How much does data recovery cost?
Data recovery is challenging due to the diversity in the issues occurring in the hard drive. So, many variables play a part while deciding the cost of data recovery. You must wonder, how much does data recovery cost exactly? Well, there’s no one answer to this. But, if we give you an estimation of data recovery prices, it lies anywhere between $99 to $1800 or higher if the damage is at an advanced level.
Here, we’ll explain the variety of hard drive failures and what to expect in terms of cost from data recovery service providers.
Various kinds of hard drive failures:
- Mechanical breakdown:
A mechanical breakdown occurs when internal parts of a hard drive fail to perform correctly. This malfunctioning will allow you to hear weird noises indicating something is wrong with the hard drive. Any issues with the read/write heads or other moving parts cause physical damage that endangers the data stored in the device.
2. Firmware breakdown:
In this type of breakdown, the read-only code becomes corrupted, causing hard drive collapse and data loss.
3. Virus/Malware:
Another reason for hard drive breakdown includes virus/malware attacks. These foreign attacks delete and corrupt files. Another type of malware called ransomware locks data in exchange for money, and many small, medium, or big businesses, including individual PC users, become victims of such an attack.
4. Logical breakdown:
The logical breakdown is also a common reason for hard drives coming to collapse. The files getting deleted or the system not starting properly; moreover, the extreme slowdowns in the PC or laptop are only a few symptoms of such a hard drive failure.
5. Electrical breakdown:
When the electrical supply increases too much suddenly, it creates malfunctioning in the hard drive. These power surges mess up the printed circuit board in the hard drive that manages all its working causing data loss.
6. Electrical/logical/mechanical/firmware:
A hard drive can suffer all sorts of damages like electrical/logical/mechanical breakdown all at the same time. With this intensity of damage to the hard drive, it would take a lot of time and resources to recover data. The data recovery from this damage might require you to invest $800 to $1800.
What pricing packages do data recovery service providers offer?
Data recovery service providers assess the hard drive condition and determine the type of damage. Then, the engineer comes up with a solution which could include replacing broken parts in a cleanroom and getting the latest tech equipment to recover the data. Also, how many gigabytes or terabytes of data need recovering also plays a role in a service provider deciding the final quote.
The engineers can take $99 to $299 per hour. This cost depends on how much work and the time your hard drive needs to recover the data. It might be inexpensive if an engineer needs to retrieve some 40 gigabytes of data in a short time, like 2 hours. However, the more time, labour, and use of lab or equipment increases, thanks to the severity of the hard drive’s condition, the more money you’d have to pay to get the data back.
You’d also notice that a per-gigabyte payment structure isn’t offered by these service providers. Because even though the amount of data affects the expense, machine time and the labour that go into research and tailor-made technique to recover data influence the quote. Also, they transfer the retrieved files onto a new hard drive.
Final Thoughts:
As we mentioned, the many kinds of hard drive breakdowns demand custom solutions. With some common types of issues that are easier to fix, you won’t need to invest much in recovering data, but with advanced level problems, the hard drive recovery cost will become expensive.