Anybody purchased data recovery hardware?

[JustInspired]

I bought an Atola Bandura to clone and recover data from bad sectors, and love it. Unfortunately for others, it's been discontinued. I have been reading about the DFL-DE imager and it sounds terrific and is much more capable--more like a DDI, I think. And the price is a steal, at $1,999 USD including free shipping for a very limited time. If I hadn't bought the Bandura, I'd have ordered one instead.

I'm not clear about its USB 2 interface--if that's to the target drive, that's an issue. I'm hoping the target drive is connected directly and the USB is just used for control of the imager. I need to read up on it to know.

Anyway, just another option.

Hmm. Now that is tempting.

 

[Mindfulness]

I just ordered a Deepspar Disk Imager today. The way they ship them, it may be three weeks before I get it.

I have been advertising via adwords, flat rate local recovery for $99. I need to figure out a new pricing strategy to help pay for this. I will do some sort of levels of service. I may advertise $99 to get them to the site, but then have that price be just for flash drives. Then have a level 2 for $169 for most hard drive recoveries. Then level 3 for recoveries that requite pcb replacement for $269. I am not really sure what prices I will settle on.

Our main business is computer repair and service(pays the bills). Data recovery is more of a hobby with a potential to grow to something. I just enjoy the process of it

 

[Larry Sabo]

Congrats! Let us know how it works out as a business case. I've priced data recovery in tiers, too.

Logical Failure: $100 - $250,
Media Issues: $150 - $300
Electronic Failure: $200 - $400
Firmware Corruption: $250 - $600
Physical Failure: Inquire

...and provided descriptions of what each means on a separate Data Recovery page. Also ordered a DFL-DE to do things the Bandura won't (selective head imaging, limited firmware repair, etc.), although it's far from a PC3K. Building the DR business is the next challenge, especially given all the pro DR firms in Ottawa.

 

[Mindfulness]

Congrats! Let us know how it works out as a business case. I've priced data recovery in tiers, too. ...and provided descriptions of what each means on a separate Data Recovery page. Also ordered a DFL-DE to do things the Bandura won't (selective head imaging, limited firmware repair, etc.), although it's far from a PC3K. Building the DR business is the next challenge, especially given all the pro DR firms in Ottawa.

Thank you

I was considering some of the other imagers that also addressed some firmware issues. Financially they might have been a wiser choice. The DDI With the networking add on, it was like $3800 American and it does no firmware repair.

 

[lcoughey]

I don't recommend you go beyond imaging and logical recoveries until you have enough work to justify it. It would be better to outsource and take your commission on what you cannot do and then invest in the tools when you know that you have a chance to recoup your losses.

As for firmware tools, you can go cheap with DFL or Salvation Data, but I personally think you are just wasting your money and would be better off saving for PC3000.

 

[rsarceno]

I just ordered a Deepspar Disk Imager today. The way they ship them, it may be three weeks before I get it.

Congrats, you wont be sorry. I just wish I have two and also P3K

I may advertise $99 to get them to the site, but then have that price be just for flash drives. Then have a level 2 for $169 for most hard drive recoveries. Then level 3 for recoveries that requite pcb replacement for $269. I am not really sure what prices I will settle on.

I have to adjust my price several times. Lucky me, there's hardly any computer tech / store who does level two. So they all outsource it and when the customer find out it cost $1000 or more they start look for someone else. When they found out I only charge $499 (level 2) with a guarantee no data no fee, they jump on the offer right away.

Our main business is computer repair and service(pays the bills).

Same thing here. I do mobile service. DR is perfect because it make me $$$ while I'm on the road. It's a good way to use your resources at the office.

I also make a few bucks on transfer drive. I bought some cheap USB stick 32 and 64GB ($5) which I sell for $15 (still cheap). I told my client that my USB it not meant for re-use but permanent storage of the recovered files and they should copy their files ASAP. I do give them an option for a more expensive USB stick or supply their own drive.

 

[Mindfulness]

I have to adjust my price several times. Lucky me, there's hardly any computer tech / store who does level two. So they all outsource it and when the customer find out it cost $1000 or more they start look for someone else. When they found out I only charge $499 (level 2) with a guarantee no data no fee, they jump on the offer right away.

What do you consider level 2. Since you do not have a pc3000, are those recoveries that you just use the DDI along with other recovery software?

 

[rsarceno]

What do you consider level 2. Since you do not have a pc3000, are those recoveries that you just use the DDI along with other recovery software?

Anything beyond, lost partition or deleted files. In most cases the drive is not recognized by bios. I outsource firmware/PCB fix for $50 - $100 if needed until I can get my own P3K. At $499 minus the PCB ($100), I still make $400. Once you did 8 or so DR, your get your ROI. But here's the down side. You might spend $100 and not be able to get the data that your client want. So you will loose $100 at this point. So far it happened 2 - 3 times but the return is worth it.

Deepspar has a new thing where you can sell donor drives. Another income for DR shop. I might be able to sell the PCB. DR was the best investment I added to my services.

 

[Mindfulness]

Congrats, you wont be sorry. I just wish I have two and also P3K

In your experience, what percentage of drives have had firmware issues where you think you would have been able to fix it with a pc3000? I have heard the learning curve is a bit steep. What resources are you referencing for your knowledge to use it?

