SpinRite isn't especially inexpensive: For new users, the product is $89. Owners of earlier versions are charged between $29 and $69, depending on their version.

Nevertheless, the $89 I paid for SpinRite v6.0 proved some of my best-spent money. Of course, there are those who don't purchase SpinRite for preventative maintenance, but rather wait until after the "horse is out of the barn." Why? Who knows? SpinRite has already saved my bacon at least once -- by fixing a back-up hard drive.

I wonder how many users do not take efforts to maintain their computers' sensitive files, instead leaving their documents' fate to the whims of their whirring hard drives. SpinRite will check your systems' hard drive(s) as well as recover data therein -- regardless of the operating system flavor used. To me, it's a sound investment.

Product quality is also worth considering while you're weighing shelling out for SpinRight. SpinRite author Steve Gibson has long been especially dedicated to product development. With Version 6.0, he spent months subjecting the program to intensive real-world testing while incorporating suggestions from beta testers into new builds. That effort shows in the finished product: SpinRite does its job solidly, in spite of having to support a staggering array of possible hard drive configurations and system idiosyncrasies -- ranging from "off-the-shelf" desktops and laptops to custom-built systems of all vintages.

While some users might feel challenged by the mouse-free, DOS-only interface, or the intentional lack of a product demo, product service is superlative (available from the news.grc.com newsgroup and e-mail) and Gibson offers a 30-day, money-back guarantee with no questions asked. New users should never be forced to endure the nail-biting too common in trying new products, and Gibson apparently desires the same thing.