Which is best: hard drive data recovery service, or do it yourself applications?

A hard drive data recovery service company can always restore your data with the best results. But when you are confronted with what course of action to take, you may be wondering whether or not engaging a hard drive data recovery service is worth the money. Knowing what the other possibilties are and undertaking a cost-benefit analysis can get you that answer.

To perform the hard drive recovery service test focus on these factors: Recovery software application costs, the time-cost analysis in sending your data to a hard drive recovery service, and which course of action you feel most comfortable doing.

Software Application Costs

You actually will have a number of options when it comes to selecting hard drive data recovery software over hiring a hard drive data recovery service. You may even not have to pay a penny. For example, there are free applications to recover data. But before you get excited, most of these programs don't deliver. However, I mention this choice because some people in some circumstance have succeeded in using one to recover files.

There are also some software applications that you can purchase - after viewing all the data which can be recovered - that are cheap compared to hard drive recovery service. Without getting all technical, the two possibilities are file recovery and data recovery software. The later gives the best results. Often I get a question as in what's the difference between the two. For the purpose of this article, I will just say that they are not the same, and if you are skeptical, try both and compare the results.

Hard Drive Data Recovery Service Costs

As with any professional, you pay a higher fee for the assistance of a hard drive data recovery service. The fee depends on the complexity of the problem you are facing, but you can expect prices to start at U.S. $500. The full-scale service firms are usually used when data is critical or when the software they make for independent use doesn't work.

As a side note don't confuse a independent technicians with a professional entity. The ITs are well skilled in setting up systems, and fixing software issues, and preparing a data management system. But this is different than recovery. Tell them to produce you a backup copy of your data. And then let them use software they buy from a hard drive recovery service company to see if they can produce results.

The Ultimate Cost

In the end, the fundamental hard drive data recovery service cost-benefit analysis must rest upon the consideration of how valuable the data is to you - how important it is to you that the data be recovered. If data recovery is only worth a little to you, software may fit the bill. However, if the data has significant value, weighing the cost of losing the data forever with the nominal fee charged by a hard drive data recovery service is your final choice.