If you are dealing with a problem requiring rescue of files from a computer with a crashed operating system, you should positively not engage the services of a data recovery company using an on-site laboratory. These service laboratories were at one time the only practical way to recover lost or damaged files from a crashed hard drive. But, today there are simple software applications that can do all of the same functions that the hands on laboratories charge thousands of dollars for at one twentieth of the price. All you need is a program to recover data that either scans a functional hard drive or other digital storage device or has the ability to start a crashed computer directly from RAM and from that point copy existing and deleted files.