How much does data recovery cost? $49 diagnostic, logical recovery from $349, mechanical failure $799+. No-data-no-pay: no data, no recovery fee.
Quick answer — In Montreal, data recovery costs $49 for the diagnostic, then $349-$499 for a logical case (deleted files, formatted drive, lost partition) and $799 and up for mechanical failure (clicking drive, head crash). Clean-room and complex RAID cases are quoted after diagnostic and may be referred to our partner lab. You only pay for recovery if your data is recovered (no-data-no-pay).
Fixed, transparent prices in Canadian dollars. The diagnostic confirms the exact price before any work — no surprises.
| Scenario | Examples | Price (CAD) |
|---|---|---|
| Diagnostic | Drive assessment, firm quote, success estimate | $49 |
| Logical recovery | Deleted files, emptied trash, formatted drive, lost partition, RAW drive | $349 – $499 |
| External drive not recognized | WD / Seagate not detected, bad sectors, enclosure controller | $349 – $599 |
| Mechanical failure | Clicking drive, head crash, stuck motor, corrupted firmware, PCB | $799+ |
| Clean-room / RAID / complex | Scored platters, multi-disk RAID/NAS, server | Quoted |
Need the full breakdown by failure type? See our data recovery Montreal page.
| Factor | Impact on price |
|---|---|
| Failure type | Logical = affordable. Mechanical (heads, motor) = higher. |
| Clean-room required | Physically opening the drive is the major cost. Avoided for logical cases. |
| Capacity & volume | Larger drives take longer to image sector by sector. |
| Urgency | Express / 24h service adds a surcharge. |
| Media & encryption | Failed SSD controller, RAID or encrypted drive = more complex. |
ISO-certified clean-room labs charge for physically opening the drive, swapping read heads, and clean-room time. Bills often run from $800 to over $3,000, and many charge the diagnostic even without recovery.
At IT Cares, we recover the vast majority of cases at fixed prices — logical recovery, formatted drive, external drive not recognized, common head-stuck cases — with a no-data-no-pay guarantee. We are transparent: the rare extreme cases (scored platters, complex enterprise RAID) that truly require a certified clean-room are referred to a partner lab, without inflating your bill.
Failed hard drive, inaccessible data, deleted files? $49 diagnostic, no-data-no-pay on recovery.
The diagnostic is $49. Logical recovery (deleted files, formatted drive, lost partition) runs $349-$499. Mechanical failure (clicking drive, head crash) runs $799 and up. Clean-room and complex RAID cases are quoted after diagnostic. With no-data-no-pay, you only pay for recovery if your files are recovered.
The diagnostic is $49 and is credited toward the recovery if you proceed. The recovery itself is covered by the no-data-no-pay guarantee: no data, no recovery fee.
If we cannot recover your files, you do not pay the recovery fee. Only the $49 diagnostic applies.
ISO-certified clean-room labs charge for opening the drive, swapping read heads, and clean-room time, pushing bills from $800 to over $3,000. IT Cares recovers logical and common mechanical cases at fixed prices and refers only extreme cases (scored platters, complex enterprise RAID) to a partner lab.
Logical SSD recovery is the same price as a HDD. A failed SSD controller or hardware encryption can raise the cost. The $49 diagnostic confirms the exact price before any work.
Logical recovery takes 24-72 hours, mechanical cases 3-7 days. Express 24h service is available for urgent logical cases. The exact timeline is confirmed at diagnostic.