Allentown Data Recovery

A secure certified data recovery laboratory for Allentown PA - Tri-State Data Recovery

1 Hour

Down the Northeast Extension · parking at our end


A certified clean room laboratory serving Allentown, Bethlehem, Easton and the Lehigh Valley. Clicking, dropped, dead and physically damaged hard drives, SSDs, RAID arrays, servers and old media, where your drive is recovered in-house, by the engineer you speak with. And never shipped out of state.

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THE TRADE NOBODY SPELLS OUT

An Hour in Your Own Car, or Days in a Truck You Don’t Control

From Allentown we are about an hour down the Northeast Extension, and we will not pretend that is nothing. It is the honest cost of hand delivery, and it is the shortest trip your drive can make. The alternative is not a shorter journey, it is a longer one you cannot watch: a sorting facility, a truck, a second sorting facility, and a building you have never seen. Drops, heat, cold and loss all happen in that stretch, and a drive that already has a mechanical fault is the worst possible passenger.

The label is also what sets the price. A free evaluation and a no data, no charge guarantee both describe what happens before a price exists, not what the recovery costs. The figure is set once your only copy is already inside that building, at which point declining it means asking for the drive back, wondering what was done to it and hoping that it returns in the same condition as when it left. When you pay nothing for a diagnostic, they aren’t required to give you any paperwork explaining what they did to it. A prepaid shipping label is not a convenience in that arrangement. It is the step that makes the rest of it possible.

This page was written for Allentown because our mission statement is to give the Tri-State area a local option, not generated for it. Scheduling an appointment and hand delivering the drive is always the safest option and assures the chain of custody is kept intact, and some people still choose to ship, which is why we publish a dedicated page explaining the proper way to do it and the risks involved in exposing your drive to the shipping process. Either way the drive is opened in our own Montgomery County laboratory, by the engineer who answered the phone, and no case is outsourced to a partner laboratory.

THREE QUESTIONS, NONE OF THEM TECHNICAL

Ask Before the Drive Leaves Your Hands

All three work on us as well as on anyone else, and the answers are checkable before you commit to anything.

WHERE IS THE LABORATORY, AND IS IT THE BUILDING THAT OPENS MY DRIVE? WHERE IS THE LABORATORY, AND IS IT THE BUILDING THAT OPENS MY DRIVE?

WHERE IS THE LABORATORY, AND IS IT THE BUILDING THAT OPENS MY DRIVE?

A street address, not a service area. “Serving the Lehigh Valley” is not an address. A national company sometimes uses a repair shop to host its listing on Google Maps, and a page can be generated for a city name without anyone being in the city. Put the street address into a search by itself and see who else is listed there, then read the sign on the building in Street View. Comparing the opening hours of two listings at one address, or asking for the clean room certification, will usually expose the truth.


Our answer: the laboratory is a secured Montgomery County facility and every drive is opened in it, with client drop-off and collection at 630 Freedom Business Center Drive, Floor 3, King of Prussia

WHO PERFORMS THE RECOVERY, AND WHAT ARE THEY CERTIFIED ON? WHO PERFORMS THE RECOVERY, AND WHAT ARE THEY CERTIFIED ON?

WHO PERFORMS THE RECOVERY, AND WHAT ARE THEY CERTIFIED ON?

Anyone with money can purchase expensive equipment, but how do you know they are experts on it without proper training? Ask which platforms the engineer is certified on, who issued the certification, and whether they will email you the documents. Then ask whether you can speak to that person before you commit, and ask for the split between the company’s fee and the laboratory’s. A case number is an answer to a different question.


Our answer:Don Anderson performs every recovery, expert-certified on PC-3000 and DeepSpar and micro soldering certified through ACI Technologies in Philadelphia

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WHICH ISO CLASS IS THE CLEAN ROOM, AND WHERE IS THE CERTIFICATE?

