What are the prices?

• The prices for data recovery are based on the complexity of the data structure, the physical problems associated with the media, the extent of the corruption of the data, and the amount of files to recover. We offer a completely free, no risk, no fee and no obligation, evaluation.
• We never ask you for your credit card information, or ask you to pay before you decide you want the recovery and which files are recoverable. You will have a good idea of what is recoverable and how much it will cost, before we talk about payment options.
• We never have hidden fees, such as consulting, evaluation fees, etc. Some companies will charge you as much as $200 to look at your disc regardless if they recover or not. At Acodisc our evaluations are completely free. We give you a quote and a list of files then you decide if you want the recovery or not! If you look at the list and our quote and decide not to recovery your files, you owe us nothing.
• Our service goes beyond simple, automated checks. We do hands on, custom fixes. If someone says that your files are unrecoverable, before you give up send it to us. We will search your CD or DVD bit by bit, to see if your files were written to the CD or DVD. We can also fix many types of corrupt files. (AutoCad®, Zip files, Database, Office, and other file types.)
• Prices start at $ 39.00 US dollars. We routinely charge less than $70 for basic recoveries. (Over half our recoveries are under $100) DVD's are usually more, based on how much data they hold compared to a cd.
• Our prices are very competitive and the best available for same level of service/ability, and time. While other labs can only recover in the simplest of cases(and will likely charge you more than we would have), we can recover in both the simple and most difficult cases. So, our prices do vary, time spent on a recovery being one of the major considerations. Other places don't know how to do these difficult recoveries, so they simply tell you the job is unrecoverable.
• Many recovery labs send their difficult recovery jobs to us. Save shipping, other fees, and time by sending it to us first.
• If files are unrecoverable or there is nothing wrong with the disc, there is no charge. We can send you file lists, and/or file samples and descriptions or thumbnails, before anything is charged.

I've been told by another company my CD or DVD is unrecoverable. Is my data really gone?

• Even if someone else has told you a CD is unrecoverable, we strongly encourage you to send your CD to us for a free diagnostic evaluation. We have recovered many CDs that were declared dead by other recovery companies.
• We also offer exclusive technologically advanced services such as quick erased CD-RW recovery that no other company in the world offers.
• Our unique hardware and techniques allow us to read more problem CDs than any other company. Our hardware can read past corrupted areas of CDs that are completely unreadable to normal CD readers. It can also read quick erased CDs. Other companies use regular store bought equipment, and therefore have extremely limited capabilities compared to us. So while they may believe they are doing their best, in many cases it's not the best available. (Check out our customer testimonial page for proof). So a negative response from somewhere else, may not be the final word.
• Want to prove a recovery company is using a commercial reader? Put a few text files on a CD-RW, then quick erase it(not quick format). Send it to that company and ask them to tell you what the text said. If they can not, they are using a regular CD reader. Regular commercial CD readers do not read quick erased CDs or many other types of problem discs.
  
  If I only need certain files, how much will it cost?
• After the free evaluation, it is our policy to inform you about the price and the amount of files we can recover .
• If you only need specific files, we might be able to reduce the price based on the amount of files you need. Each case is different.

What happens when I send my media for data recovery services?

1. Upon receiving of your CD-R, CD-RW or DVD, we will contact you.
2. We will proceed with the evaluation (we must have the Agreement form to do the evaluation)
3. We will contact you and give you the evaluation results with the approximate total cost.
4. If you agree:
   • We will send you a Quote Agreement, which includes the total cost and method of payment.
   • We accept immediate Visa, Master Card and American Express or Discover credit card payments, Domestic or International. You may also send us a check or money order but these will take longer to process.
   • After you sign it and return it to us, we will proceed with the data recovery.
   • We will send your recovered data in the media of your choice.
5. If you disagree or decline:
   • We will send you your media back, you owe us nothing except return shipping.

How long does it take to recover my files?

• Usually, the evaluation of your media is done immediately.
• To recover your files or data could take one hour or more. Usually depends on the complexity of the data structure and/or the physical problems associated with the media. We will let you know in advance.

Do you have emergency service?

• Yes, we do have emergency service. If you need your data or files back immediately, our experts will work on your CD-ROM, CD-R or CD-RW, or DVD until your data is recovered. Includes work after regular hours or weekends. There is an additional fee for this service, please ask our sales representative.

How will I receive my media back?

• You can receive your files back in the media that you demand. (Usually a new CD-R or DVD.)
• If the size of your files is small, we can send them to you via e-mail. (Only after your approval.) We can also arrange to have you files sent securely by the Internet.
• If you need other changes in your data please mention it to our sales representatives. Thank you.

Do you recover lost data from hard drives or magnetic media?

