Data Recovery Advice for 512GB PCIe-based SSD on 2017 mid-year MacBook Air

[Ms.Tessie]

I have a 2017 mid-year MacBook Air with a damaged 512GB PCIe-based SSD. The MacBook Air slid off my lap horizontally, traveling sideways three feet into a sliding glass door. The Mac repair shop I use says the failure is a hardware issue, and recommends DriveSavers for data recovery, who gives a range from $700 to $3900.

Questions:
1) As a newbie to all this, my initial reaction is that there can only be a limited number of data recovery options they can pursue and they know the size/type of the hard drive, so why would be there be such a broad range in the quote?
2) What would I get back from DriveSavers if successful? Will the individual files have the actual names? Will there be a structure to the files like my hard drive structure, with a Documents folder or an iMovie folder with videos, for example? I purchased a 1 TB Samsung portable SSD to send with the damaged hard drive that they can use for file transfer.
3) DriverSavers mentioned a 10% discount if I share the name of the computer person referring me, but do they also give a kickback directly to the computer person?
4) Are there competent alternatives to DriveSavers that people have worked with that might be less expensive?

Background Info
My elderly father was calling for assistance, and I was rushing to respond. My 2017 mid-year MacBook Air with 512GB PCIe-based SSD slid off my lap horizontally, traveling about three feet sideways into a sliding glass door. Initially rebooting the laptop gave mixed results: Sometimes the SSD would boot up; other times I'd get a blinking floppy disk icon with a question mark in it and a link to Apple support. A lot of heat could build up when I would reboot the machine and it stayed in the blinking floppy disk state.

Phoning Apple and running disk utility with them on the line would not show the SSD. At the Genius Bar, the staff managed to get the SSD in Target mode, but then they couldn't connect it to a laptop that could see the SSD. Very frustrating. I tried re-seating the SSD myself in case the jolt loosened some connection, which Apple also said they did, but still I only got the blinking floppy disk icon with question mark. They suggested going to Micro Center; I went to my Mac repair shop.

My Mac repair guy removed the hard disk and put it in an external enclosure and ran tests without any luck and also consulted with a colleague who had other tricks, but no go. I'm being told the only way to save the data is to go to a place like DriveSavers, and that the problem is with the hardware.

I've lost two years of important data, all my own fault I realize, though I'm not rushing this recovery decision. I stopped backing up two weeks before my Mom passed, and then I became primary caregiver for my out-of-state Dad so I'm always at his home. I've had to accept that I'm too scattered from caregiving to stick to a back-up routine so I guess my punishment is to enroll in an online cloud backup service.

Thanks for any wisdom or suggestions you can throw my way. Maybe I will finally learn my lesson!

 

[benwiggy]

I've lost two years of important data, all my own fault I realize, though I'm not rushing this recovery decision. I stopped backing up two weeks before my Mom passed, and then I became primary caregiver for my out-of-state Dad so I'm always at his home. I've had to accept that I'm too scattered from caregiving to stick to a back-up routine so I guess my punishment is to enroll in an online cloud backup service.

I'm sorry for all your troubles. While SSDs are more reliable than HDDs in general, when they go wrong, they usually do so more catastrophically, and it's a lot more difficult to recover data. Prices do tend to be high.

Really, you'll have to ask DriveSavers for answers to 1, 2 and 3. Providing your country/city might help with recommendations of other suppliers.

If the catalog/index can't be recovered, then you'll get a bunch of files without hierarchy or even file extension.

Apple used to make it very easy to backup laptops wirelessly with their Time Capsule hardware. Nowadays, you need a third-party "NAS", which tend to be more complex, or possibly just a USB drive plugged into your WiFi router/modem. Cloud backups are no substitute for a local copy, IMO. Data is faster, and you're not reliant on an internet connection or someone else, who may have an outage just when you need it.

 

[Fishrrman]

Tessie, you have now learned what the concept of "backing up" is all about.

Are you REALLY REALLY prepared to spend perhaps 2,000 or more?
Even if you don't get all of it back?

Go forth from this day and learn... sadder, but wiser.

