The cost of backing up your files versus data recovery

We all think it’s never going to happen to us. Because it’s easier to do nothing, we convince ourselves that a devastating computer crash just isn’t something we’ll face in our lives. But chances are it is. Most likely, we’ll all someday need data recovery software and/or specialists to help us through a virus attack, failed hard drive, or corrupted disk.

Backing up data is a little bit like health insurance: it’s kind of annoying to invest in until we really need it.

So what does the cost breakdown look like when it comes to backing up files versus taking a risk and potentially needing to invest in corrective data recovery software later?
 






 
Data Backup Options
 
 
Some data backup options are free and very reliable, like the popular Dropbox or Google Drive. These will store your files in the cloud and can be set up to automatically sync. They can also be accessed on mobile phone devices, meaning that wherever you edit your files it will always have the latest copy. Dropbox offers a payment plan built for businesses, offering increased storage space and collaborative sharing.

Alternatively, there are paid online backup programs like Carbonite will back up your files automatically – all you have to do is download the software and pay your subscription. Carbonite subscriptions are as little as $59 a year for one computer.

To quickly backup all the files on your machine, you can purchase an external hard drive for $100 - $250 to store 1 – 2 terabytes of data. With an external hard drive, you can back up files as frequently or infrequently as you like. If at all possible, especially if you’re a large business, you should host your backups off site. This means that even if there is a disaster in the area of your main hard drive, your backup will still be safe. Remember, the more frequently you back up then the better off you’ll be in the long run and the more that hard drive will pay for itself.
 
     
 
Data Recovery Options
 
 
Data Recovery software for simple jobs is similar in price to backup options. You can find some software online for free, but the better software will generally cost you a little bit. R-Studio data recovery software costs about $80, it runs a comprehensive file search and attempts to recover all available data you specify. EaseUs performs similar tasks for a similar price of about $70.

If you need help from a professional, it will cost you quite a bit of money to recover your data. Assistance from Geek Squad starts at about $250, but can quickly add up to over $1,600 if you need extensive data recovery assistance.

Data recovery labs make Geek Squad look like a bargain. These labs can recover almost anything, but you’ll be starting out in the thousands of dollars range and can easily surpass $10,000 in recovery costs depending on how much work is needed.
 
     
 
Backup versus Recovery
 

So, if you’re lucky and you only need basic data recovery help, recovery software is about the same price of backup software (plus a panic attack in the recovery process). However, if you need more extensive help you may find yourself wishing you invested a couple hundred bucks in the external hard drive or checked out Dropbox or Carbonite.

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