1. "Who is General Failure... And why is he reading my drive?"
2. "What is a head crash?"
3. "My media was in a fire/flood/mud/dirt/toilet, what should I do?"
4. "Isn't Data Recovery expensive?"
5. "Why do your prices range so much?"
6. "Why are your prices so much lower/higher than your competitors?"
7. "Why shouldn't I use a Remote Data Recovery Service?"
8. "What is the clicking/clucking/clanking noise I keep hearing?"
9. "What can I do to make sure my data's NOT recoverable?"
10. "I have a lot of experience with computers and I think I can fix my own drive."

1. "Who is General Failure... And why is he reading my drive?"     [top]

General Failure, BSOD (Blue Screen of Death), CRC (Cyclic Redundancy Check) Failure, Delayed Write Failure, File not found (when you know it's there), any error that has a Abort, Retry, Ignore message after it - IS BAD.  Typically this means that for one reason or another, the data you've requested can't be found on the media. Many times this is the first indicator of a Hard Drive Head Crash, or a more serious problem that is only beginning to develop.  If you're unable to backup your data NOW... DON'T KEEP TRYING!  Every time you try to read that defective spot it's like running over a pot-hole -- it just keeps getting bigger.  This is why companies like ours exist - we can STOP that damage from getting any bigger, and get your data off before it goes out completely. (BTW - recovery at this phase will cost you ALOT less)

2. "What is a head crash?"        [top]

(To see the anatomy of a hard disk, click the graphic on the right) A Head Crash is a physical failure that occurs when the read/write heads actually touch the platter surfaces. Normally the heads inside the drive fly above the recordable surface at a nearly microscopic height.  However, once a crash occurs even for a millisecond, more serious damage begins to present itself.  This damage will often sound like a clicking noise or worse a whirring/grinding noise.  At this point the heads are trying to read the data you've requested, or the drive may just be trying to start itself up, but every time it runs over where the crash has occurred the "pothole" gets bigger.  As the hole gets bigger, debris begins to fly around inside this sealed little box. As the damage continues, the debris will literally remove the recordable surface of the platter (like sand paper).  Think of it as being locked inside your bathroom with a tornado of flying broken glass.  The longer a hard drive runs after the initial crash, the more likely data will not be recoverable.

3. "My media was in a fire/flood/mud/dirt/toilet, what should I do?"        [top]

Whether your media has been exposed to natural or man-made disaster, whatever you do... Do Not Apply Power!  Not even for a second.  Even if it looks dry.  Pat it down with a dry towel, and make sure it is packaged in some form of waterproof or sealed container until it can be examined in a professional and controlled environment. Powering the unit can cause permanent damage to the media and nearly eliminates the possibility of recovery. The faster the unit is shipped for recovery - the better the chances are... water and mud included!  DRL can work with your insurance carrier to manage billing and payment for disaster related failure.

4. "Isn't Data Recovery expensive?"        [top]

Yes.  Data Recovery is a black art of sorts.  There is no formal training available, therefore most Data Recovery companies have developed their own unique procedures to get your data back.  Anytime a company charges a blanket evaluation fee just to look at your drive - usually means they don't have a very high success rate, or they don't handle your recovery personally and have to pay someone else to look at it.  As for the cost of recovery, DRL stays VERY competitive with our competition (even the most difficult standard recoveries are usually under $900.00 compared to as much as $3000 from several other companies). 

What you need to determine is this:

A.  How much will it cost you to manually rebuild your own data?
B.  Can you rebuild it?
C.  How much time will it take to rebuild?
D.  Will it be as accurate as the original data?

5. "Why do your prices range so much?"        [top]

Several factors weigh in on pricing of data recovery and DRL is prepared to deal with them all:

A.  Type of Operating System and File System
Windows 98 and under (ie. DOS, Windows 95) are the easiest to deal with and recover from.  They are often installed on older systems or smaller hard drives with little possibility of customization and therefore take less time.   Windows NT, 2000, XP and so on have the ability to be network servers, or have spanned/mirrored/RAID drives, as well as completely different file systems on the same media (NTFS vs. FAT32 vs. FAT16).  And then there's the many varieties of UNIX and Linux.

