Water and fire can make can spell disaster for your data storage. If your hard drive experiences damage from flood or fire, a data recovery service is necessary to recover the data. A regular computer technician will not have the skills necessary to get the data off the drive. You should turn only to a data recovery service to recover your data.
It will not be hard to find a data recovery service, the Internet can be a valuable tool. All you need to do is visit your favorite search engine and use the keyword “data recovery service†to locate a facility near you. You will find various services and prices, you just have to choose which is more suitable for you.
You may have to ship your hard drive to the data recovery service. To do this, you will want to crap the drive in a material labeled as anti-static. If you have nothing of this type, you could use a freezer bag. However, if you happen to have the original packaging from the component, you would want to use that instead. If not, use a sturdy package, which is roughly twice the size of the hard drive, and pack it well with bubble wrap or foam padding, to keep it safe from damage. Never pack the hard drive with Styrofoam peanuts these will conduct static electricity.
If your hard drive has water damage because of a flood, you will want to keep it wet until it gets to the shop. Also, because the repair technicians will have to dry the hard drive, and seal it in a clean room, make sure you put a damp sponge in the package to ensure that it will not dry while shipping.
While the technicians could recover your data, your best insurance is making backups of your data before disaster strikes.
