School districts and universities lose data to the same hardware failures as every other organization: head crashes, firmware corruption, controller failures, ransomware. The recovery process is identical. What differs is how campus IT departments procure services and handle sensitive student records during the process. We accept purchase orders, maintain documented chain of custody, and return recovered data on encrypted media.
We are a data recovery lab, not a compliance vendor. We do not hold FERPA, SOC 2, HIPAA, or ISO certifications. We do not sign Business Associate Agreements. What we do offer: physically secure recovery in a single facility (Austin, TX), no outsourcing, encrypted return media, and documented chain of custody from intake to return.
Competitors charge a premium for compliance certifications that cover their business operations, not the recovery itself. The PC-3000 imaging process is the same whether the drive holds student transcripts or vacation photos. Our published pricing starts at $100 for HDD recovery because the work is the same.
Timestamped intake records, single-facility custody in our Austin lab, and encrypted return media. No outsourcing, no subcontractors.
Recovered data ships back on AES-256 encrypted drives. Encryption keys delivered separately from the media.
We accept institutional purchase orders, provide W-9 documentation, and generate invoicing compatible with school district and university procurement systems.
If we cannot recover your files, there is no charge. The same guarantee applies to every recovery regardless of the storage type or data sensitivity.
Student Information Systems like PowerSchool, Infinite Campus, and Skyward store enrollment records, transcripts, grades, and attendance data in relational databases (SQL Server, PostgreSQL, Oracle). When the underlying drive develops bad sectors or firmware issues, the database engine reports corruption errors and the SIS becomes inaccessible. We recover the raw drive image using PC-3000 with sector-by-sector imaging and multiple read passes on problem areas. The recovered image contains the intact database files for your DBA or SIS vendor to restore.
School districts are frequent ransomware targets because of limited IT budgets and legacy infrastructure. Ransomware encrypts files at the logical layer. If the encryption locked files on a drive that is still physically healthy, the recovery question becomes whether unencrypted copies (shadow copies, previous versions, deleted originals) still exist on the storage media. On traditional hard drives, deleted file remnants persist until overwritten. On modern SSDs, TRIM/UNMAP purges deleted blocks automatically, leaving nothing to recover.
Physical vs. logical failure distinction
We recover data from physically failed storage devices. We do not decrypt ransomware encryption or break cryptographic algorithms. If the drive is physically healthy but the files are encrypted, contact your incident response team first.
Many school districts run Synology, QNAP, or Windows Server file shares for staff documents, curriculum materials, and administrative files. These devices typically use RAID 5 or RAID 1 configurations with consumer-grade drives. When a drive in the array fails, the instinct is to rebuild. If the remaining drives have accumulated bad sectors from years of continuous operation, the rebuild stress can trigger a second failure and collapse the entire array. Ship the NAS to us intact. We image each member drive individually, then reconstruct the array offline.
University research labs generate terabytes of data: genomics sequencing output, particle physics simulation results, climate modeling datasets, medical imaging archives. This data typically lives on enterprise NAS appliances or SAN storage with ZFS, Btrfs, or hardware RAID 6 configurations. When multiple drives in these arrays fail, or a ZFS pool becomes unimportable due to corruption, recovery requires imaging every member drive and reconstructing the pool metadata. We handle arrays of any size; each member drive is imaged using PC-3000 with per-drive head maps to work around bad sectors without stressing failing heads.
Faculty laptops and graduate student workstations often contain the only copy of dissertation drafts, research code, and unpublished manuscripts. Many modern laptops use NVMe SSDs with controller-managed encryption. If the SSD controller fails on an encrypted drive, the data is locked behind the controller's encryption key. On Apple T2 and M-series MacBooks, the NAND is bound to the Secure Enclave; chip-off is not viable. Recovery requires board-level repair to restore communication between the CPU, storage controller, and NAND.
Universities frequently virtualize campus services (email, LMS, authentication directories) on VMware ESXi or Microsoft Hyper-V hosts backed by RAID arrays. A RAID controller failure or firmware corruption on the host storage can make all VMs inaccessible simultaneously. We image the underlying physical drives, rebuild the RAID, and extract the VMDK or VHDX virtual disk files so your IT team can remount the VMs on replacement hardware.
Students rely on portable USB hard drives and flash drives for coursework, portfolios, and project files. Budget consumer drives (Seagate Expansion, WD Elements, Toshiba Canvio) are prone to head failures from drops and impacts. Many current consumer models use Shingled Magnetic Recording (SMR), which complicates the imaging process because the translator module manages overlapping write tracks. Corrupted translator data on an SMR drive requires firmware-level intervention using PC-3000 before imaging can begin.
All recovery work happens at our Austin, TX lab. We serve school districts and universities nationwide through secure mail-in shipping. Campus IT departments ship the failed media to us using any tracked carrier.
Procurement and billing
Review our packing and shipping instructions for detailed guidance on preparing drives for transit.
