i need data recovery, now what?

1) stop using your hard drive immediately
• external drive: unmount, eject, and turn it off immediately
• internal drive: turn the computer off immediately; do not download or install anything on to your computer!

2) make a prioritized list of your most important files and folders (if your drive is dead or dying, there may be a small time-limited window of opportunity to get your data back - this list will help brian know which files he should go after first)

3) e-mail brian to schedule an appointment; be sure to include your prioritized list along with the following information:

a - size of hard drive (2.5" notebook or 3.5" desktop)
b - format/file system (windows xp, windows nt, os x, os 9)
c - connection type (usb, firewire 400/800, scsi, ata, sata)
d - description of problem (drive started clicking then...)
e - contact information (address, number, etc)