B.  Type of Media
IDE is more of a standard and thus simpler than say SCSI or Fibre Channel.  Whereas Tapes such as DAT or DLT are far more complicated than QIC or Travan, they (tapes) altogether are ten times the trouble of hard drives and often have unpredictable results.  CD-ROM's, Zip, Jaz, and Compact Flash are small and quick with very standard problems that are easily recovered from.

C.  Type of Failure
Hardware failures (head crashes, lightning strikes, surges, disasters) are far more difficult and costly to us than a simple virus or user format.  Software failures are often more time consuming but do not always require an engineers intervention, and therefore costs less.

D.  Quantity of Data to be Recovered
If a DRL engineer only needs to recover your "My Documents" folder (rather than your entire server drive) then we pass that savings on to you, the client.
Occasionally, however, we can recover your entire drive as easily as pulling a single file.  It all depends on the failure - that's another reason why we offer a free evaluation.

6. "Why are your prices so much lower/higher than your competitors?"        [top]

Data Recovery is a black art of sorts.  There is no formal training available, therefore most Data Recovery companies have developed their own unique procedures to get your data back.  Anytime a company charges a blanket evaluation fee just to look at your drive - usually means they don't have a very high success rate, or they don't handle your recovery personally and have to pay someone else to look at it.  As for the cost of recovery, DRL stays VERY competitive with our competition (even the most difficult standard recoveries are usually under $900.00 compared to as much as $3000 from several other companies). 

7. "Why shouldn't I use a Remote Data Recovery Service?"        [top]

Remote Data Recovery Services are one of the most unique services offered by several other Data Recovery firms throughout the U.S.   Provided that you are ABSOLUTELY SURE that you have not had a hardware failure, you may wish to use one of these services as DRL DOES NOT PROVIDE THIS.  As is stated earlier in this FAQ - the more a drive is accessed once a physical failure has occurred - the less likely the possibility of recovery.  The costs of developing and supporting these RDR programs is passed on in the fees you incur using those companies.  

8. "What is the clicking/clucking/clanking noise I keep hearing?"        [top]

We have provided the following links to some WAV files which are actual recordings of failed drives:
Drive #1         Drive #2         Drive #3

What you are hearing are the read/write heads searching for their correct position on the platters.  This is usually a head crash.  DO NOT USE THE DRIVE ANY MORE! Send it in for an evaluation.

9. "What can I do to make sure my data's NOT recoverable?"        [top]

What have you got to hide? ;)     Yes, we know there's certain things you'd really rather not have show up on your hard drive if someone were to search it.  Whether it's company trade secrets, or those special pictures from your last vacation -  permanent destruction of data is very difficult. There are several software utilities on the market which "clean" your drives or "eliminate" your tracks, but remember one thing - there are tracks that show you using those programs (and more often than not - they keep a log of what they did!).  (BTW - DRL holds ALL data strictly confidential, before during and after recovery.)  The BEST way is to replace your hard drive!  Reformats, fdisks, viruses, water, fire, urine... you name it we've recovered from it!  Overwriting your data STILL DOES NOT GET RID OF IT!  Using Magnetic Force Microscopy, even a shattered micro-fragment of a hard drive platter can be read.  While there are very few people/governments that can accomplish recovery to this extent (no, we're not one of them... And no, we can't tell you who they are) the possibility DOES exist. 

10. "I have a lot of experience with computers and I think I can fix my own drive."        [top]

Please don't.  And if you do, please tell us BEFORE we spend countless hours fixing what you've done.  YES, we know you have ALOT of experience.  YES, we know you've fixed it this way before.  But what happens when this time you can't fix it the way you did before?  Did you know that 90% (yes, really) of our data recovery failures come from failed recovery attempts by end users and other IT professionals?  There is a reason we've been doing this for as long as we have, and there's a reason it's ALL THAT WE DO.  How many times have you had a friend "fix" your car?  And after they're done, you say to yourself "gee, I don't remember it making that noise before"?  Yes, taking it to the dealer would've cost alot more - but that's why they're in the business and your friend is not!