The Real Story Behind Hard Drive Data Recovery

A lot of people think that tech experts have a magic wand they wave to achieve complete hard drive data recovery effortlessly. Because most people don’t understand how hard drives work, they are usually unaware of the tedious and often time-consuming work involved in getting a complete hard drive fix.

When customers call with hard drive problems, they often assume there’s some kind of magic software program or machine that can recover every hard drive with the push of a button. This couldn’t be further from the truth.

Hard Drive Data Recovery – A Costly Endeavor

After your hard drive has failed mechanically, especially with a growing number of fly-by-night data recovery specialists and computer repair shops offering these services, your best and safest bet is to take it to a company that specializes solely in data recovery. Not computer repair, virus removal, web design, or web hosting—strictly data recovery and nothing else. When data is lost, it’s best not to panic and to have a clear vision of what you need. Search engines can help you find specialists in your town by typing in “data recovery.” For example, Ottawa, ON has more than one professional firm that performs such services. The next step would be choosing the right place, so speak with the customer service reps or technicians and generally shop around.

Data recovery can end up being very expensive in certain cases, but jumping to the conclusion that the cheapest option is best is not a wise choice. The term “you get what you pay for” often applies to service providers. If you hear quotes around $300 for recovery on a clicking or non-spinning hard drive, it’s a red flag. The amount of work that goes into recovering these types of failures simply cannot be justified as a $300 job. Once you have picked the company you think is most reliable and delivered your drive to them for repair, there are many behind-the-scenes steps that most people are not aware of.

It’s Not Just a Button Press

Recovering data from a hard drive is not just a matter of hitting a button. It takes a lot of work, skill, knowledge, and specialized equipment to be good at it.

A Custom Manual Hard Drive Fix

There are usually three main steps involved in getting a custom manual hard drive fix. Each of these steps can take from hours to days depending on the severity of the drive’s failure.

Drive Restoration

Most data recovery processes start with hard drive restoration. Hard drives become inaccessible due to several reasons, such as failures in firmware, electronics, or mechanical components. With mechanical issues, the original damaged parts are replaced with new “donor” parts from a working hard drive. Many of these components are very small and require special coordination, skill, and experience to do correctly. Firmware issues are addressed via firmware manipulation tools such as PC-3000. Electrical issues require either repair of the printed circuit board (PCB) or replacement of the failed PCB with a functional compatible board, but replacement of the board requires adaptive data adaptation. The only way to gain access to user data is by making the drive work on its own again and getting it to a point where it can register.

Disk Imaging

Disk imaging is a vital step of the recovery process that some data recovery companies seem to neglect. Even after the hard drive is repaired, it is not wise to immediately use third-party software to start scanning and copying files. Repaired hard drives tend to be unstable, and forcing them to retrieve data from potential bad sectors may result in another hard drive crash or even permanent data loss. Industry-leading imaging devices such as Acelab’s Data Extractor and Deepspar’s DDI allow recovery technicians to have full algorithmic control of the imaging/cloning procedure. The ability to control aspects like direction of reading, intensity of reading, error handling, and individual head activation and deactivation will deliver the most amount of salvageable data if operated correctly.

Data Extraction

Once the target drive has the maximum amount of sectors or required data sections pulled from the original drive, only then can the files be saved.

The Real Work Behind Data Recovery

While the above steps may seem simple in writing, the actual implementation of these steps can take a lot of time, energy, skill, patience, and equipment. Many of the tools required to perform just these three steps are expensive to purchase and maintain. There are constant updates and changes in technology every single day. Not only is one required to manage current methods of various hard drive fix techniques, but technicians must also adapt and keep up with daily changes in the repair industry.

Conclusion

Hard drive data recovery is a complex, costly, and labor-intensive process that requires specialized knowledge, skills, and equipment. It’s not a simple task that can be solved with the push of a button. Understanding the steps involved in data recovery can help you appreciate the work that goes into retrieving lost data and why it is crucial to choose experienced and reputable data recovery specialists when faced with hard drive failure.