Data Recovery Digest

If you’re in a position where you need to recover your data then your mind has undoubtedly turned to the cost. Make no mistake; data recovery can be a very expensive process. But can data recovery ever be free? Or is that too good to be true? This article will explore the costs of data recovery and see whether you can get your data back for the price of nothing.

First of all, be aware that there are primarily two types of hard drive damage: logical and physical. The latter is going to cost you. The exception to that might be if you have a generous manufacturer’s warranty or have taken out insurance, but if not then a physically damage drive can’t be repaired for free. When a drive is physically damaged it means that something has gone wrong internally. Perhaps the drive has become water damaged or the needle has slipped and scratched the platter. Whatever the cause, this type of damage has to be repaired by professionals in a controlled environment.

These companies will open up your drive in a clean room. This is a special type of room where the elements are controlled, reducing the dust in the air. You might think it is odd, but even a tiny speck of dust can be harmful to the delicate platters of your hard drive. As such, just opening the drive up in your room risks making the situation even worse. The cost of these recovery centres will vary, but make sure you get a quote for the cost before sending your drive in. You don’t want to be hit by hidden fees.

Logical damage to the drive is different. This could occur when there is a power cut or, in the case of external drives, if it’s unsafely removed. There might be a corrupt file system or a formatting error on the drive. This means the error is logical and can be repaired by using programs downloaded online. The killer question: is this free?

Yes, some data recovery programs are free. However, you should probably be aware that these programs are likely to be free because they offer a reduced feature set. The results may not be reliable or efficient. For example, Recuva doesn’t recover folder names and structures, which is a real hassle to rebuild manually. Some free software doesn’t offer file previewing, meaning you can’t see how much of the file will be recovered.

There are very expensive recovery tools out there, but chances are these offer features that you won’t make use of. You should look to spend around $50 to $70 on a recovery program. One example of a mid-range price solution is R-Studio. This program offers a trial version and supports a variety of file types, ensuring that the recovery scan will be extensive and proficient.

In summary, data recovery can be free depending on what type it is. But even then you should be a bit cautious about the quality of service that a free tool is going to provide.