ISO 14644-1 runs 1 to 9, lower is cleaner, each step about ten times. “ISO-certified” with no number tells you nothing. Class 9 is roughly an ordinary office, and “Class 100” comes from a standard withdrawn in 2001 and is about equal to ISO Class 5, one step dirtier than the Class 4 this work is done to. Ask for the document naming the testing firm, the standard, the class, the date and the technician who signed it. This matters more than anything when the platters are exposed for hours during a multi-platter recovery procedure.


Our answer: ISO Class 4 under ISO 14644-1:2015, certificate viewable now

WHAT ACTUALLY HAPPENS TO A FAILING DRIVE

A Repair Counter and a Laboratory Are Different Rooms

A counter diagnoses a failing drive by reading it, because that is the only instrument on the counter. The software assumes a healthy drive with a logical fault, so it starts at the beginning and works through to the end, hammering the damaged areas hardest, on the one copy you have. A failing drive has a finite number of reads left in it, and that is how they get spent. Every minute of the attempt is spent out of the drive’s remaining life resulting in creating more bad sectors, a head crash or complete destruction of the drive. Local shops have been known to still charge a hefty price for returning only corrupted data.

A laboratory uses professional hardware like the PC-3000 to test the drive, unlock its service area, back up and repair its firmware, create a head map and target the sectors relevant to your data. The file table is read first, so the imaging is aimed at the sectors your files actually occupy, with the weakest areas left for last, while also separating any damaged files so you know exactly what you are paying for. Consumer software has no such target: it attempts a full clone and spends the drive’s remaining reads on empty space. If heads have to be replaced, it is done with precision-matched donor parts inside a certified clean room, because a single particle on a platter surface is larger than the flying height of the head.

Modern hard drives add a further requirement. The circuit board carries a serial flash ROM holding adaptive data unique to that drive that needs modification to allow access to the service area, so modern data recovery means advanced micro soldering, chip replacement and reflow, and ROM programming and SED unlocking. It takes expert-level training to do any of that without destroying the board or the chip.

None of that equipment is something a repair counter owns. It costs more than the shop’s entire tool inventory and it takes years to use properly. What costs you the data is not the diagnosis, it is the attempt. If your drive has already been through it, say so on the first call. It changes the approach, and what can be done.

EXPERIENCE THE DIFFERENCE

A LABEL OUT OF STATE, OR AN HOUR DOWN THE TURNPIKE

WAREHOUSES, SHOP FLOORS AND BACK OFFICES

The Machine That Can’t Be Rebuilt From an Install Disc

The Valley runs on machines that were never meant to last this long and cannot be replaced casually. The PC on the shop floor driving a machine tool, the workstation holding twenty years of drawings, the box in the warehouse office running an inventory system whose vendor is gone. When one of those drives fails, the problem is rarely just the files. It is that the software cannot be reinstalled, the license cannot be reissued, and nobody left at the company set it up.

That changes what a recovery has to deliver. The target is often the whole working state of the machine rather than a folder of documents: the database and its configuration, the job history, the machine parameters, the license files sitting where the installer put them in 2009. Tell us on the first call what the machine does and what has to run again afterward, and tell us which files are needed first, because that decides the imaging order.

If production is stopped, say so. Most cases are completed within one week without paying for expedited services, and rush service on emergency cases is quoted per case, by the engineer, before the case is accepted, so you know the cost and what is possible before you commit. And if the failure is in an array, power it down: every member is repaired and imaged individually before we attempt to reconstruct the copies, and a rebuild attempted first is what usually ends the array.

WHAT WE RECOVER DATA FROM

LEHIGH VALLEY BUSINESSES, PRACTICES AND HOUSEHOLDS

SSD & NVMe Recovery SSD & NVMe Recovery

SSD & NVMe Recovery

Solid-state storage degrades with use, and when it fails there’s no warning. Controller failure, corrupted firmware, degraded NAND, and drives that vanish from BIOS, recovered in-house with PC-3000 and DFL, including chip replacement and advanced cooling and reflow techniques. Certified in advanced micro-soldering through ACI Technologies in Philadelphia.

