Data recovery is the process of salvaging data from damaged, failed, corrupted, or inaccessible secondary storage media when it cannot be accessed normally. Some common scenarios that might require data recovery include operating system failure, hardware or system malfunction, accidental deletion of data, natural disasters, file corruption, ransomware attacks, and so on. When important data is lost or inaccessible, many computer users panic and start contemplating expensive professional data recovery services. However, there are several options for DIY data recovery that may work depending on the specific circumstances.
Can you do data recovery yourself?
In many cases, you can attempt do-it-yourself data recovery using free or inexpensive data recovery software before resorting to professional services. DIY data recovery software provides tools to recover deleted files from your hard drive or external media, even if you emptied the Recycle Bin. This software can scan the drive and rebuild file tables to make deleted data retrievable again in many cases. As long as the space has not been overwritten by new data, recovery software can piece file fragments back together to retrieve deleted documents, photos, and other file types. However, DIY software has limitations, especially when drives have hardware issues or fail to mount.
Should you seek professional data recovery services?
For more serious data loss events like hard drive failure, professional data recovery services may be your best or only option. Professional data recovery experts have access to advanced tools and clean room facilities to physically repair drives and extract data using forensic methods. This gives them a better chance of recovering data from mechanically failed drives than consumer software could provide. Data recovery services can also help with encrypted drives, RAID array failures, and situations requiring disk imaging or data extraction in a sterile environment. These advanced recovery techniques are beyond the capabilities of basic recovery software that simply reads file tables. If critical business or personal data is at stake, professional services may be well worth the high cost.
What can computer repair shops do?
Many computer repair shops offer some level of data recovery service for lost or failed hard drives and storage media. Typical computer repair technicians have more capabilities than DIY software, but not as advanced as a dedicated data recovery lab. Computer shops may have tools to attempt recovery of failed hard drives that won’t power on or get detected by a computer. They also often offer services like formatting drives, image backups, password removal, and forensic file recovery. However, most computer repair technicians work in a normal office, not a dust-free cleanroom like a professional data recovery lab uses. So they may not be suitable for mechanical failures that require drive surgery and extreme recovery methods. For relatively simple cases like accidental formatting, repartitioning, or deletion, a local computer shop can often recover data at a lower cost than a dedicated data recovery firm.
Can Best Buy’s Geek Squad do data recovery?
Best Buy’s Geek Squad offers device repair, computer support, and various tech services through retail Best Buy locations. For data recovery, Geek Squad can deal with relatively minor issues like recovering deleted files or documents lost due to accidental formatting or reinstallation. They don’t have extensive capabilities for complex mechanical failures, but can be more affordable and accessible than sending a drive away to a dedicated data recovery lab. One limitation is that Geek Squad works on devices and drives directly in their normal retail spaces, unlike a highly controlled cleanroom environment in a professional lab. But overall they can be a decent option for basic data recovery needs at reasonable prices compared to specialized data recovery firms.
What data recovery services do mail-in companies provide?
Many data recovery firms function as mail-in labs, where you ship your failed hard drive or storage device to their facility for recovery. These labs offer advanced capabilities like clean room data extraction, component-level repair, forensic recovery methods, and proprietary data recovery tools not available to the typical computer technician. Leading mail-in data recovery companies like DriveSavers, Gillware, Secure Data Recovery Services (SDRS), and others have decades of experience retrieving data from storage media that has suffered physical damage as well as logical failure. The downside is cost — mail-in recovery services generally start around $300-700 for simple logical recoveries but can run over $1000+ for severe cases requiring clean room work. But for critical business or personal files, mail-in recovery is often the most reliable option after DIY attempts have failed.
When should you avoid DIY data recovery?
There are a few situations where you should avoid DIY recovery methods and go straight to professional data recovery services:
- Your hard drive is making unusual clicking or beeping noises indicating hardware failure
- You accidentally formatted the wrong hard drive and wrote new data to it
- Your drive has severe bad sectors or mechanical damage visible on inspection
- Your data loss incident involves proprietary RAID, virtualization, or database systems
- The drive has physical damage from overheating, water exposure, or component failure
In these types of situations, amateur recovery attempts using standard software often result in worse data loss or permanent drive failure. Professional services have specialized tools and methods unavailable to the typical consumer for dealing with these serious data recovery scenarios.
Can mobile phone repair shops recover data?
