Federal, state, and local agencies run the same drives and RAID arrays as the private sector. When those drives fail, the recovery process is identical. What differs is how we handle the media: physical security controls for CUI, NIST 800-88 sanitization after recovery, and procurement-friendly billing through purchase orders.
Government data recovery adds three layers on top of our standard recovery process: controlled access to the media, post-recovery sanitization, and procurement-compatible documentation.
Physical security controls for Controlled Unclassified Information. All work in our Austin lab with no outsourcing or offshore processing.
Post-recovery media sanitization per NIST SP 800-88 Rev. 1. Degaussing for HDDs, cryptographic erase or destruction for SSDs.
We accept government purchase orders. W-9, SAM.gov registration details, and vendor onboarding documentation available on request.
If we cannot recover your data, you pay $0. The same guarantee applies to every recovery regardless of agency or data classification.
CUI encompasses a broad range of government data categories: law enforcement sensitive (LES) records, personally identifiable information (PII) from agency databases, tax return information, CJIS criminal justice data, export-controlled technical data, and procurement-sensitive documents. We handle CUI with physical access controls and single-facility custody. All drives remain in our secured Austin lab with no third-party access.
Classified media (Secret/Top Secret): We do not accept drives containing classified national security information. Classified media recovery must go through your agency's designated secure recovery facility or a contractor with appropriate facility clearance (FCL). If you are unsure whether your media contains classified data, consult your agency's information security officer before shipping.
Law enforcement agencies storing criminal justice information under CJIS Security Policy may require specific handling procedures. We provide single-facility custody, documented chain of custody, and can coordinate with your CJIS Systems Officer on any additional requirements. Our forensic imaging procedures use the same write-blocked approach described on our legal and forensic recovery page.
Dell PowerEdge and HPE ProLiant servers running RAID arrays with PERC, Smart Array, or MegaRAID controllers. Failed member drives imaged individually with PC-3000, then RAID geometry reconstructed from the recovered images.
Body-worn camera storage servers, 911 dispatch call recording systems, in-car video archives, and evidence management system drives. These often run on standard enterprise HDDs (Seagate Exos, WD Ultrastar) in RAID 5 or RAID 6 configurations.
Property records, court management systems, utility billing databases, and permitting systems stored on SQL Server or PostgreSQL. When the underlying drive fails, we recover the physical media first, then the database structure can be repaired from the clean image.
Government-issued Dell Latitude, HP EliteBook, and Lenovo ThinkPad drives. These typically use standard SATA or NVMe SSDs and may have BitLocker or other full-disk encryption. We handle encrypted drive recovery when the agency provides the recovery key.
After recovery is complete and the agency confirms receipt of the recovered data, we sanitize the source media per NIST SP 800-88 Rev. 1 guidelines. The appropriate sanitization method depends on the media type:
| Media Type | NIST 800-88 Method | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Hard Disk Drives | Purge (degauss) or Destroy | Degaussing renders the drive permanently inoperable |
| SATA/NVMe SSDs | Purge (crypto erase) or Destroy | Overwrite is unreliable on flash due to wear leveling |
| Flash Media (USB, SD) | Destroy | Physical destruction is the only reliable method for removable flash |
We provide a certificate of sanitization documenting the method used, the media serial number, and the date of sanitization.
We work with government procurement processes. Available vendor documentation includes:
Net-30 terms are available for government purchase orders. Contact us before shipping to set up PO billing.
Government recovery uses the same pricing as all other recoveries. There is no government surcharge. NIST 800-88 sanitization and chain of custody documentation are included at no additional cost.
Your drive works, you just need the data moved off it
$100
3-5 business days
Functional drive; data transfer to new media
Rush available: +$100
Your drive isn't recognized by your computer, but it's not making unusual sounds
From $250
2-4 weeks
File system corruption. Accessible with professional recovery software but not by the OS
Starting price; final depends on complexity
Your drive is completely inaccessible. It may be detected but shows the wrong size or won't respond
$600–$900
3-6 weeks
Firmware corruption: ROM, modules, or translator tables corrupted; requires PC-3000 terminal access
CMR drive: $600. SMR drive: $900.
Your drive is clicking, beeping, or won't spin. The internal read/write heads have failed
$1,200–$1,500
4-8 weeks
Head stack assembly failure. Transplanting heads from a matching donor drive on a clean bench
50% deposit required. CMR: $1,200-$1,500 + donor. SMR: $1,500 + donor.
50% deposit required
Your drive was dropped, has visible damage, or a head crash scraped the platters
$2,000
4-8 weeks
Platter scoring or contamination. Requires platter cleaning and head swap
50% deposit required. Donor parts are consumed in the repair. Most difficult recovery type.
50% deposit required
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.
No data, no fee. Free evaluation and firm quote before any paid work. Full guarantee details. Head swap and surface damage require a 50% deposit because donor parts are consumed in the attempt.
Rush fee: +$100 rush fee to move to the front of the queue.
Donor drives: Donor drives are matching drives used for parts. Typical donor cost: $50–$150 for common drives, $200–$400 for rare or high-capacity models. We source the cheapest compatible donor available.
Target drive: The destination drive we copy recovered data onto. You can supply your own or we provide one at cost plus a small markup. For larger capacities (8TB, 10TB, 16TB and above), target drives cost $400+ extra. All prices are plus applicable tax.
Describe the drive failure and any CUI or sanitization requirements. We will confirm handling protocols and provide PO documentation.
