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Wednesday, May 18th
Salvage Data offers free, fully-featured do-it-yourself data recovery software for Windows, Mac, and Linux. If you have the courage to try to recover your own data from your computer and portable storage media, that's a price that can't really be beat.
Easy DIY data recovery
Just download the software, install it, and follow the steps of data recovery that it offers. If you get stuck, you can open a case on the website or call the toll-free phone number for immediate assistance with your problem. The technician will guide you or help you escalate the problem to higher-tier support personnel.
Professional help available too
For data recovery projects that require a more trained hand, you might want to consider their full-service option. You can begin by starting a case at their website. Then, you can drop off or mail your hard drive, SSD drive, USB stick, or other storage device to one of their locations nationwide.
ISO certified = safer data recovery
Salvage Data is ISO 9001 certified, which means that they've met very stringent criteria for industry standards in data recovery technologies and procedures. For example, if your hard drive needs to be opened to be serviced, you don't want that done in an unclean environment where the air is full of dust particles. That should only be done in an ISO-5 "clean room" by technicians who are ISO certified and have the skills to keep the inner workings of the storage device from becoming even more damaged. Because of the ISO certification, Salvage Data is also certified by major data storage manufacturers as a trusted partner.
Software Features:
Reasonable pricing for top-notch services
Salvage Data is really tough to beat on price and quality of service. You get both the option of do-it-yourself data recovery and having highly-qualified technicians do the work for you at a reasonable price (from $200 to $1900, depending on the case).
Some strong positives
Reviews of the service were mostly positive. The Better Business Bureau gives Salvage Data an "A+" rating, and only two complaints had been registered there in the three years leading up to our evaluation.
A few negatives
The negative reviews did highlight some concerns in terms of additional fees charged for already-opened hard drives, or a ship back fee for non-recoverable storage that was not specified on the website nor in the signup process. However, on the website in the pricing and process section, these facts were indeed spelled out.
Great option for hands-on professional help
Salvage Data makes it easy to recover your data, whether you choose the do-it-yourself free version or the expertise of a trusted professional to do it for you. We encourage you to read the terms of service carefully; the company spells everything out very clearly but you should make sure you understand what you're getting and/or paying for. Out of all of the data recovery services we evaluated, Salvage Data is our preferred choice for hands-on professional attention (and their DIY services are solid too).
Data recovery is something we don't often think about until it's too late. Let's say you are working on a very important document when you step away for a moment. Suddenly, the cat jumps onto the desk and knocks your laptop on the floor. The computer will no longer turn on and you realized that procrastinating buying that backup drive wasn't a good move. Or, perhaps your spouse was a little overzealous in deleting old files and removed some precious photographs you had intended to organize later.
Maybe that fast new SSD drive failed a lot faster than the manufacturer promised it would. And, sometimes, a computer just will not start because of technical problems or software updates that went badly. Regardless of the scenario, without a backup or recovery plan, losing data can make you feel pretty hopeless.
However, with the right data recovery service, all is not lost! Just remember that not all data recovery software is the same. Before you purchase your next data recovery utility, you should consider a number of factors. These include:
TopConsumerReviews.com has reviewed and ranked the best data recovery services available today. We hope you find this information helpful in restoring your valuable files the next time you encounter a data disaster.
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