[SOLVED] $300 Data Recovery - Trying to recover a book

[Appletax]

Solution: $300 Data Recovery didn't recover the book or much of anything useful. Customer got lucky and found a disc with her book on it.


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Customer has a failed RAID 0 that she just wants her autobiography off of. Sent the two drives into $300 Data Recovery.

They say:

"In total, we were able to recover about 50% of the sectors on your RAID. Unfortunately, none of the folder structure on the drive was recoverable. But, we were still able to recover some "raw" files based on their unique file headers."

I guess the book may or may not be in there. What do I do? This is my first time dealing with professional data recovery.

They want $300 to give me the recovered data. Or pay them $100 plus S/H to send back the drives plus the new 2TB portable HDD I sent in to transfer the data to.

Wonder what happens if I refuse to pay them, besides losing the new HDD.

Edit:

Customer agrees to pay $300 for 50% of her recovered data, which may or may not include her book, but includes other documents and photos.

 

[britechguy]

Do they not give you the option of rejecting the recovery with such a low percentage recovered?

I've used Data Medics (and currently have a drive in their hands for "non-rush" service) and they will allow you to reject the recovery, at no cost to you, if they can't get back at least 70% of the data and send your drive and recovery media (if you chose to supply it) at no charge.

 

[Porthos]

They want $300 to give me the recovered data. Or pay them $100 plus S/H to send back the drives plus the new 2TB portable HDD I sent in to transfer the data to.

It is all upfront on the site. You eat it if you did not get an attempt/diagnostic fee from the client upfront.
That is why I always let the client deal directly when it comes to data recovery.

Our data recovery prices are 100% transparent!

Our rates are pre-determined and agreed upon before we start working on your data recovery. There will be no surprises when your recovery is finished and it’s time to pay the bill.

• 85% of our customers pay $300 for their recovered data (excluding shipping and a transfer drive, if necessary).
• If we can’t recover any of your data, there is no charge!
• No diagnostic or attempt fees (when data is unrecoverable).
• $100 labor charge if you don’t want the data we could recover (if we recover less than 99% of your data).
• Our maximum rate for any single-drive data recovery is $500 (excluding donor parts, if applicable).

 

[Computer Bloke]

Customer has a failed RAID 0

That's pretty much the only kind of RAID 0 there is. The other kind is the "not sure if it's failed yet" RAID 0.

Anyway, your solution is simple: Ask the client if she's willing to pay $300 for a 50% chance of getting her autobiography back. I'm betting she will, but either way it's her choice.

Then repeat after me: We are not responsible for our clients' poor decisions.

 

[Larry Sabo]

I guess the book may or may not be in there. What do I do?

Send the file list to the customer and ask if the files (or enough of them) are there to justify paying the $300 fee, or whether they would prefer to just pay the $100 fee for the recovery attempt without getting any of the recovered data back recovering what was recovered. You really should have made the terms clear to, and obtained approval from, the customer before sending it for recovery. Simply not paying the fee is not an option, unless the value you place on your integrity is only $100.

 

[Porthos]

or whether they would prefer to just pay the $100 fee for recovering what was recovered.

You do not get what was recovered for the $100. You get nothing except your drives back.

 

[Phillip Manning]

I have been using PCimage.co.uk, They will always give you a file list of what they have found, so you know if the data you need is there before you go for the option of doing the full data recovery. If your data recovery company cannot give you a file list, then you need to go back to your customer with the option that they have given you and see if they want to pay the price for the low chance, they have of getting the data they need.

 

[alexsmith2709]

I always inform the customer that there is no guarantee. Whether the data they want is recovered or not, there will still be the same cost. I will always take money upfront too.
I also state that we do not look for individual files, they get everything that is recoverable or they dont go ahead.

 

[JoelM]

I have only ever used @lcoughey at Recovery Force. Have been totally happy. I would be curious what he would charge up front and for the job in this scenario.

 

[Joep]

Still wonder if this means one drive completely failed (accounting for the 50%.) Because it'd mean by definition that any file exceeding stripe size is corrupt.

 

[marley1]

Send it to a real recovery company.

Gillware
Or WeRecoverData

Tried $300 DR never luck, others had luck at a higher cost

 

[Porthos]

@300DDR is a member here. Might be willing to discuss.

 

[Joep]

Send it to a real recovery company.

Gillware
Or WeRecoverData

Tried $300 DR never luck, others had luck at a higher cost

Real, what do you mean? How is $300datarecovery not real? AFAIK they have a real building, real people, they have all the equipment other labs have. What's not real about $300?

 

[lcoughey]

Real, what do you mean? How is $300datarecovery not real? AFAIK they have a real building, real people, they have all the equipment other labs have. What's not real about $300?

The best I can tell, ignorance is bliss. Fancy marketing and high pressure sales tends to be perceived as a real data recovery lab. It has nothing to do with the actual facilities, equipment and technicians who do the jobs.

As to the OP, my interpretation is that @300DDR was only able to read one of the two drives. With a typical block rotation size of 64KB, you really aren't going to get much with only one. It is like a zipper with only one side. If this is the case, the only charge with me would be the return shipping. But, that said, it never hurts to get a second opinion, if the data is worth something to the client.

 

[thecomputerguy]

I have had success with one client using 300DDR and I actually currently have a drive in for data recovery at 300DDR at the moment, they are local to me.

@300DDR

 

[Joep]

The best I can tell, ignorance is bliss. Fancy marketing and high pressure sales tends to be perceived as a real data recovery lab. It has nothing to do with the actual facilities, equipment and technicians who do the jobs.

As to the OP, my interpretation is that @300DDR was only able to read one of the two drives. With a typical block rotation size of 64KB, you really aren't going to get much with only one. It is like a zipper with only one side. If this is the case, the only charge with me would be the return shipping. But, that said, it never hurts to get a second opinion, if the data is worth something to the client.

Exactly, that was my guess too: " Still wonder if this means one drive completely failed (accounting for the 50%.) Because it'd mean by definition that any file exceeding stripe size is corrupt. "

 

[Joep]

Customer has a failed RAID 0 that she just wants her autobiography off of. Sent the two drives into $300 Data Recovery.

What brand/type drives BTW?

 

[Wheelie]

I have used $300DDR's recovery services about 25 times in the past 7 years and in only one case did they not get my client's data back. They do pretty good work in my experience.

 

[johnrobert]

New client brought me a non-booting laptop could not read any data I wanted to be out of the equation.

I gave him the address of a budget data recovery lab in Canada also gave him a rubber padded box to send it in

I ran into him a few months later he said he paid the initial $300 then it was like the Nigerian scam

They said it needed parts and it would be another $200 he paid that then they wanted another $300 for more work and parts. I felt very bad about it, all he wanted was his PST file.

I offered to do the recovery but I thought no let him choose me or a specialist depending on how important his data.

 

[Computer Bloke]

I gave him the address of a budget data recovery lab in Canada also gave him a rubber padded box to send it in

Had you used this data recovery firm before, and did you have a good experience with them?

I ask because we always apply two tests before recommending any third party: Have we or someone we trust used this service before with good results, and would we recommend it to one of our parents?

If you need a good Canadian data recovery service I know one that passes both tests.