Have you thought about starting a data recovery service business?  A majority of homes in America have a desktop computer today, but the inner workings of these machines are a great mystery to most people.  When a computer ages, eventually it dies, and people don’t have the first idea of how to fix it.  Yet they have important things stored on it that they don’t want to lose, everything from music to tax forms to pictures.  If you have even a cursory knowledge of what’s inside a desktop computer, you can easily set up a home-based data retrieval business.

Tools You’ll Need

1.  A computer with a DVD burner. If you know the names of the basic parts inside a computer, you probably already have this.  You’ll also need blank DVDs.

2.  A Phillips head screwdriver with a short handle.

3.  A hard drive enclosure. These devices can be found at any electronics store, often for less than $50.  You’ll want one that’s compatible with both IDE and SATA hard drives for PC (it’ll say that on the box).

Getting Set Up

Once you have these simple tools, you’re ready offer your data recovery service.  You’ll want to file for a business license and begin advertising your services.  This can be done through word of mouth at first, and there are free resources online to advertise yourself as well.  You could even put a sign up in your yard.  Get creative!  Professional computer shops charge anywhere from $50 to $100 dollars for the service you’re providing.  Call around to figure out a rate that you’d like to charge.

The Mechanics of it

The idea behind a hard drive enclosure is extremely simple.  In most cases, when a computer goes kaput, the hard drive is still intact with all the data on it.  All you have to do is take the hard drive out of the desktop and install it in the enclosure device.

1.  Open the side panel of the computer.

2.  Unplug the data port and the power jack from the hard drive.

3.  Remove the hard drive with a Phillips head screwdriver.

4.  Plug the hard drive into the enclosure, and voila!  You’ve created an external hard drive, and the data can now be easily retrieved.

Even if you don’t know how to identify the parts inside a computer, you can find the information on the internet, with photos, to walk you through it.  After the first time you’ve done it, it’s very easy.

3 Different Services You Can Provide

There are three different ways you could retrieve those valuable pictures and files from a hard drive, and you could set different rates for all of them.  Some are more time-consuming than others, so you’ll have to figure out what works best for you.  You may want to use all three of these ideas, or you may come up with others on your own.

The first is the most time-consuming.  After you’ve installed your client’s hard drive in the enclosure, you simply burn all the files onto blank DVDs.  Once you’re done, you provide them with the DVDs, reinstall the hard drive back in their desktop, and give all the materials back to them.  Some clients may not even want the computer back once they have the data, and they’ll offer to give it to you.  If you’re knowledgeable enough, you can scavenge these for spare parts to sell or use in repairing other computers, recycle them, or find some other use for them.

For the second method, you could have the client bring in the “dead” computer, and a second PC if they own one.  In this case, you could put the hard drive in the enclosure, and transfer the files they want to the second PC.

For the third method, you could install the hard drive on an enclosure, and sell the whole thing to them for parts and labor, plus profit.  If you shop around online, you can find hard drive enclosures for very low prices.  People are willing to pay more to have these installed, because they’re happy to have their photos and documents preserved.

Legal Issues

You’ll be dealing with personal information on people’s hard drives, so be prepared in case you encounter something illegal.  Most people who are arrested for computer crimes in America get caught because they took their PC to a repair shop.  Talk with your local police department before you take any clients on, and ask them about procedures for dealing with this.  If you see something illegal and don’t report it, you could be an accessory to a federal crime!

Another problem you might encounter is a dead hard drive.  The motor in a hard drive can stop working, and your enclosure won’t be able to retrieve the information on it.  You may have to refer the client to a specialist to deal with this.

Get Started!

Data recovery service for computers is a simple business to get set up in.  Also consider expanding your services to include laptops.  They’re a little trickier to work with, but it’s easy to train yourself to work on them using the internet, and they use a separate type of enclosure.  Once you have clients coming in, this business can also be very rewarding.  People are despondent at the thought of losing those precious family photos, a music collection, or the great American novel just because their computer stops running.  You’ll not only be making money from home – you’ll also be providing a service that makes people happy!