Hard drive crash at 3AM lost 4 years of photos

My external hard drive failed last Sunday night. No warning, just clicking sounds then nothing. I had around 30,000 photos from 2020 to 2024 on there, plus random documents. People always say back up your stuff, but I figured it was fine. Now I'm paying $400 to a data recovery place in Austin to see if they can pull anything off. They said there's a 60% chance of getting most of it back. Has anyone else had luck with those DIY recovery programs or is it better to just pay the pros?

2 comments

2 Comments

jason_robinson8d ago

400 bucks is cheaper than 30,000 photos and my dignity, lol.

noah_barnes8d ago

Used to roll my eyes at that stuff but @jason_robinson you make a solid point.