• Sorry, we don't . We prefer to focus on optical media. But we can refer you to a quality magnetic media lab.
• If you need hard drive or magnetic media data recovery services please click here

Do you recover from Macintosh written CDs and DVDs?

• Yes, we have had very high success rates with MAC discs.

Do you recover from DVDs?

• Yes, we recover from all sizes of DVD-RAM(2.6-9.4GB), and DVD-R, DVD-RW etc..

Do you recover from CDs and DVDs many different formats?

• Yes, we recover from virtually all types of formats used today, including but not limited to: CDFS, ISO, Joliet, UDF, HFS, HFS+, FAT16 FAT 32 etc.

Do you recover from CD and DVD Backup software?

• Yes, we recover from many types of Backup software, including compressed backup products from: Veritas®, Seagate®, MS Backup®, Retrospect®, etc. Extra fees are required in most cases for backups, please ask us for details.

Do you recover from Quick Erased CD-RWs?

• Yes, due to recently developed special proprietary hardware. We can recover from quick erased CD-RWs. As far as we know we are the first and only company in the world to offer this service. We can recover from all types of quick erased CD-RWs: ie ISO, Joliet, UDF (Packet Written). We can also recover from quick formatted CD-RWs or otherwise deleted files.

Do you recover from 3-inch Mini CD-R. (Used in Ma4vica® MVC-CD1000 digital cameras)?

• Yes, we can recover from Mini cd-r media and all the file types Mavica® cameras produce. (JPEG, TIFF, GIF, MPEG). Sometimes these CD-Rs become unreadable during the finalizing process in the camera. In many cases this makes the disc unreadable in regular CD-ROM readers. We have special hardware and techniques that can read these type of discs. Other companies simply don't have the ability to read data from discs when the data becomes unreadable in a normal CD reader..

Do you recover from Flash cards?

• Yes, we recover photos and other data from Compact Flash ?(CF), Smart Media ? (SSFDC), Sony® memory sticks and PCMCIA ATA Cards.

Do you ever write or change a customers original CD-R, CD-RW, or DVD?

• No, We never write or change any CD sent to us. We only read data from the media sent to us. Writing to a CD-RW after there are problems may make recovery impossible. It is highly recommended that you don't use any program that may write the CD-RW, such as scan disc. Also don't let anyone work on yor CD or DVD that doesn't promise a read only (nondestructive) recovery.

Do you repair or reconstruct damaged files?

• Yes, we can fix or reconstruct many files types. Including Microsoft Word, Access, Excel, Powerpoint, Jpgs, Tiffs, Zip Files, and many more. We also can repair all versions of AutoCad files, even if the AutoCad program is unable to read them anymore.

TECHNICAL INFORMATION

My files, stored on a CD-RW, are no longer readable. Could you give some tips on what to do?

• Sometimes the software you use to copy or write your files onto a CD-RW becomes corrupt or erased. Unfinalized CD-Rs or CD-RWs may become unreadable.
• If you can not access your files due to a system's software failure and the disc is in working condition, we won't charge you. We will try to help you to resolve the software's problem. At your request, and for a small fee, we can convert the CD-R or CD-RW into another format, so it can be read by any CD-ROM player or drive.
• You can install a free UDF reader from Adaptec®, and see if that solves your problem. Click here to read about and download a Free UDF reader
• If this doesn't help, you can send your CD-R or CD-RW for a free evaluation.

How can I test my cds?

• You can use a freeware program called cdcheck. It is available at http://fusion.zejn.si/ (We do not have any connection with this product and this link is provided for informational purposes.)

Are there times when files show in the table of contents but are in fact unrecoverable?

• Yes, but rarely, the Table of Contents might have been written to the CD first, but then the write failed when all or part of the data was being written. Only a careful examination of the entire CD, by a skilled technician (with an expert knowledge of CD file systems,) can see whether or not the target data is on the CD.

Are packet writing programs a good way to backup critical data?

• Packet Writing in general, is not a very safe method of backup, because the same disc is written to many times(over a period of days or weeks perhaps). The chances of something going wrong also increases with each new file you add. These failures may occur weeks after you have deleted your data from your hard drive. These failures do not seem to be related to any particular software product but rather relate the idea of writing to the same disc so many times, while adding new files.
• Finalizing packet written CD-RWs for use in regular CD readers, may also fail, making the disk unreadable.
• For this reason we recommend that for critical backups use non-packet writing formats such as ISO, Joliet, DAO, regular or multisession, with verify writing option set(if available). Then verfiy that files work from all areas of the CD by opening them up in that file's types viewer. If that CD fails, burn more till you get a good working copy. And leave the files on your hard drive untill you verify a working copy. Then don't do any further writing to the CD-R.
• You may end up wasting some space and using more CD-Rs using this method, but because CD-Rs are so inexpensive, its well worth the small added expense.