Modern professional data recovery succeeds in a high proportion of cases — but the rate varies enormously by situation. A recently-deleted file on a healthy drive is near-certain; a severely physically-damaged drive or one hit by strong encryption with no key may be impossible. The two biggest levers you control: stop using the device immediately, and get it to a proper lab before anyone makes it worse.
The honest answer to "what are my chances?"
Any lab quoting a single headline "98% success rate" for everything is oversimplifying. Real success depends on the failure type, the severity, what happened after the loss, and the media. What an honest lab can tell you is the likely outcome for your specific case — which is exactly what a free diagnosis is for. Below are realistic, illustrative ranges to set expectations.
The ranges below are illustrative — they show how the odds shift from one scenario to another. They are not a guarantee, and they are not a quote. The only figure that means anything for your drive is the one we give you after the free diagnosis, when we have seen the actual failure.
Typical odds by scenario (illustrative)
What raises & lowers your odds
✅ Improves the odds
- Stopping use immediately after the loss
- Getting it to a proper lab early, before DIY attempts
- A logical rather than physical failure
- Undamaged platters / intact NAND
- Availability of donor parts for the exact model
- The data not yet overwritten
🛑 Lowers the odds
- Continuing to use the drive (overwriting)
- Repeated power cycling of a failing drive
- Failed DIY attempts on a physical fault
- Severe physical damage (scored platters, fire)
- TRIM on SSDs after deletion
- Strong encryption with no key or backup
Why no honest lab promises 100%
Some outcomes are simply impossible, no matter how good the lab: data that's been overwritten is gone, securely-wiped or TRIM-erased data can't be resurrected, and strongly-encrypted data without the key stays locked. A guarantee of 100% recovery isn't confidence — it's a red flag. What a good lab guarantees instead is honesty about your odds and a fixed, written quote, so you always know the price up front.
It's physically impossible in some cases. Trust a lab that tells you the real odds — see how to choose a lab.
How to give yourself the best chance
The earlier and more carefully you act, the more the odds move in your favour. A free diagnosis costs nothing and gives you a real, case-specific answer instead of a guess.