I had a 12 Disk RAID fail me randomly after returning from my lunch break. The drive would not spin up at all, I began to panic as I would lose work for my job. After calling several places in San Diego, I was recommended Advanced Data Solutions. I took the drive down to ADS and told me they would see if they could recover any data, and if they did, we could work on the recovery cost. A day later I got an update, and from there we worked out the recovery. Advanced Data Solutions was extremely forgiving considering the situation the pandemic put me in, and I was able to get all of my data back. I brought a donor drive for them to put the data on, and they let me view the recovered data to ensure I got exactly what I wanted. If I ever have a dead drive (hopefully not) I'll be sure to go to Advanced Data Solutions. read more

We went to Apple UTC with an older computer 2008 computer that was having errors with the hard drive. We were referred here by the Apple reps. We had not backed up this computer recently and there were many pictures on the hard drive that needed to be saved. They worked to figure out if the problem could be fixed and gave a free estimate. They did a great job and moved all of the critical items to the new computer. Thank you - memories saved. read more

My solid state drive stopped working and I was in need of data recovery fast. Joe was quick to get back with me and provide me with a same day drop off time at the National City Location. After dropping off the SSD, they promptly inspected the unit and determined the exact problem and were able to extract the data that I needed off the SSD. I am definitely glad that I went with this ADS. The price was very reasonable and they are very highly skilled and knowledgable at what they do! read more

This company recovered my data beyond my expectation to include data that I deleted. Very professional and friendly staff. Highly recommend!

Amazing! We had our quickbooks computer fail, and they were able to recover everything! Geek squad wasn't even able to do this! Great customer service thru the process and they explained everything clearly as to what they were doing and the damage of hard drive. So happy everything was recovered read more

I work for a large government agency. My hard drive failed and the IT folks at my office were unable to retrieve any data from the drive and probably made matters worse by tinkering with it. They recommended that I consult with Advanced Data Solutions. The process could not have been easier. ADS was quickly able to extract all my data (20 years worth of files!) and even worked with my office on pricing since we had some constraints on budget. I am so relieved to have all my files back and am grateful for their professionalism and help. Thank you! read more

Joe and ADS literally saved my life. The night before I had a huge report due for my class my computer died and I was panicked. I felt super discouraged and out of luck but after finding ADS and talking to Joe I became confident in their ability to help me get all my data back. It only took a few days and I was able to get everything back and I am so grateful!! They are the best and I would 100% recommended them to anyone who has data recovery and computer needs. read more

After dropping my external hard drive and fearing the worst, I came in to see if there was some hope in recovering all of the data on the drive. I spend all evening looking for data recovery centers within San Diego and Joe was the first person to respond, within an hour from my original request. I was communicating with Joe from the beginning and he was very responsive and transparent throughout the process. Even with the original time estimated in getting the quote were a bit delayed, within almost a week and a half they identified the problem, got the new parts they needed, and were able to recover everything! I highly recommend going to Advanced Data Solutions if you have ever dropped your external hard drives and need to recover the precious pictures and documents you have stored :) read more

I had an external hard drive suddenly become inaccessible thanks to an accidental mistake in ejecting properly. Joe and Tim were very polite and helpful in explaining the process of getting my data back and how much it would cost. Joe was very communicative and kept me in the loop every step of the way. And I was really impressed with how quickly they were able to get started on my hard drive (next day!) and already have a diagnosis less than 30 hours later. I know some commenters on here have been upset over the prices, but I thought what was most important is that Tim and Joe were very honest and upfront about their rates and what data recovery costs. As to whether or not the price is "fair," the truth is that data recovery is very costly. These are engineers doing very meticulous work and what they feel their work is worth is entirely up to them. If you don't like the price, you're always free to take your business elsewhere, but my understanding (having been recommended to them by CryWolf) was that they are some of the most reasonable in the San Diego area. My online research seemed to confirm that, too. And Joe was flexible in trying to work within my budget, too, which was something I really appreciated. In all honesty, the data I was in danger of losing is several years of private business work. To me, the data was really priceless and I would've been willing to do basically anything in my budget to get it back. At the end of the day, I was able to take my external hard drive to them on a Tuesday morning and had a diagnosis and a quote by early afternoon on Wednesday. The work was finished Thursday afternoon and we were able to backup the data to a new drive Friday morning. For as rough of a situation as this was, I was up and running by the end of the week. If I ever need their services again (and I really hope I don't), I wouldn't hesitate to go back to Joe and Tim. read more

I had been looking for a place to fix an old hard drive in order to retrieve photos and videos of a friend who had passed away. Initially I had taken my hard drive to Elite Computers but they were unable to help me retrieve the loss data I needed. They referred me to Advanced Data Solutions and I brought my hard drive in. Tim took down my information and Joe contacted me. He was completely understanding of my situation and really took into account how important the money factor was for me. I am so happy I was able to retrieve my data through Advanced Data Solutions. Highly recommend to anyone looking to recover data off a hard drive. Their customer service is amazing! I am so thankful and appreciative for the memories that have been recovered because of Advanced Data Solutions. read more

