I hope you never need a hard drive recovery service, but if you ever do my go-to recommendation is OnTrack.
As a professional photo organizer, I’ve seen just about everything when it comes to lost data: corrupted hard drives, spilled soda on a drive, accidental deletions, a toddler throwing a drive like a toy… it’s heartbreaking. Sometimes, things go wrong. That’s where OnTrack comes in.
Why I Trust OnTrack for Hard Drive Recovery
OnTrack has been around for decades (since 1985!) and is known as one of the most reputable names in data recovery. Their team of engineers can recover data from drives that are physically damaged, corrupted, or completely unreadable to the average user. If it’s possible to recover the data, they’ll find a way.
How It Works
The process is super simple:
- Free Evaluation – You start with a no-risk evaluation where they assess your device and give you a quote for recovery.
- Recovery – If you approve the quote, they begin the recovery process in their secure lab.
- Get Your Files Back – Once recovery is complete, your recovered files are returned to you on a new drive.
What I love about OnTrack is that they’re upfront about pricing after evaluating your specific situation, and they’ll tell you if recovery isn’t likely. If they can’t recover data, there’s no charge.
Real Talk: Hard Drive Recovery is Not Cheap
Data recovery is a highly technical process. If your hard drive is physically damaged, it may need to be opened in a clean room environment (think: dust-free, high-tech lab stuff). So yes, it can be expensive- typically several hundred to a few thousand dollars.
But when the photos of your wedding day or videos of your baby’s first steps are at stake? It’s worth every penny.
Don’t Wait for a Disaster!
Of course, I hope you never need OnTrack. The best protection is having a proper backup system so you’re never relying on one copy. Hello, Backup Bootcamp! Backup Bootcamp is my self-paced online course that has step-by-step video tutorials for both Mac and PC so you can rest easy knowing your photos are properly backed up.
OnTrack is the name I give every single time someone says, “I thought it was backed up… but it’s gone.” Bookmark this post and hopefully you never need it.
*This post contains affiliate links which means I will receive a small commission if you make a purchase based on my recommendation.
