Help Alex Cover Emergency Data Recovery Costs

Hi everyone,

Alex Kronstein here. I don’t usually turn to GoFundMe, but after a very intense and expensive month, I’m reaching out to ask for some support from my friends, community, and colleagues.

On May 5th, one of my external hard drives suddenly failed - a 2TB drive containing both personal and critical business files I couldn’t afford to lose. Over the days that followed, it became clear that this wasn’t a simple glitch: the motor had failed, three internal heads were damaged, and even professional data recovery software couldn’t get anything off it.

I brought the drive to a local expert (Georges at Hard Drive Café in Dartmouth), who worked tirelessly to salvage it. Eventually, the drive was sent to a full-service recovery lab in Ottawa, where a full physical recovery was performed.

They got the data back. Every last file. I’m deeply relieved and grateful. But it came at a cost.

The total recovery - including parts, service, diagnostics, and a replacement drive - came to $2200. I’ve paid it, but it’s left a serious dent in my finances during an already tough time.

So I’m putting this GoFundMe out there not as an emergency, but as a humble ask: if you’re able and willing to help me recover some of this unexpected expense, I would be incredibly grateful.

I know we all have a lot on our plates right now, so even just sharing this campaign is appreciated more than you know.

Thanks so much for reading - and for helping me hang on to the work, memories, and ideas that mean so much.

Thank you

Alex