Hi - I'm delving into HD recovery and wondered if anyone knows what techniques the pros use. An ex-empoyee of a DR firm would be ideal. Currently, I'm doing the ol' "buy the equivalent HD and swap out the platters" trick. Yes, I know about the cleanroom environment. I worked in a cleanroom when I was in grad school.
What do the "big" DR houses do(OnTrack, DriveSavers, etc.)? Do they have a "platter reader" that scans each platter from beginning to end feeding the data into buffers that dump the data to an external device? Do they reformat using a low-level formatting device so the zero sector and last sector are recognized?
I'm having some professors at a local engineering school look into it - but I'd like to have some ideas before they get started on the prototype.
Please provide references if you make an assertion in your response.
Sincerely,
A
Might be worth dropping Scott Moulton a PM…(or he may reply here if he's checking the forum).
Jamie
Scott Moulton's presentation really doesn't tell you a whole lot.
What was once a pretty big secret is not really one anymore. This is partially due to the main maker of DR instruments forming a new corporation and then "trying" to gear it towards CF people claiming that the images we make are not true bit for bit images because of changes in the P and G list.
Honestly, DR requires as much of an investment as CF requires. Most all bigger companies have proprietary software and also have something like the PC3K. The older ISA version of the PC3K is pretty hard to use and turns off a lot of people (at times myself included) but the newer windows based one is a lot more user friendly.
You would do with just purchasing their Data Extractor software as it is where you will probably do most of your work on.
There are forums, freeware, etc. I can share if needed.
What you will need is a PC3K to start with, then a full understanding of Russian, Russian logic, (read and write often get mixed up), 'C', ATA command set, SMART, and of course access to thousands of spare parts, a clean facility and experience in how to do it.
There is no magic platter reader, as each platter is manufactured differently, (different versions of different models are not unusual), then of course you have different firmware versions!
If you do buy the equivilent hard drive, make sure that the model numbers are exact, and also the revision of the firmware. If its a Hitachi, make sure that the MLC code is the same too.
Over and above this, there are lots of software solutions available, some more useful than others; but you have to get the drive spinning up first.
I hope you found some of the above useful?
Simon
"Platters Reading Tools"
It is a pure myth, made up for sales purposes, as the CIA had a live page asking for such a tool if it exists, shortly after 11-9, the page was live for 3 years and no one replied back!!!!
I have heard it from representative of a prominent company claiming they have such machine, I have always enjoyed hearing their stutter, further to telling them about the live advert.
There is no Rocket technology in data recovery, it is basic technology, yet one has to read alot about the subject. I beg to differ about learning "Russian Logic" as no one uses PC3k within the UK who speaks Russian, there are English versions, So why learning Russian & "Russian Logic"?????????????????????????????
Please be fair and give this chap a fair opportunity to learn the trade, neither you nor myself speak Russian, and we both use PC3k, nor have we read or even heard of the great Russian Logician Yuri Matiyasevich. As a matter of fact I doubt if any data recovery "expert" has read or heard of the basic book of logic "The Republic".
What is paramount is to accumelate as many spare drives.
I gave him more than a fair shake, and gave the names of the items that most people try to keep secret.
I help out whenever I can..