capabilities to assist.

What does the data recovery process look like?

Here are the typical steps in the SalvageData data recovery process:

1. Contact SalvageData – You can submit the storage device via mail, or contact them for pickup depending on location.

2. Evaluation – The device is evaluated to determine the cause of data loss and viability of recovery.

3. Quote – Based on the evaluation, SalvageData will provide a quote for recovery costs if feasible.

4. Approval – If you approve the quote, the formal recovery process begins.

5. Recovery – Using proprietary techniques and tools, SalvageData technicians work to recover your data.

6. Quality control – Recovered data goes through verification to ensure it is intact.

7. Formatting – Data is formatted to your preferred file system or storage device.

8. Delivery – Once recovery is complete, your data is returned via secure cloud link or other storage device.

So in summary, you ship the device to SalvageData, they assess it, provide a quote, you approve it, they recover the data, verify it, format it, and deliver it back to you. They keep you updated throughout the process.

How much does SalvageData charge for data recovery?

SalvageData does not have set pricing on their website for data recovery services. The cost varies based on factors like:

– Type of device – For example, recovery from a hard drive vs. SSD vs. USB drive.

– Size of device – The capacity of the storage device can impact cost.

– Failure cause – Logical recoveries tend to cost less than mechanically damaged devices.

– Recovery complexity – How difficult is the recovery based on damage or encryption?

– Urgency – Expedited services tend to have a higher cost.

However, they do provide a price estimator tool on their site. By selecting the device type, manufacturer, model, capacity, and any details about the failure – you can get an estimated quote range before approving recovery.

Some sample price ranges for common devices:

– Hard drive data recovery – $300 to $2000+

– External hard drive data recovery – $300 to $1600

– SSD data recovery – $500 to $3000+

– USB flash drive recovery – $300 to $1000

– SD card recovery – $100 to $800

– RAID data recovery – $1000 to $10,000+

– Tape data recovery – $600 to $3000

So while not free, the exact cost of SalvageData recovery services is tailored to your specific device and situation. Their price estimator tool can give you an idea of what to budget before you commit.

Does SalvageData offer any free services?

While SalvageData does not offer free data recovery services, they do provide some free services including:

– Free evaluation – They will do a free diagnosis to evaluate your device and determine if recovery is possible.

– Free price quote – Based on the evaluation, they provide a price estimate for data recovery at no cost.

– Free shipping – In most cases, they offer free shipping both ways for your storage device.

– Free device disposal – If desired, they will dispose of your damaged device after recovery at no cost.

– Free recovery advice – Their support team will advise you on any other options to retrieve your data for free.

– Free customer support – Assistance with everything from getting a price quote to delivery of your recovered data.

So in summary, while the actual data recovery work is not free, SalvageData does provide quite a few complementary services to diagnose issues, provide quotes, ship devices, and support customers throughout the process.

Does SalvageData offer payment plans?

For businesses or individuals that need data recovery but can’t pay the entire amount upfront, SalvageData does offer payment plans on their services.

Some examples of their payment plans include:

– 50% deposit – You pay 50% of the quoted recovery cost as a deposit to begin work. The remaining 50% is paid upon completion.

– Net 30 terms – The full balance is due within 30 days of receiving the recovered data.

– Leasing – Multi-payment leases are available, allowing you to pay over 3, 6, 12, or 24 months.

– Insurance claims – If recovering data lost due to a covered incident, they can bill directly to your insurance provider.

– Credit card plans – Payments can be spread across multiple credit card billing cycles, interest free.

The availability of specific payment plans is based on the amount being financed and your credit. But in general SalvageData aims to offer flexible payment options to make data recovery more affordable.

So in summary – while SalvageData’s data recovery services are not free, they do try to ease the financial burden by offering multi-payment financing plans on their services for those who qualify.

Are there any discounts or coupons for SalvageData?

SalvageData does not have any published discounts, coupon codes, or promo offers on their website. Their pricing is based on factors like device type, failure cause, and recovery complexity.

However, here are some tips that may help reduce your SalvageData recovery costs:

– Ask about price matching – If you get a lower quote from a competitor, SalvageData may match it.

– Inquire about bulk pricing – If you have multiple devices to recover, ask about volume discounts.

– Avoid expedited fees – Using their standard turnaround time can be much more affordable.

– Review the quote – Make sure you understand each line item and fee on your quote.

– Ask about adjustments – If the recovery was simpler than expected, request an adjusted final price.

– Check for coupons – While rare, it can’t hurt to check coupon sites for any undiscovered promo codes.

– Time your request – If not urgent, you could wait for seasonal sales around the holidays or Black Friday.

So in short – SalvageData does not advertise discounts or coupons publicly. But there are still ways you may be able to reduce your data recovery costs by asking for price adjustments, volumes deals, avoiding expedited fees, and searching for potential unadvertised promotions.

Conclusion

In summary:

– SalvageData’s data recovery services are not free – they charge a fee based on the device, failure type, and recovery complexity.

– However, they offer free evaluations, price quotes, shipping, disposal, and customer support.

– Recovery costs can range from $100 to several thousand dollars depending on the device and failure specifics.

– SalvageData provides payment plans and financing options to make data recovery more affordable.

– While they don’t advertise discounts, you may be able to negotiate pricing adjustments by asking.

So while not free, using SalvageData’s price estimators, financing plans, and cost negotiation – individuals and businesses can usually find the funds to recover critical data even on a budget.

Service Free Paid
Evaluation Yes No
Shipping Yes No
Data Recovery No Yes
Price Quote Yes No
Customer Support Yes No