(sorry for the post, but someone has to say it)

What I would try first:
Take the drive OUT OF the MBP
See if you can find an enclosure for it (try other world computing, these are "proprietary" drives and the pinouts are different from other drives).
Put it in the enclosure, see if the drive will mount on your NEW MacBook (which you'll soon be buying).
If it does, get whatever you can from it.
If it doesn't, well... time to start over. See advice above.
(guess how I learned it...?)

 

[MacCheetah3]

Phoning Apple and running disk utility with them on the line would not show the SSD. At the Genius Bar, the staff managed to get the SSD in Target mode, but then they couldn't connect it to a laptop that could see the SSD. Very frustrating. I tried re-seating the SSD myself in case the jolt loosened some connection, which Apple also said they did, but still I only got the blinking floppy disk icon with question mark. They suggested going to Micro Center; I went to my Mac repair shop.

My Mac repair guy removed the hard disk and put it in an external enclosure and ran tests without any luck and also consulted with a colleague who had other tricks, but no go. I'm being told the only way to save the data is to go to a place like DriveSavers, and that the problem is with the hardware.

Tessie, you have now learned what the concept of "backing up" is all about.

Are you REALLY REALLY prepared to spend perhaps 2,000 or more?
Even if you don't get all of it back?

Go forth from this day and learn... sadder, but wiser.

(sorry for the post, but someone has to say it)

What I would try first:
Take the drive OUT OF the MBP
See if you can find an enclosure for it (try other world computing, these are "proprietary" drives and the pinouts are different from other drives).
Put it in the enclosure, see if the drive will mount on your NEW MacBook (which you'll soon be buying).
If it does, get whatever you can from it.
If it doesn't, well... time to start over. See advice above.
(guess how I learned it...?)

STOP! If the data truly matters, discontinue usage of the drive and your own attempts. You’re most likely making it more difficult and potentially impossible for a data recovery expert to succeed.

1) As a newbie to all this, my initial reaction is that there can only be a limited number of data recovery options they can pursue and they know the size/type of the hard drive, so why would be there be such a broad range in the quote?

HDDs have plenty of their own hurdles, including the possibility of no chance of recovery. However, SSDs are a new realm of complexity in comparison, both in hardware and data handling.

Flash Storage Data Recovery: How to Recover Flash Memory

Gillware offers expert Flash Storage Recovery Services. Our data specialists can recover files from USB thumb drives, phones, SD cards, and SSDs.

www.gillware.com

4) Are there competent alternatives to DriveSavers that people have worked with that might be less expensive?

I’ve had service done by Gillware a couple of decades ago — as such, it was a HDD, not SSD. I was the intermediary for a client when I owned a PC repair business.

2) What would I get back from DriveSavers if successful? Will the individual files have the actual names? Will there be a structure to the files like my hard drive structure, with a Documents folder or an iMovie folder with videos, for example?

Any combination of generic files with random numbers and letters as names without extension, intact folders, etc. It’s going to depend upon the condition of the drive and the data itself.

I've lost two years of important data, all my own fault I realize, though I'm not rushing this recovery decision. I stopped backing up two weeks before my Mom passed, and then I became primary caregiver for my out-of-state Dad so I'm always at his home. I've had to accept that I'm too scattered from caregiving to stick to a back-up routine so I guess my punishment is to enroll in an online cloud backup service.

Thanks for any wisdom or suggestions you can throw my way. Maybe I will finally learn my lesson!

It’s always easier said than done but let automation work for you. More specifically, for example, setup a Time Machine drive (or third-party software solution), then get into a habit of connecting the drive to the MacBook before meals (or before bed, whatever). The prep, consumption, and clean up should provide plenty of time for a backup to complete — well, maybe not the initial though subsequent, appended backups should finish in plenty of time. That way, while you’re occupied, your Mac is also being productive and helping you out.

Back up your Mac with Time Machine - Apple Support

If you have a USB drive or other external storage device, you can use Time Machine to automatically back up your files, including apps, music, photos, email, and documents.

support.apple.com

A cloud-based service can be something of a secondary backup.