Frequently Asked Questions

A: Data recovery is the process of salvaging data from damaged, failed, wrecked or inaccessible primary storage media when it cannot be accessed normally.

A: DO NOT keep trying to re-boot your computer this may cause extra damage. DO call us!

A: Each situation is unique. Data Mechanix offers a free examination of the drive. Once the examination is complete a firm quote will be given. Please contact us on your specific needs for a range in which your job would fall.

A: Standard Service can range between 2-5 business days. We are also available 24 hours a day for Emergency Services (additional fees apply). During Emergency recoveries data can sometimes be returned within hours of receiving the disk drive!

A: Within the evaluation process your hard drive will tested to find out the exact cause of the failure and what needs to be done to be able to access your data. The evaluation is free of charge and a firm quote will be given before any work is started. At times within the evaluation stage a report of recoverable and/or damaged files may be available.

A: Evaluation is usually complete within one business day of receiving your hard drive.

A: Data can be retrieved on hard drives about 90% of the times.

A: Data Mechanix strives for customer service. Your data is always confidential! A Confidentiality agreement is always available upon request or we can use an agreement provided by our clients.

A: Yes. Data Mechanix works on desktop and laptop drives. We work on virtually all types of media.

A: We do those too! And we don't charge any more for micro drives than we would for a laptop drive.

A: Drive failure cannot be avoided, but data loss can. Make sure to always have a current backup of your data.

A: Hard drives these days are very inexpensive. A simple way to backup is to have a second copy of your data on a separate drive. DVD is also a good method to backup critical data. Try to avoid any backup software or compression, sometimes restoring your data from a software compressed format doesn't work!

A: If you have a box from a drive manufacturer with foam rubber inserts that the drive fits into, this is the optimum way to ship your drive. If not, the next best way is to first seal the drive in an anti-static bag. Then wrap it up in plastic bubble wrap, going around the drive 4-5 times and secure it with tape so the drive does not slip out of the plastic.

Tape all the drives together so that they cannot bang against each other. Put in big size box that gives you at least 6" of clearance. Fill the box with popcorn or bubble wrap. Make sure there isn't any kind of shaking and the drives are secure.

A: A clicking hard drive can indicate a head crash, an electrical problem like a burnt chip, blown heads or overwritten servo's, damaged to the hard drive platters, an alignment issue from being dropped, jarred or a power surge.

A: If your system blue screens when you are trying to boot or during the middle of an operation it could mean that your operating system is damaged, there could be bad sectors on your hard drive that the system is unable to read, your hard drive could be failing, you might have a virus, or some of your system critical files have been deleted, corrupted or damaged.

A: DVD backups to 20gb are included in the recovery cost. Additional DVD's are $15.00 each. Replacement internal or external hard drives are available at additional cost. You can also supply your own hard drive. If you have preferred media, just let us know.

A: Data Mechanix offers different options for returning your data. If data recovered is under 20gb the best solution is to back up to DVD's. We don't charge for DVD's up to 20gb. If data recovered is over 20gb we recommend backing up to a new internal or external hard drive.

A: We are authorized by all of the hard drive manufacturers. A label will be placed on the hard drive to show the drive has been opened in a clean room environment. You're warranty coverage will not be changed.

A: Data Mechanix offers a NO-DATA, NO-CHARGE policy on all of our standard service data recoveries.