Let's Get Started!

Here's our process:

  1. We require a $50 non-refundable evaluation fee.
    • For rush service, an additional $50 is required making the evaluation cost $100.
  2. Once you pay the evaluation fee, you will receive an email with an intake form that is required for us to start working on your drive.
  3. You will also receive information on where to send your drive.
    • If you cannot remove the drive from your computer, you are welcome to send us the computer.
    • If you live or work in the Washington DC Metro area, we can arrange to come to you to pick up your drive or computer from you for free.
  4. As soon as we receive your drive and it is entered into our system, we will send you an email confirming that we have received it.
  5. We will put your drive in the queue for diagnosis. We have specialized equipment that allows us to quickly determine the nature of the problem. Based on the results, we will provide you with an estimate of the data recovery fee.
    • If you go forward with the data recovery, the cost of your evaluation fee will be applied towards the data recovery fee.
    • If your issue requires us to purchase parts or a donor drive, we will let you know ASAP. The cost of parts is in addition to the data recovery fee and payment for parts will be required before we purchase them.
    • If you decide not to go forward with the data recovery, we will ship your drive back to you at your cost.
  6. We will provide you with a list of files we can recover as well as a contact sheet of photos you may be interested in to show that we have your data.
  7. Once we have recovered your data and payment of the recovery fee, we will put the data on a drive and ship it to you along with your original drive. We will keep an image of your data for 2 weeks in case the shipment gets lost and for you to have time to verify that you have all of the files you were expecting.
    • If you need help migrating your data back to your computer, we can help. Additional info is on our Services page.
    • If you live locally, we can deliver your drive back to your or ship it -- whichever is most convenient for you.
    • You are welcome to provide a drive for us to put your recovered data on. If you don't provide a drive, we can purchase one for you at your cost.