RAID, NAS & Server Recovery RAID, NAS & Server Recovery

RAID, NAS & Server Recovery

Failed RAID 5 rebuilds, simultaneous drive failures, degraded arrays, virtual machines and business servers for Allentown corporations and medical practices. Performed in our Montgomery County lab in a fast and secure manner.

SHOP FLOOR & LEGACY SYSTEMS SHOP FLOOR & LEGACY SYSTEMS

SHOP FLOOR & LEGACY SYSTEMS

Machine controllers, CAD and CAM archives, inventory and job-tracking systems on hardware nobody makes any more, including IDE, PATA and SCSI drives. Tell us what has to run again afterward, not just which folder you need.

Apple & Mac Devices Apple & Mac Devices

Apple & Mac Devices

Macs and MacBooks with a removable SSD or hard drive, Fusion Drives, iMacs, Airport Time Capsule and LaCie external drives. On 2016 and 2017 MacBook Pro models we can read the onboard storage using Apple’s Customer Data Migration Tool. We don’t perform board repairs of any kind, so machines with a T2 chip or Apple Silicon are declined on the first call rather than after we have your machine.

Digital Forensics

Write-block imaging, court-ready reports on findings and expert testimony for legal and insurance matters, and second-opinion evaluations when a previous attempt failed. Tell us what was attempted, what they said failed and what you were quoted. Bring the receipts and any proof of correspondence.

OUR RECOVERY PROCESS

How It Works for Allentown Clients

01

Call & Drop Off

Call ahead to schedule your appointment, then drive about an hour to our King of Prussia headquarters and safely hand your drive to the engineer that will be working on your case.

02

Thorough Diagnostic

We provide a thorough diagnostic in our own certified lab, identify what failed, the time involved in attempting the recovery, the cost of parts (if required), and the odds of success moving forward.

03

Transparent Quote

Receive a phone call within 24 hours (or faster if expedited) with a firm quote, odds of success, and timeframe for your recovery.  No obligation and you only pay upon success other than the diagnostic fee.

04

Recovery Performed

We reverse engineer and repair the drive itself — failed heads, seized motors, corrupted firmware — until it can be read again using industry leading tools, and inside a clean room independently certified to ISO Class 4.

05

Verify In Person

Come back to our KoP office in person and view your data before paying – know exactly what you’re paying for.

WHO WE SERVE IN 18101

Corporations, Healthcare Practices, and Allentown  Families

Major Allentown Corporations and Healthcare Providers rely on their data and need a secure and HIPAA compliant option.

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Major Corporations

Departmental servers, RAID arrays, engineering and CAD archives, and the machine on the line that stops the line. When a system is down, say so on the first call — that case goes to the front, and we’ll sign an NDA and send certifications and insurance the same day so procurement isn’t what keeps you stopped.

Healthcare & Medical Practices Healthcare & Medical Practices

Healthcare & Medical Practices

Practice management databases, imaging and PACS archives, scanned intake records — and the pre-migration system still running in a back office because retention rules say it has to be. Say it’s a practice when you call: the Business Associate Agreement is signed before the drive moves, and you get honest timing while tomorrow’s schedule is still yours to change.

Professional Offices Professional Offices

Professional Offices

Client files, case material, tax and audit records — data you’re answerable for long after the engagement ends. A drive couriered to an unnamed facility means those files were handled by people your engagement letter never contemplated. We sign NDAs before the drive moves, keep a written custody record, and securely erase recovered data two weeks after you have it back.

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Allentown Families

Twenty years of photographs, home video, and the drive that surfaces while clearing out a parent’s house — usually the only copy, and usually the earliest digital pictures the family has. These are the recoveries people remember, and the ones we treat most carefully. Bring it in before anyone tries anything: with an old drive, the first attempt is often the only one you get.

THE COST OF PROFESSIONAL DATA RECOVERY

Active military, veterans, first responders, seniors, students & teachers receive a permanent 20% discount with valid ID. Full pricing is published on our pricing page — we publish it because most of this industry won’t.

