Please forgive the rookie question. I have no knowledge about computer forensics, but I've been asked to write something (a legal memo) that touches on forensics issues. Someone I interviewed for this mentioned that, in a case he worked on, some hard drives had been corrupted and the data needed to be retrieved. He said that the tricky thing about the situation was that the platters were going to be destroyed in the process of attempting to retrieve the data – so if the first attempt was unsuccessful, that was it.
I've poked around on the web and have found nothing that discusses this issue. Has anyone here had experience with this? If so, can you guess why the process of retrieving the data would destroy the platters? Is there a name for this phenomenon?
Thanks so much in advance.
While I can't speak for your interviewee, they may be talking about a head crash.
A head crash is a specific type of hard disk failure, and occurs when the read-write head of a hard disk drive touches its rotating platter resulting in catastrophic damage to the magnetic media on the platter surface (see Hard disk platter).
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Thanks very much, fresponse_s. If a head crash had taken place, would it be possible to recover the data, and if so, would that recovery process destroy the platter (even further)?
Thanks again.
Hmm, I hate to say this but.. it all depends.
A head crash is rather.. analog for lack of a better word, it's going to happen differently in different situations. However, if the head had crashed each time the drive spins up you risk further damage.
Ah, that's very interesting. Makes sense. Thanks again.
"the platters were going to be destroyed in the process of attempting to retrieve the data – so if the first attempt was unsuccessful, that was it."
This implies, to me, that the person conducting the data recovery might destroy the platters.
Whilst head crashes can easily destroy platters (google the string seagate 7.01 flaw) this should not be something a data recovery company should be responsible for during a recovery.
I recommend the user contact a competend DR company if the implications are correct.
Duncan
Please forgive the rookie question. I have no knowledge about computer forensics, but I've been asked to write something (a legal memo) that touches on forensics issues. Someone I interviewed for this mentioned that, in a case he worked on, some hard drives had been corrupted and the data needed to be retrieved. He said that the tricky thing about the situation was that the platters were going to be destroyed in the process of attempting to retrieve the data – so if the first attempt was unsuccessful, that was it.
I've poked around on the web and have found nothing that discusses this issue. Has anyone here had experience with this? If so, can you guess why the process of retrieving the data would destroy the platters? Is there a name for this phenomenon?
Thanks so much in advance.
Now I wouldn't quote me, but….I think it was simply a slip if the tongue. I think the person meant to say there was a potential for damage to the original drive. And to answer your question about the head crash, it would depend on the drives state (amount of damage), but you could potentially gather data from the drive if you have the right equipment.