Being an IT tech, I can attest to their prowess first hand. We brought another customers dead drive in for recovery, and for sure the drive was past the point of no return, I had little faith that anything was recoverable with the loud ticking the drive was making. I was amazed when Joe and his team recovered several gigs of data. The price charged was extremely fair and by far the most competitive compared to other recovery companies we have used in the past. read more

I was doing some volunteer video work for a non-profit and our external drive with all the footage crashed. I brought it in to ADS on a Thursday and was told that I would get a call back with an estimate within 24 hours (probably Friday morning). No call on Friday. No call on Monday. I call on Tuesday and they say they still need another 24. No call on Wednesday. Finally, a week from original drop-off I get a call saying that the actuator arm is bent and needs to be replaced at a cost of $1,900 (the posted maximum that they will charge for external drive fixes). She then went on to explain that nearly all of this estimate was to buy "parts". I was then told that since we are a non-profit, we can offer to pay whatever we can and they'll "write off the rest". Weird. After some discussion, I offer $200 knowing that a new drive (complete with 100% of replacement parts needed) could be bought on Amazon and Costco for a little over a $100 and then $100 in labor. They can write off whatever other "costs" and lower their taxes. I then get an email saying that after a second look the discs are scratched and that the data is unrecoverable. Why this place is shady. 1 - They Charge $1,600 for parts to fix something that costs $120 new (parts included). This would be like spending $420,000 on a replacement part for a car that you could buy new for $30,000 (and use for spare parts). Bold faced lie. 2 - Wouldn't they see the scratches when looking at the drive the first time? Seems like it would be part of the routine (after all, it is where the data I'm paying to recover is stored). They don't call when they say the will even though they know time is of the essence (feel like they are purposely putting your back against a wall). 3 - They charge the maximum (because of parts) but are willing to write most of it off for a non-profit. This solidifies the $1,600 in parts as not being true (they're gonna go accrue hard costs with a purchase and then just write it off). This also makes me wonder about their tax returns. Bottom line - they aren't professional (no call backs when promosied), thorough (orignial diagnosis completely wrong - later found scratches) or honest (charging 14X for a part on a drive that costs $100 or so new. Avoid. read more

NEVER GO HERE!!! They charge a ridiculous amount for drive recovery, then say they can get you a deal if you write a 5 star review of the place and let them take a video of you saying you had a great experience. So all of the 5 star reviews here are bullshit. It cost me $1000 after the $600 discount I got for something that should cost $300 at most. read more

Dont usually write reviews, Ever, but I had such a great experience with ADS and my rep. Darrel. My desktop computer in the office suddenly crushed by an unknown error, and all computer related works and had been totally paralyzed. Since 90% of my job has to be processed by sing the computer, I was in panic. One of my friends recommended ADS, and I took my hard drive to their office drop off. Darrel kept me updated throughout the date recovery process. Fortunately, ADS was able to recover everything and delivered the restored files. If I need their services again, I would definitely use Advanced Data Solutions. read more

As I was backing up my data, my internal hard drive failed. I took it to several people but none of them could retrieve my data. Advance Data was able to retrieve my data and do it in a day. They are not as expensive as others, but they have an excellent guarantee and in my opinion, the prices are very fair. I told them today, I hope I never need your services again, but it's nice to know they are there if I should ever need them. read more

This is the place to go if you your hard drive suddenly gives up on you. Joe was great. He was thorough in answering my questions. He took his time explaining everything, from how a drive works, possible causes as to why they fail, to how the data is recovered. Once they have analyzed my drive, they explained what was needed to be done to recover my files. The following day, my data was ready to be reviewed. I am really glad I went to ADS. 100% of my data was recovered. They even suggested possible solutions to back-up my data. read more

This place is awesome. They were able to get my data when others couldn't. Went above and beyond to make sure I got my data back. Excellent, friendly, honest service. read more

Wow! These guys are brain surgeons when it comes to damaged computers guts. My Bussiness lap top took a dump,l. I went to the local computer repair specialist and they were not able to get it working or get my data and pictures out. They referred me to ADS and in less then 24 hours I had all my pictures and data on my hand and I'm walking out with a huge smile and ready to get back to my Bussiness. Defensively trust and that they can fix anything. Good job guys! read more

A client of my workplace suffered a hardware failure on both of their RAID 1 solid state hybrid harddrives over the weekend due to power outtages. Both harddrives were beeping, and the PC will not boot up in degraded mode, even with just 1 harddrive. The data on the drives were in-accessible. ADS did an excellent job recovering the harddrives. They were forward and transparent with the data recovery process which was recovered in house and with a 1.5 day turn around time, upgrading to SSDs and back up and running normally. These guys are good, and fast. read more

