Staples Inc. announced on Tuesday that it is partnering with Seagate Technology LLC to provide in-store data recovery services and information retrieval expertise.

As part of the agreement, 1,400 Staples office supply retail stores in the U.S. will offer free walk-in evaluations to determine whether lost data can be retrieved from various types of storage media, including desktop and laptop hard drives, external drives, flash cards, memory sticks, tape and optical devices. If recovery is possible, the company will charge various sums for the service.

Disaster Recovery and Security

The company said that Seagate experts trained its in-store EasyTech services staff in data forensic and diagnostic training techniques and on how to use the Seagate File Recovery software.

Services personnel will first try to recover data using equipment in the stores. If more resources and expertise are needed, the device will be shipped overnight to a Seagate lab in Santa Clara, Calif., or Chicago, said Jay Remley, president of Seagate's services group. Remley said that the company that lost data from smaller storage devices will typically be retrieved within three to five days, and for large devices within a week.

Staples will return lost data from high capacity devices to customers on a Seagate USB device, which Remley said is simpler to use than CDs. Lost data from smaller devices will be stored on a 6GB Seagate pocket drive.