Education recovery uses the same pricing as all other recoveries. There is no enterprise surcharge, compliance fee, or institutional markup. The price depends on the physical condition of the drive.
| Service Tier | Price | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Simple CopyLow complexity | $100 | Your drive works, you just need the data moved off it Functional drive; data transfer to new media Rush available: +$100 |
| File System RecoveryLow complexity | From $250 | Your drive isn't recognized by your computer, but it's not making unusual sounds File system corruption. Accessible with professional recovery software but not by the OS Starting price; final depends on complexity |
| Firmware RepairMedium complexity – PC-3000 required | $600–$900 | Your drive is completely inaccessible. It may be detected but shows the wrong size or won't respond Firmware corruption: ROM, modules, or translator tables corrupted; requires PC-3000 terminal access Standard drives at lower end; high-density drives at higher end |
| Head SwapHigh complexity – clean bench surgery50% deposit | $1,200–$1,500 | Your drive is clicking, beeping, or won't spin. The internal read/write heads have failed Head stack assembly failure. Transplanting heads from a matching donor drive on a clean bench 50% deposit required. Donor parts are consumed in the repair |
| Surface / Platter DamageHigh complexity – clean bench surgery50% deposit | $2,000 | Your drive was dropped, has visible damage, or a head crash scraped the platters Platter scoring or contamination. Requires platter cleaning and head swap 50% deposit required. Donor parts are consumed in the repair. Most difficult recovery type. |
Our "no data, no fee" policy applies to hardware recovery. We do not bill for unsuccessful physical repairs. If we replace a hard drive read/write head assembly or repair a liquid-damaged logic board to a bootable state, the hardware repair is complete and standard rates apply. If data remains inaccessible due to user-configured software locks, a forgotten passcode, or a remote wipe command, the physical repair is still billable. We cannot bypass user encryption or activation locks.
All tiers: Free evaluation and firm quote before any paid work. No data, no fee on simple copy, file system, and firmware tiers. Head swap and surface damage require a 50% deposit because donor parts are consumed in the attempt.
Target drive: The destination drive we copy recovered data onto. You can supply your own or we provide one at cost. For ultra-high-capacity drives (20TB and above), the target drive costs approximately $400+ due to the large media required. All prices are plus applicable tax.
| Service Tier | Price | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Simple CopyLow complexity | $200 | Your drive works, you just need the data moved off it Functional drive; data transfer to new media Rush available: +$100 |
| File System RecoveryLow complexity | From $250 | Your drive isn't showing up, but it's not physically damaged File system corruption. Visible to recovery software but not to OS Starting price; final depends on complexity |
| Circuit Board RepairMedium complexity – PC-3000 required | $600–$900 | Your drive won't power on or has shorted components PCB issues: failed voltage regulators, dead PMICs, shorted capacitors May require a donor drive (additional cost) |
| Firmware RecoveryMedium complexity – PC-3000 required | $900–$1,200 | Your drive is detected but shows the wrong name, wrong size, or no data Firmware corruption: ROM, modules, or system files corrupted Price depends on extent of bad areas in NAND |
| Advanced Board RebuildHigh complexity – precision microsoldering and BGA rework | $1,200–$1,500 | Your drive's circuit board is severely damaged and requires advanced micro-soldering Advanced component repair. Micro-soldering to revive native logic board or utilize specialized vendor protocols 50% deposit required upfront; donor drive cost additional |
Our "no data, no fee" policy applies to hardware recovery. We do not bill for unsuccessful physical repairs. If we replace a hard drive read/write head assembly or repair a liquid-damaged logic board to a bootable state, the hardware repair is complete and standard rates apply. If data remains inaccessible due to user-configured software locks, a forgotten passcode, or a remote wipe command, the physical repair is still billable. We cannot bypass user encryption or activation locks.
All tiers: Free evaluation and firm quote before any paid work. No data, no fee on all tiers (advanced board rebuild requires a 50% deposit because donor parts are consumed in the attempt).
Target drive: The destination drive we copy recovered data onto. You can supply your own or we provide one at cost. All prices are plus applicable tax.
Our Austin lab operates on a transparency-first model. We use industry-standard recovery tools, including PC-3000 and DeepSpar, combined with strict environmental controls to make sure your hard drive is handled safely and properly. This approach allows us to serve clients nationwide with consistent technical standards.
Open-drive work is performed in a ULPA-filtered laminar-flow bench, validated to 0.02 µm particle count, verified using TSI P-Trak instrumentation.
Serving clients nationwide via mail-in service since 2008. Our lead engineer holds PC-3000 and HEX Akademia certifications for hard drive firmware repair and mechanical recovery.
Our repair work has been covered by The Wall Street Journal and Business Insider, with CBC News reporting on our pricing transparency. Louis Rossmann has testified in Right to Repair hearings in multiple states and founded the Repair Preservation Group.
Our "No Data, No Charge" policy means we assume the risk of the recovery attempt, not the client.
Louis Rossmann
Louis Rossmann's well trained staff review our lab protocols to ensure technical accuracy and honest service. Since 2008, his focus has been on clear technical communication and accurate diagnostics rather than sales-driven explanations.
We believe in proving standards rather than just stating them. We use TSI P-Trak instrumentation to verify that clean-air benchmarks are met before any drive is opened.
See our clean bench validation data and particle test videoMulti-drive array recovery for campus servers
Synology, QNAP, and campus file servers
SQL Server, PostgreSQL, Oracle databases
NVMe, M.2, and SATA solid state drives
T2 and M-series MacBook recovery
PHI handling and HIPAA-aware protocols
Describe the failure, the storage type, and any procurement requirements. We will provide a recovery assessment and pricing before you ship.