$106

Diagnostic · Per Drive · Tax Included

Gets applied toward the total cost of recovery – All cases begin with a thorough examination

$400+

LEVEL 1 – LOGICAL RECOVERY

Accidental format, virus corruption, a few bad sectors. Level 2 from $800; clean room work $1,500–$2,500. With donor parts sits higher. You get a call with a firm quote and full description on your invoice.

REAL VERIFIABLE TESTIMONIALS

REVIEWS FROM BUSINESSES AND HOUSEHOLDS

Jamal Wells profile picture
Jamal Wells
4 days ago
Don Anderson at Tri-State Data Recovery in King of Prussia was a tremendous help when my laptop’s SSD failed. As a Philadelphia architect and business owner, I deeply appreciated that he made an exception to fit me in despite having a medical appointment, recognizing the urgency. That kind of dedication is hard to find. His advanced expertise, including testing down to the component level, was matched by his personable, easygoing manner. He was a pleasure to talk with and helped make a stressful situation easier. Thanks to his high-level experience and clear recommendations, my laptop is now back up and running. I highly recommend Don for his expertise, honesty, and exceptional care. I would definitely use his services again.
I cannot say enough great things about Don Anderson and Tri-State Data Recovery! As a military veteran living in Coatesville, PA, finding a business that is trustworthy, reliable, and genuinely cares about its customers means a lot to me. From start to finish, Don was absolutely fantastic to work with. He was professional, knowledgeable, and incredibly responsive throughout the entire process. What impressed me most was his willingness to take the time to explain everything in detail, making sure I understood the recovery process and what to expect. He was upfront, honest, and never made me feel rushed or pressured. The service was fast, dependable, and exactly what you hope for when dealing with something as stressful as potentially losing important data. It's refreshing to work with someone who clearly takes pride in their work and values customer service. As a veteran, I also really appreciated learning that Tri-State Data Recovery offers a 20% discount to active-duty military members and veterans. It's a generous gesture and a great way to show appreciation for those who have served. If you're anywhere in the Chester County, Coatesville, or greater Philadelphia area and need data recovery services, I highly recommend reaching out to Don. His professionalism, integrity, communication, and customer service are second to none. Thank you, Don, for the outstanding service and for supporting our military and veteran community! You've earned my trust and my highest recommendation!
Gayle Brown profile picture
Gayle Brown
2 weeks ago
Extremely happy to have found Don, and that all work is done locally in Montgomery County, PA. After suffering drive failure and hoping to retrieve the data, I reached out to a larger company offering data recovery. While they advertised the service, they in fact send work elsewhere at an unbelievable cost. I made the decision to look for a local lab to control where my data would be handled securely. I found Tri-State Data Recovery!! Don was understanding, explained the process and pricing structure based on work required and successful recovery. I was very comfortable entrusting him with my data and even more pleased that he was able to recover it. Don makes it very easy to deliver equipment, provides updates throughout and has you verify before leaving with your data. I hope I don't need his services, but should another event occur I know who I will call immediately.
Brian Howells profile picture
Brian Howells
4 weeks ago
Don did incredible work retrieving data that I had almost given up hope on. Because of that, I managed to keep data that was very important to me. Don also worked fast and a process that I thought would take weeks only took a couple of days. I cannot recommend Tri-State Data Recovery enough.
Joseph Houk profile picture
Joseph Houk
4 weeks ago
Huge thank you to Don and Tri-State Data Recovery for their transparency, time, effort, and overall professionalism. From start to finish, they kept us informed and updated throughout the entire process. They also provided additional guidance, support, and insights for secure data management and security practices for the future. Luckily for our case, their recovery effort was successful and we are beyond thankful to have found them. We highly recommend Don and Tri-State Data Recovery to everyone in the Greater Philadelphia area. A+ across the board!!
CM K profile picture
CM K
4 weeks ago
I checked a few data recovery places and all of them were a racket. I wanted a person that I could hang off my drive too, that I could ask questions of, that would take the time to explain as well as listen to me. I wanted the personal touch. I definitely got that from Don at Tri-State Data Recovery. He was exceedingly patient and kind through the entire process. He explained everything thoroughly, detailing each step. And when he discovered that my drive was not as damaged as we thought, he was honest and didn't charge me through the roof. He was very fair and honest. If you are on the fence, go see Don. You will not regret it.
T Bragg profile picture
T Bragg
4 weeks ago
Had Tri-State Data Recovery look at an old Seagate external drive that stopped working. Don explained what needed to be done, including clean room dismantling. His diagnosis was as he predicted and he successfully retrieved nearly all of the files, including decades of family pictures. Very competent and thorough.
Janay Miller profile picture
Janay Miller
2 months ago