Cell phone and mobile device repair shops now widely offer data recovery services for phones, tablets, and mobile devices like iPhones and Android phones. Techs at these shops can assist if you damaged your phone and need data recovered from it, or if you need data transferred from an old phone to a new phone. They typically use commercial data extraction and recovery tools designed for mobile devices that can salvage contacts, photos, messages, and other files from phones with cracked screens, water damage, software issues, or other faults. However, extensive mechanical damage or component-level board repair is outside the scope of most phone repair technicians. So for mobile devices with extreme physical damage, a dedicated data recovery service may still be necessary.
Can you recover data after a factory reset?
Resetting your device or hard drive to original factory settings erases all user data but does not overwrite it. So specialized data recovery software has a good chance of recovering documents, media, messages, and other files from a factory reset hard drive or phone as long as no new data has been written. However, factory reset procedures differ between device manufacturers and OS versions. For mobile devices especially, advanced commercial tools may be required for reliable recoveries from factory reset phones and tablets. But in general, a factory reset alone does not make data unrecoverable as long as you avoid restoring from backup or setting up the device as new, which overwrites stored data.
Is deleted data recoverable from SSDs?
Recovering deleted files from solid-state drives is possible using data recovery software as long as the deleted data has not been overwritten. However, SSDs have some differences from traditional hard disk drives that impact recoverability:
- With wear-leveling algorithms, deleted files can be scattered across multiple memory blocks.
- TRIM commands permanently erase data marked for deletion at the firmware level.
- Lack of magnetic traces makes traditional forensic recovery difficult.
For best results recovering deleted data from SSDs, use software that leverages the SSD’s log and mapping data to reconstruct and retrieve remapped data. Avoid continuing usage that could trigger TRIM commands. Overall data recovery from SSDs has a lower success rate compared to traditional hard disk drives.
Can Apple Store recover data?
Apple Stores and Apple Authorized Service Providers can assist with data recovery for Apple devices and storage media, often using advanced proprietary tools not available to everyday computer users. Apple technicians can recover data from situations like:
- Restoring accidentally deleted files on Macs and iPods
- Salvaging photos from a damaged iPhone or iPad
- Extracting data from an iMac with a failed hard drive
- Recovering data from an AppleRAID volume
However, Apple Store recoveries tend to be limited to logical failures and retrieving deleted files from storage that is still intact. Severe physical damage or mechanical failure of drives typically requires specialists with advanced data recovery capabilities beyond what Apple Store Geniuses can handle in the store.
Can Best Buy recover data?
Best Buy’s Geek Squad offers various levels of data recovery capabilities through their computer repair technicians available at retail Best Buy locations. For minor recovery needs, Best Buy can often retrieve deleted files or documents lost due to accidental formatting, OS reinstallation, viruses, and similar issues. They also offer data backup and transfer services for moving data to a new computer or storage device. However, large-scale mechanical failure or catastrophically damaged drives require advanced clean room procedures that are beyond Best Buy’s capacities. So for more serious recovery cases involving substantial physical damage or other complex failures, Best Buy would refer customers to a dedicated professional data recovery company.
What tools do professionals use for data recovery?
Professional data recovery engineers use specialized tools and technologies not available to the average computer user. A few examples include:
- PC-3000 Flash – Hardware and software for recovering data from failed solid state drives
- Atola Insight – Forensic data recovery platform for imaging damaged hard drives
- ACE Lab – Microsoldering workstation for component-level data extraction
- Plasma cleaning – Removes particulate contamination from drive platters
- Class 100 cleanroom – Prevents dust contamination during drive surgery
Investing in these high-end tools and cleanroom facilities allows professional labs to safely repair, recover, and extract data from drives that are inaccessible or unusable for the typical user or computer shop.
Conclusion
In summary, users have several options when faced with lost or inaccessible data depending on the complexity of the failure. Minor recoveries can often be achieved using DIY methods like data recovery software or local computer shops. But severe cases with mechanical failure, physical damage, or very large scale data loss requires professional data recovery services with specialized tools, cleanrooms, and decades of expertise extracting data from even badly damaged storage media.
| Data Loss Type | DIY Attempts | Professional Service |
|---|---|---|
| Accidental deletion/formatting | Recovery software | Not usually needed |
| OS failure or reinstallation | Recovery software | Not usually needed |
| Hard drive clicking, failure | Avoid DIY recovery | Often required |
| Water damage, fire damage | Avoid DIY recovery | Usually required |
| Encrypted drive, RAID failure | Avoid DIY recovery | Usually required |