When my external hard drive crashed after I dropped it, I realized I hadn't backed up my files in 6 months. I called Advanced Data Solutions hoping for the best and preparing for the worst. They were immediately available to answer all of my questions and explain the entire process to me. ADS was up front with me on pricing and explained that there wouldn't be any charges until I was able to look at the data they were able to save (All of it!) and give my approval to proceed with the data extraction. They even saved my files for 2 weeks after I left to ensure I have enough time to back up my new hard drive. Thanks again for saving the day ADS! read more

Our company server was hacked with Ransomware, encrypting all of our vital accounting and customer files. Instead of paying a large ransom with no guarantee of getting back our files we reached out to ADS for help retrieving our data. Joe was very accessible, helpful and honest in answering my questions. Tim, the Date Recovery Specialist worked very diligently and always gave me an update on the status of our server. Kudos to Tim! He came through by retrieving all of data in what seemed an impossible task. Thanks to him we were able to bring our company data back up to our server and start up again. I felt that the price was extremely fair especially for the time and excellent work that was done. You cannot put a price on your company data which is so important to run your business. I highly recommend ! read more

The guys at advanced data solutions are wise, compassionate, and will never give up. I have nothing but amazing things to say about the whole team, Darryl and Joe are incredible human beings. read more

Awesome work!!! There is nothing worse than trying to retrieve information from your external hard drive and the computer doesn't recognize it. I took my hard drive into a computer repair shop and they said the damage was beyond what they could repair. They referred me to Advanced Data Solutions. I took my hard drive in and they discovered that it was fried. See the pictures. Joe was extremely knowledgeable and helpful. He was very thorough in his explanation of the process and the realities of data recovery. With hope and a couple of prayers along with their skilled employees in the lab they were able to successfully recover more than 99% of my data. It nearly brought me to tears of joy. I made the mistake of never making a backup of the data on my external hard drive which contained approximately 35,000 pictures from over the last 20 years as well as about a thousand important documents and certificates. The team at Advanced Data Solutions was professional and I highly recommend their company for any of your data recovery needs. Two thumbs up. read more

I had the unfortunate event of having both my laptop and its backup external hard drive go out on me within a short time span. As a result, I thought I had lost a lot of important family photos and videos, work files, etc. I came across Advanced Data Solutions and Joe helped me out with my case. After his crew ran some diagnostics on the hard drive I brought to them, Joe explained to me what was going on and laid out all of my options. In the end, his crew was able to retrieve all of those valued family memories and important work-related files, and my wife and I couldn't be happier about the result. What I appreciate the most about Joe is his eagerness to make his customers happy and how accommodating he was to my financial situation. If he's able to make something work, he will. I highly recommend these guys. read more

I never knew USBs could break or malfunction. My USB did just that. It contained important documents and most importantly precious lifetime pictures and memories. From the minute I called, Joe was helpful, reassuring and most important, patient. I can't thank him and the ADS crew for being so good at what they do. In a couple of days, they fixed my USB, explained the situation and recovered some pictures I thought I had lost forever. Thank you Joe and team! I can't thank you enough. ADS will probably be the only number I call when I have any computer issues. Thank you! read more

I highly recommend Advanced Data Solutions to anyone that needs to recover their computer data because this is what they specialize in and the staff that I met were helpful, very kind, professional, and knowledgeable and I appreciate everything that they did for me. I had the blue screen of death, my computer died with all of my personal information and of course it was not backed up. Luckily, I write items of interest down in a book next to my chair when I see them on TV. So when my computer died I looked through my book and found the information from a channel 8 news story from November 2006 about Advanced Data Solutions recovering data from damaged systems. Nearly 8 years later I too needed their expertise and the employee mentioned in the news story, Tim, still works there today. I called and spoke to Darrell, he told me to bring my computer down. When I took it into the shop, Darrell took the time to come out to the front desk and introduce himself to me, I thought that was nice. My computer was looked at within a day and they sent me an email informing me of the damage and the price to recover the damage. Unfortunately, it was over my budget but, Advanced Data Solutions was able to work something out for me and my data was recovered. Thank you to Advanced Data Solutions and their staff that I met, Darrell, Tim, and to the person that wrote up my order (I'm sorry but, I did not get your name but you are not forgotten) I will recommend your company to my friends and family. read more

Advanced Data Solutions did a great job of recovering all the data from an iPhone that was dropped in a pool. I was mostly concerned with photos and videos, but they were able to recover everything. After calling around I found them the most affordable and am very happy with the result. The guys who helped me where very professional and kind. read more