I cannot say enough wonderful things about Mr. Don. Although my data could not ultimately be recovered, he still deserves every one of these five stars. Mr. Don carefully examined my flash drive and explained that it was a monolithic device. Because of the severe way it had broken internally, recovering the data was unfortunately beyond what was technically possible. I want to make it very clear that this outcome was not a reflection of his knowledge or ability. Mr. Don is exceptionally knowledgeable, experienced, honest, and professional. I genuinely believe that if my data had been humanly recoverable, he would have found a way to retrieve it. Unfortunately, my flash drive did not simply need a data-recovery expert—it needed a miracle from God! What impressed me most was Mr. Don’s honesty and compassion. He did not make unrealistic promises, take advantage of my desperation, or pretend that he could perform the impossible. Instead, he patiently explained the problem and taught me an invaluable lesson about never storing important information in only one location—especially on a flash drive. Because of his advice, I now understand how important it is to maintain multiple backups of irreplaceable files. Of course, losing my data is heartbreaking, but sometimes unfortunate things happen in life. Even without the outcome I desperately wanted, Mr. Don still gave me something valuable: honest answers, greater knowledge, and guidance that can help prevent this from happening again. I wholeheartedly recommend Mr. Don to anyone needing data-recovery services. His expertise is impressive, but his integrity, kindness, patience, and professionalism are what truly distinguish him. A five-star professional is not only someone who succeeds when recovery is possible—it is also someone who is honest and compassionate when it is not. Mr. Don is exactly that kind of professional. Thank you, Mr. Don, for doing everything within your ability and for treating me with such dignity and care during an extremely stressful experience.
Don went above and beyond throughout the entire process. Not only was he incredibly thorough and thoughtful, but when I underestimated the storage I needed, he transferred everything to a larger drive at no additional cost, even though it took him twice as long. He is knowledgeable, patient, positive, and genuinely cares about his clients. After working with him, it’s easy to understand why he has so many five-star reviews. If you need data recovery or file transfers, I highly recommend contacting Don. Thank you again, Don!
RZR profile picture
RZR
3 months ago
Fast, expert service. I highly recommend!!
J G profile picture
J G
4 months ago
I contacted Tri-State Data after my daughter knocked my laptop on the ground and destroyed an attached USB drive. I initially called Staples, who told me that there was a high probability that they would send it to another location to assess the damage and get it fixed. I didn’t like the idea of my important files being sent somewhere that I didn’t know. My husband found Tri-State Data when looking for a reputable company in the area. Don responded to my call quickly. He worked with me to drop my USB off the next day. I appreciate that he gave me a timeframe for when he could assess the damage and call me back. He did exactly what he said he would. I dropped my USB off on a Thursday and had the recovered data by Tuesday. Don was extremely friendly and knowledgeable about data recovery. I highly recommend Tri-State Data to anyone needing to recover their data. It’s scary to have lost documents and nice to know that there are people who can help. Thanks, Don!
Julie Furru profile picture
Julie Furru
4 months ago
Don was very knowledgeable, professional, and kind! He explained everything well, kept in contact with me, and recovered all the data I needed. Thank you so much, Don!!!
Ed Hydock profile picture
Ed Hydock
4 months ago
Don did an incredible job recovering every piece of data on what I thought was a broken hard drive. The service is not cheap, but the information I thought I'd lost was incredibly important. So the price was absolutely worth the piece of mind that comes from having those materials back. Highly recommend!
Dan Haas profile picture
Dan Haas
6 months ago
don at tri state data recovery is a true trusted professional; a rare find in the cluttered world of data recovery. no sales gimmicks - just efficient, expert services delivered from his local lab! he recovered my data where others failed. HIGHLY RECOMMEND!!
Steve Kellner profile picture
Steve Kellner
7 months ago
I was in a panic after my hard drive became inaccessible and I feared that I had lost decades of pictures into the abyss. After doing some research and finding Don and Tri-State he put my mind at ease and was able to recover everything. I can't recommend him enough, very down to earth and easy to understand the intricacies of the process. I'd give 100 stars if possible!
Karen Lindsay profile picture
Karen Lindsay
9 months ago
In a total panic, I thought I lost everything on a work related flash drive!! Thanks to Don at Tri-State Recovery - he saved the day! I can't tell you how much time he saved me on recovering this flash drive ! Will absolutely recommend his services !! Thank you!!!
Accidentally bent my very important Flash Drive with many years worth of work! Don was able to recover the information and allow me to get back to work! I am following his recommendation to back up my work more often, but he definitely saved the day!! What a relief!! Will absolutely recommend this service !
William Meeryeck profile picture
William Meeryeck
9 months ago
Don from Tri-State Data Recovery did a superb job in the clean room recovering data from my WD EasyStore 5TB usb drive. I had stupidly left it attached to my desktop when trying to install additional RAM. It fell to the floor. What's worse, I even dropped it a 2nd time! When I plugged it in, the system wouldn't even recognize it... I brought the drive to Geek Squad with high hopes. Alas, they said there was nothing that could be done, it needed recovery done in a clean room. I was very lucky! Don was able to recover well over 95% of my data. And it's running perfectly now (a month later). Thank you Don so much!!!