 

[Larry Sabo]

I don't mean to butt in here, but there is a "PDR" survey of failure types referenced in a DeepSpar blog on diagnosing hard drives you may find interesting/informative. You can subscribe to these blog posts without any pre-conditions (like owning a PC3K or DDI) at the bottom of their Contact Us page. They are excellent.

Re. the "PDR" survey: I believe they surveyed professional data recovery firms; the results for a computer repair shop would naturally be quite different.

 

[Mindfulness]

I don't mean to butt in here, but there is a "PDR" survey of failure types referenced in a DeepSpar blog on diagnosing hard drives you may find interesting/informative. You can subscribe to these blog posts without any pre-conditions (like owning a PC3K or DDI) at the bottom of their Contact Us page. They are excellent.

Re. the "PDR" survey: I believe they surveyed professional data recovery firms; the results for a computer repair shop would naturally be quite different.

Thanks for the wonderful suggestion

 

[Larry Sabo]

YW. I forgot to mention that in one of Scott Moulton's old videos of a presentation he made, he cited the following statistics from his experience:

Failure Type/Cause:
Software: 85%
Hardware: 15%
- Electrical: %10%
- Heads/Platters: 4%
- Spindle Motor: 1%

Bear in mind, drives have changed a lot in the intervening years. I forget the date of the presentation.

 

[Gary Rockliff]

I use Getdata back and spinrite for logical/level one recovery, any drives that are making grinding noises or not powering on get sent off to my data recovery partner for a no obligation free quote on recovering the clients data.

 

[rsarceno]

In your experience, what percentage of drives have had firmware issues where you think you would have been able to fix it with a pc3000? I have heard the learning curve is a bit steep. What resources are you referencing for your knowledge to use it?

About 25%. I used Deepspar forum for any questions. Yarek and Serge is a good source for help.

 

[Mindfulness]

thanks. I forgot they had a forum. I am sure thier is tuns of good info to read through

 

[Mindfulness]

I think i am going to order the pc-3000 this Monday.

In the short term, it might be considered a bad investment. We are mainly a break/fix pc shop with some technology support(like many on this forum). We do Google Adwords in our area for "hard drive recovery" type key words. We get a couple of hard drive recovery jobs/week. Based on current numbers we can't justify the large cost of a tool I am not even sure how successful we will be with it. We would do better working with someone who we could pay a set rate to address firmware issues.

A few reasons which I can justify it. First, I am a bit of a saver and have saved about 20% of annual income for the last 7 years. I am not cash poor.

This year after keeping some of our prices lower than needed for the prior 6 years, we have built up a large clientel who like working with us. This year we raised our prices 20% to 30%(on some stuff) which with our high fixed costs, translates to about about a 80% jump in income. So long as we don't see a backlash do to less referrals and return customers, time will tell, we will have a much higher tax bill. This will be a nice investment in the future of the business while lowering our tax bill in the short term

If we are to get better at our recovery rates and improve our methods, this is a wonderful investment in our knowledge that has huge unlimited potential

Even a year ago, I had zero interest in hard drive recovery. I just hacked at drives and recovered what we could(left a horrible amount of data behind) and called it a day. I cared nothing about best practices, it was not even a thought. Spending some time on this forum has opened my eyes to doing things differently, correctly. I enjoy the precision of following a method of recovery(all started when using ddrescue). Today I still have a small understanding of how a hard drive works, but am learning more all the time. I can't wait to log into a hard drive with a pc-3000 and look inside. Hopefully I don't get discouraged

 

[Larry Sabo]

I think i am going to order the pc-3000 this Monday.

Congrats! Very exciting times.

This will be a nice investment in the future of the business while lowering our tax bill in the short term

I suspect you will have to write it off over a number of years, as a capital assent, not a current expense. Depreciation in the first year will likely be half of a normal year's depreciation, but it's still a worthwhile investment if you can pull in sufficient DR business and take a longer term view. It sounds like you're doing great at that already.

Today I still have a small understanding of how a hard drive works, but am learning more all the time. I can't wait to log into a hard drive with a pc-3000 and look inside. Hopefully I don't get discouraged

I hear that the training at DeepSpar on the PC3K is excellent. They are located in Ottawa, so if you take here, give me a call and I'll buy you a beer to celebrate!

 

[Mindfulness]

I suspect you will have to write it off over a number of years, as a capital assent, not a current expense. Depreciation in the first year will likely be half of a normal year's depreciation, but it's still a worthwhile investment if you can pull in sufficient DR business and take a longer term view.

I kind of thought that. I was going to talk to the accountant. For little tools, I think you can get away without deprecating them, but this is more substantial, the DDI plus Pc3k

If I make it to Ottawa, I will take you up on the beer

 

[Mindfulness]

I was under the impression the pc3k was in the $3000 range. I was rereading this post and Larry mentioned a price closer to $7000. Is that correct? That is a lot more to rationalize to spend :-(

 

[rsarceno]

I was under the impression the pc3k was in the $3000 range. I was rereading this post and Larry mentioned a price closer to $7000. Is that correct? That is a lot more to rationalize to spend :-(

PC3K and data Extractor is closer to $7k. Plus annual fee to get the update (This is a must to download firmware, etc)

I don't own PC3k so you need to confirm this. With PC3K, you might not be able to complete most of the DR without DDI. On the other hand, you can fixed some drive without the need for PC3K.