I brought my computer with the assumption that I was getting a free estimate based off cry wolf's recommendation. The company performed their analysis and provided an estimate of 700.00 to extract data. I told them that is outrageous and I wanted to pick my laptop up so they decided to give me a deal of 350.00 which I assumed that was a good deal, boy was I wrong. First off I had to wait a week for and a half for a call back to pick up my laptop and data, they then told me I had to provide a hard drive to upload the data. I was a little upset about that but did not worry about it. So I paid and brought a hard drive so they can upload my data as well as picked up my laptop. after having to deal with such unprofessional personnel as well as an unorganized process for checking out it made me unwilling to bring repeat customers as I deal with computers on a daily basis. But what really took the cake is when I plugged my laptop to power it I noticed my hard drive as missing., that raised a big red flag so I called them immediate to let them know I did not authorized the removal of my hard drive because that can possibly break the hard drive . I had to take the time to pick up my hard drive and dropped my laptop off to install my hard drive. So after the having to pick up my laptop I plug it in and noticed they installed a different hard drive then my original. I DO NOT RECOMMEND THIS COMPANY ATO ANYONE, GO TO A DIFFERENT DATA RECOVERY COMPANY OTHER OTHER THAN ADVANCE DATA SOLUTION, LLC!!!!!! read more

I am so grateful that I came upon Advanced Data Solutions. Initially, I went to a big, popular electronics store to see if they could help me recover a large number of videos from a damaged laptop. These videos are irreplaceable baby videos of my first child. First thing they asked me was if I had an appointment. The guy really didn't seem interested in my business. His lunch break must have been coming up soon. Instead I called Advanced Data Solutions and felt an immediate good vibe just from speaking to them on the phone. They were very courteous. When I brought my laptop in, I was given a thorough explanation of all the details of the service I would receive. I could tell that they appreciated my business. They did an excellent job and did everything they promised. It was such a relief when they took me in the back of their office and had me review the baby videos they retrieved. It cannot be stressed how important great customer service is. I highly recommend them. read more

They did an excellent job recovering my data when nobody else was successful. Yes, they are a small company with a large workload, so it did take a while. But that was more because of how "on the fritz" my HD was, and how long it took to extract the data. They are friendly, and dedicated to saving data. If you are impatient and don't understand how long this type of work can take, then you may be frustrated. But it is not up to them, it is a careful balance of extracting the data without killing the HD. That is an art and a skill, and these guys are pros. I am extremely grateful to have been able to retrieve almost all of my data when I thought it was all gone! read more

These guys are awesome. They were able to extract data from a completely dead external hard drive. I took it to another place first and they weren't able to do it. If you need data recovered you can count on ADS to get the job done. read more

Helped me recover all of my data from my computer in a quick and efficient matter. My husband purchased me an external hard drive for Christmas (did I ever use it...NO) so karma came back around to bit me. So thankful that these guys were able to save all of my precious memories and important documents! You definitely get your money's worth with these tech geniuses. Thank you for getting everything back for me! read more

I had a drive that quit working and I had them do some work for me a few years back. We dickered about the price and finally agreed to get the work done. When I got the replacement drive home and was looking at the files, I discovered old videos and pictures that would have been lost had ADS not pulled their magic off. THANK YOU FOR THE MEMORIES. read more

My first stop was over at Crywolf, but they referred me here due to being in a time crunch. ADS took me in right away and got started with their free evaluation on my hard drive. After the evaluation, they discovered that my hard drive was toast and that I was not able to use it anymore. I had projects to complete in such a short time, but their estimated date of completion was very prompt. Joe thoroughly explained what had happened to my hard drive, and recommended for me to get another one. Joe also had one of the engineers (who had worked on my computer) give me a call to recommended me the best hard drive for my macbook. Joe explicitly said that there's always a chance that not all data is recoverable, but he felt very confident that his team could retrieve it. After a couple days, they were able to recover ALL my data and transfer it to a new hard drive! During those couple days, Joe kept me updated on every step. I highly recommend and 100% trust the company with data recovery. Thank you ADS! read more

Advanced Data Solutions did a terrific job fixing my USB drive. They were extremely detailed in how they would fix the problem and regularly called to update me on the process. Their work was professional, expedient, and at a low very low cost. I highly recommend Advanced Data Solutions. Where the big box stores could not fix my USB flash drive, Advanced Data Solutions took care of the problem. read more

These guys did a great job, reclaiming stuff from 20 years of legacy hardware -- it was a lot of work and they were able to accommodate my budget, so couldn't be happier. Thanks to your whole crew. read more

I took my laptop to another yelp five star shop for assistance with a crashed hard drive. They have done a good job for me in the past, but this job was past their skills. So I am not sure what comes after five stars, but what ever it is Advanced Data Solutions are it (six stars!). They took the drive in on a saturday afternoon and had an answer by monday. They were able to quickly and efficiently retrieve all my important family photos and work documents and did so at a very fair price. These are the guys you want to go to! read more