Dave Gagliardi profile picture
Dave Gagliardi
4 years ago
Don at Tri State Data Recovery is a pleasure to deal with. He got some data recovery done for me within a few days. I had gotten a computer a few years ago at a big electronics store (BestBuy), and the SSD failed, and that store's G-Squad couldn't get the data off the hard drive. I called Tri State Data Recovery, and I was able to get an appointment soon, and met with Don, who is a wealth of information. He is friendly and helpful, and right away gives you a feeling that you've gone to the right place. He contacted me later that day and said he was fairly sure he could recover most or all of the data, and he gave me a timeframe of a few days, and then exactly on the day he said it would be ready, he contacted me again and said that he got it all done successfully, and at the promised price. It was top notch customer service, and I cannot imagine any better service. I am recommending to the company that I work for, that if we need data recovery services, that Don at Tri State Data Recovery should be enlisted for that. If you ever have the need for Data Recovery services, you should call Don at Tri State Data Recovery. He is extremely knowledgeable, and he is more than willing to teach you about how to avoid the problems that led you to his services, and to generally educate you about hard drives, and other electronic storage devices, plus its likely that he'll be able to assist in recovering data for you, although he notes that there are some times when data cannot be recovered. But he can guide you on what devices to buy (or avoid buying), and about backing-up data, so that you'll never need his services. Overall, my experience with Tri State Data Recovery could not have been better. I wish every business were this good.
Matthew Groth profile picture
Matthew Groth
4 years ago
Don did an awesome job in recovering the data from my hard drive that had failed with little warning. I feared that much of the stuff was lost forever, but thanks to Don's efforts about 99.9% of it was able to be recovered. What a relief! I would highly recommend Tri-State Data Recovery Services for anybody who finds themselves in a similar situation.
Rad D profile picture
Rad D
4 years ago
Don does the great job. Most likely the best data recovery service in the country. They won't ship your hard drive out of state or even out of the country, they do all the work on site. There are a lot of computer stores offering this service, but all they do is outsource it. Tri-State saves you money y doing everything in house. Very highly recommended.
Roger Wilson profile picture
Roger Wilson
4 years ago
Don was great! He managed to recover all my data from a hard drive that was corrupted and kept shutting down. The job was done quickly and the results were well worth the cost, saving me a TON of time and effort to reconstruct the information. He also provided guidance on backup systems and utilities to help avoid a similar incident in the future. Highly recommend!!
Elaine Leigh profile picture
Elaine Leigh
4 years ago
What a lifesaver! Don was extremely helpful, honest, and thorough in helping me recover really important data on a damaged external hard drive. He was available and communicated with me every step of the way and helped me get everything back! I am so impressed and would highly recommend this service for your most challenging data recovery needs.
Katie Pressler profile picture
Katie Pressler
4 years ago
HIGHLY Recommend Tri-State Data Recovery for any data loss. This company is the real deal - there are many companies that pose as recovery specialists but they will send your device to a 3rd party "recovery business" and will scam you for your money and not recover your data. Not the case with Tri-State! They were able to recover 98% of my data which has me speechless because I was convinced I would never see my files again. Don informs you of each step in the process making it smooth and easy. Couldn't be more grateful!
Don helped us recover a drive that went haywire and could have cost us an incredible loss to production. Thankfully, Don was able to quickly recover everything. He's fast, informative throughout the process, and gave us great information to avoid issues like this in the future. If you've experienced a loss of data, call Tri-State Data Recovery Services first!
Kyle H profile picture
Kyle H
4 years ago
what an amazing experience I had at Tri State Data. I highly recommend using them. I had my main server for my company go down and my back up failed and not only did Don get me right in because it was an emergency, but he did it fast and didn't take advantage of me on price when everyone else I called clearly was. They were fast and got 100% recovery which from what I hear isn't easy to do. They saved me months of data entry Do yourself a favor and call them you will not regret it!
Heather Teter profile picture
Heather Teter
4 years ago
Don was a life saver with being able to save my files. I had a passport external drive and it wasn't loading to my Mac or any other devices. I asked around and was directed to Don. I was super happy that he was local and I could drive to his office. I really didn't want to mail my drive somewhere. I wanted to be able to have a conversation and be able to trust the person with my files. Don is very knowledgeable, kind and I trust him. I spoke with him on the phone and then delivered my drive later that day. He was able to take a look at it and was able to save about 95% of my files. WONDERFUL! The drive had business files, personal files and photos on it. He did such a wonderful job and was quick. I was able to pickup the recovered files within the week. Thank You Don! I really appreciate it! :)

