anyone recommend a good data recovery service

SniperDude

SniperDude

SniperDude

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a friends hard disk has packed in and he has lost a lot of data that he can't really afford to lose
he has no backups of it (silly boy)


i can't stress how important it is that he gets this data back

anyone recommend a good data recovery service ?
 
SniperDude said:
a friends hard disk has packed in and he has lost a lot of data that he can't really afford to lose
he has no backups of it (silly boy)


i can't stress how important it is that he gets this data back

anyone recommend a good data recovery service ?
Click to expand...

Active File Recovery, seems to work as long as you havent formatted the drive after you cant access it.

Unfortunatlely you can only recover small files with the free version
 
I used GetBackData for NTFS, worked well, though you'll have to go for a serious and very expensive professional if there are mechanical errors.
 
When you say service, are you looking for a company that will do it for you? as mentioned above if the drive works but is corrupted, have a crack at it yourself. If the drive is completely non functional or the data really is mission critical then you could try someone like www.disklabsdatarecovery.co.uk/ who we use at work but they aren't what you would call cheap from a consumer point of view.
 
Out of interest, how would one actually go about fixing a 'dead' drive?

Is it not simply a case of swapping the internal disc with a functional 3.5 casing + mechanics?
 
Sawell said:
Out of interest, how would one actually go about fixing a 'dead' drive?

Is it not simply a case of swapping the internal disc with a functional 3.5 casing + mechanics?
Click to expand...

Youd need a clean room, which most houses dont have. :p

Also, your friend should back up!
 
We use ActiveUndelete. As above, if the drive's not working, you either need a clean room, a replacement controller board, or a data recovery company such as OnTrack, who can easily charge £1K+ for recovery...
 
After I posted the question I decided to go on a google mission to find the answer.

By the looks if it the process is relatively straight forward, the dust myth is just that (a myth) spread by data recovery companies to keep their stupid prices and 'trade secrets'. The platter moves at speeds we're familiar with (7.2k rpm being the most common), and with that speed it pretty much throws off any dust before the HDD has a real chance to start r/w.

From looking into it the biggest problem is if you actually need to move the platters as opposed to simply replacing the board as jp said, or putting it in a freezer to unlock the bearings. The main things you need (without getting into platter removal) are the right screwdrivers, a pair of latex gloves (finger oil is a bit different to dust), a place to ground yourself and a steady hand.

Makes you wonder how much money these recovery companies get away with before getting into a situation where they actually need to do real work (i.e. removing the needles, re-aligning them with the new platter etc). And even then they probably just say the data is unreachable and throw the money back at the customer.
 
You can do anything with the right skill set no one is implying they use voodoo magic, The point from a commercial point of view is that its rarely your risk to take when recovering data. Its not up to you to take a stab at it, the data is too valuable. Yes there are probably some cowboy companies that would do that but the 2 mentioned in this thread aren't which is why they can get away with charging £500+ for data recovery.
 
You could try Ontrack who do software and recovery services.
A friend of mine has actually bought an identical drive before and changed the PCB and managed to get it working again. From experience, I have actually taken the cover off and found the arm jammed after it had been dropped.
When I moved the arm free, it started reading again. Suffice to say I quickly got the data off it! I have to admit, I had written off all chances of getting data from it before I opened it - so pretty much a last resort if you're prepared to accept its gone.
 
OK thanks for your replys

I haven't seen the drive myself yet all I know is it's Maxtor external
if I can get the drive to show in windows I will have ago of File scavenger
if not it's down to him and I guess he will learn to back up from this
 
If drive is appearing knackered and acts up to explorer (there then not there or freezing PC) get HDD out caddy and if it does not run outside caddy ) ie caddy is at fault) then FREEZE it inside a sealed Ziploc Bag ideally with Silica Gel inside it.
 
helmutcheese said:
If drive is appearing knackered and acts up to explorer (there then not there or freezing PC) get HDD out caddy and if it does not run outside caddy ) ie caddy is at fault) then FREEZE it inside a sealed Ziploc Bag ideally with Silica Gel inside it.
Click to expand...
Once frozen, what do you do then? Run a long SATA cable into your freezer? :confused:
 
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