Your photos and files, still there next year.
Two jobs, really. Getting files back off a drive that's on its way out, and setting things up so the next failure is an inconvenience, not a loss.
Getting files off a drive that's failing
A drive that's failing but still spinning up is the case we can usually help with. Slow reads, files that won't open, a machine that hangs on certain folders. The right move there is to stop using the drive, take an image of it while it still responds, and pull the files out of the image rather than off the drive.
Every extra hour a failing drive runs is another chance for it to stop responding for good. If your machine is making a clicking or grinding noise, power it off and call us before you try anything else.
We work at the software level: imaging, file system repair, and recovery from the image. We tell you what we got and what we didn't, file by file, rather than handing back a folder and letting you find the gaps.
What we can't do
We're not a clean-room lab and we won't pretend otherwise. A drive with a failed head, a seized motor, or physical damage needs equipment we don't have. When we see one, we say so, and we point you to a lab that does that work rather than charging you to confirm it twice.
Lab recovery is expensive and it isn't guaranteed. We'll tell you the odds as we see them, and whether the files are worth it, before you commit to anything.
Encrypted files from a ransomware infection are a different problem, covered on our virus and malware removal page. We can't decrypt them.
Set up so it actually restores
Most homes have something they think is a backup. A drive plugged in three years ago. A phone syncing photos to an account nobody has the password for. Neither of those survives a house fire, a theft, or a bad Sunday.
What we set up:
- A local copy for fast restores when a drive dies or a file gets deleted
- An off-site copy, because a local backup sitting next to the computer shares the computer's fate
- A monitored off-site backup service, if you'd rather not be the one watching it. Ask us for the price
- Photos and documents actually included, since the common failure is a backup that quietly excluded the folder you cared about
- A test restore in front of you, so you've seen a file come back before you need one to
An untested backup is a guess. We'd rather show you it works.
Getting everything onto the new computer
When you replace a machine, the files are only part of it. Email accounts, browser bookmarks and saved passwords, printer setup, licensed software, and the pile of documents that live on the desktop for a reason.
We move all of it, check it opens on the new machine, and leave the old machine untouched until you've confirmed everything's there. Then we wipe it. That's covered in full on our new computer setup page.
What it costs
- Flat $85 diagnostic. We look at the drive or the setup, then quote the work in writing. No work happens without your approval
- Approved work is $85 per hour, remote or on-site
- Rush and after-hours work adds a flat $85
- We quote our monitored off-site backup service separately. Ask and we'll give you the number
- We quote recovery jobs after the diagnostic, once we know what condition the drive is in
If the drive needs a lab, the $85 is what you spend with us and we'll tell you where to go next. See full pricing.
Running a business? Backup for offices is a different service with monitoring, alerts, and monthly verification. See business backup.
Drive acting strange?
Power it down and get in touch. We reply to new inquiries within one business day.