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Allentown Data Recovery FAQ

Rather than make claims about anyone else, here is how to settle it for any company that comes up. Ask for the laboratory as a street address, and ask whether that is the building your drive is opened in. Ask what state and what county it is opened in, and by whom. Ask which ISO class the clean room is and for the certificate. Ask which platforms the engineer is certified on and who issued the certification. A single laboratory answers all of it in one email, with one company and one name. An address that turns out to be an intake point, a listing hosted at a repair shop, or a page with no address at all has answered too, just less directly. Ours is a secured Montgomery County facility, about an hour from Allentown, and every drive is opened in it.

We recommend against it when a real lab is within driving distance. Shipping your only copy of failed data introduces transit loss, additional damages, delays, a broken chain of custody, or even data theft — and many “local” listings quietly ship your drive to a third party anyway. Driving about an hour to our King of Prussia headquarters means your drive never leaves our hands.

An hour each way is the honest cost of hand delivery from Allentown, and it buys three things a label cannot. Your only copy stays in your own car instead of a sorting facility, a truck and a second sorting facility, which is where drops, heat, cold and loss happen. The chain of custody is kept intact from your hand to the engineer’s. You know exactly who has access to your data, rather than questionable and faceless technician with unknown qualifications. And the price is quoted by the person who opened the drive rather than set after it arrived somewhere you have never seen. Some people still choose to ship, and we explain the proper way to do it on our shipping page, but the drive that never went through a courier system is the drive that never had to survive one. Scheduling an appointment first means you hand it over and leave; you are not waiting in a queue at the counter or paying for a rushed tier that isn’t necessary.

Three questions, and you can ask them in one email. What state and what county is the drive opened in, and by whom? Which ISO class is the clean room, and will you send me the certificate? And what is the split between your fee and the laboratory’s? A company that performs its own recoveries has no reason to withhold any of it. If the answer is a partner facility, a lab network, or somewhere nobody will name, the recovery is happening elsewhere, your drive is being exposed to shipping risks, possible data theft or a broken chain of custody, and the price you were given contains another company’s fee plus a margin you were not shown. You are also free to bring the drive to the laboratory yourself and hand the recovered data back to your provider to put in place.

Power the unit down and stop. Don’t rebuild the array, don’t initialize anything, don’t reorder the bays, and don’t let anyone slide a replacement in to see what happens. A rebuild forces every remaining member to read and write harder than it has in years, and drives bought together tend to fail together, so the second failure usually arrives during the rebuild. Label the drives in the order they came out of the bays if they are already removed. Or bring the entire server as it is. When you call, say whether the business is stopped and tell us which files or the database that you need first, because that determines what gets imaged first. Every member is repaired and imaged individually before we attempt to reconstruct the copies, so nothing is written back to the drives you still have.

The label on the drive will have holes on it revealing the screws underneath. Ask for it in writing, and then ask what was done to it and if it was opened in a certified clean room. Only an independent certificate, from an NEBB-certified or accredited testing firm, proves that the environment it was opened in was safe for exposing the platters. The question is not who took it over the counter but what town and what county it is opened in, and by whom. A single laboratory answers with one company and one name. If the answer is a partner facility, a lab network, or somewhere nobody will name, the recovery is happening elsewhere, your drive is being exposed to risks, including a lost chain of custody or possible data theft, and the price you were quoted contains that company’s fee plus a margin you were not shown. Ask for the split. A company that performs its own recoveries has no reason to withhold it.

Yes to both, and we do so regularly for corporate, medical and legal clients. Work stays in-house with a documented chain of custody, recovered data is securely erased two weeks after completion unless you arrange otherwise in writing, and no case is outsourced to a third party. If your organization requires a vendor security review, ask and we’ll provide the certifications and our data handling policy up front rather than after you’ve committed. An anonymous mail-in arrangement is a compliance problem as well as a technical one, because the chain of custody has gaps that can’t be traced and nobody can tell you which building the records were opened in or by whom. And most importantly what happens to your data after the recovery is completed.

Scheduling an appointment and hand delivering the drive is always the safest option and assures the chain of custody is kept intact, but some people still choose to ship. We’ve put together a dedicated page explaining the proper way to do it and the risks involved in exposing your drive to the shipping process. Call first and we’ll tell you how to pack it properly, free, and which service to use, whether or not you send it to us. The most common mistake is cushioning a drive without immobilizing it: wrapped loosely in a padded box it can still move, and a drop the packaging survives can move a head across a platter. Our office is at 630 Freedom Business Center Drive, Floor 3, King of Prussia, about an hour down the Northeast Extension, and there’s parking. Visit the King of Prussia mall, the Valley Forge Casino, or take a swing at Top Golf next door while you’re here!

Every case starts with a $106 diagnostic per drive, tax included, applied toward a successful recovery. You receive a phone call with a firm quote before any work begins, and there’s no charge beyond the diagnostic if the data can’t be recovered. Logical recovery starts at $400, Level 2 work at $800, and clean room work runs $1,500 to $2,500; RAID, server and forensic work is quoted per case after diagnosis. We publish these figures because you can’t compare what isn’t published, and because a published price cannot quietly contain another company’s fee. Active military, veterans, first responders, seniors, students & teachers receive a permanent 20% discount with valid ID.

🎖 Military & Veterans Discount

Tri-State Data Recovery proudly offers a permanent 20% discount on all data recovery services for active military and veterans with valid military ID. We understand your sacrifice and are honored to serve those who served us.

The Lehigh Valley’s Real Lab Is an Hour Away.

Skip the shipping label and the risk. Drive about an hour to our KoP headquarters, meet the engineer, and get a straight answer about your data.