The “Software” Myth

Myth: My two options for data recovery are using software data recovery tools or paying thousands of dollars for “professional” data recovery.

The software data recovery myth states that there are only two kinds of data recovery techniques: software-based data recovery and expensive “Level-3” cleanroom data recovery. If this were true, $300 Data Recovery would be out of business.

We are pioneering a new kind of data recovery: hardware-software-based data recovery (with “cleanroom” recovery mixed in). But before we get into that, let us examine the two conventional methods.

Software-based data recovery

Software-based data recovery requires the hard drive to be mounted in the operating system. On a PC, that means it shows up in the BIOS or Window’s Disk Management. On a Mac, this means the hard drive appears in Disk Utility or on the Desktop. If the hard drive doesn’t show up on the computer, then software data recovery tools can’t access it and, therefore, can’t help recover any data.

Even if your drive is visible to your OS, software data recovery tools can kill your hard drive. Repeatedly encountering bad sectors and re-reading problem areas on the drive can result in increased damage to the platters and a greater number of unrecoverable sectors.

Another significant risk when running software on your PC or Mac is that your OS may attempt to “repair” your hard drive while it’s connected to the computer. This “repair” can destroy data when the hard drive has bad sectors (and most hard drives we receive have bad sectors and more serious problems). This automatic repair often happens in the background without user approval or knowledge.

Read this article by Deepspar for more details about the software data recovery myth, including the risks of connecting a bad drive to your computer (or even just leaving it powered on).

If you need your data back, don’t risk destroying it forever by using software data recovery tools!

Cleanroom data recovery

Cleanroom data recovery companies, in theory, can recover just about any bad hard drive (although some hard drives are unrecoverable by any means due to platter damage).

Most people believe that if software tools can’t recover the data or their computer can’t “see” the hard drive, the hard drive is physically broken and needs “Level-3” data recovery. Belief in this myth costs people thousands of dollars daily (and keeps expensive data recovery companies in business).

We have an ISO Class 5 cleanroom. We use it for problems that require us to open the hard drive’s cover (like stuck heads or bad heads). But most hard drives don’t need a cleanroom for a safe and successful recovery.

Our secret to affordable data recovery is our mastery of “hardware-software-based data recovery” techniques, which avoid the need for high data recovery prices and save our customers lots of money.

Hardware-software-based data recovery involves using specialized data recovery hardware and software tools to speak directly to the hard drive without needing an OS or computer “interpreter.”

Working with a hard drive on a firmware level, we can do things like disable corrupt hard drive features (e.g., SMART), disable bad or weak heads, use different methods to read (and re-read) the bad sectors off the hard drive and avoid bad sectors on the hard drive (to name a few). These features are impossible to access using software tools alone or by hooking up a hard drive directly to a PC or Mac. Read more about the tools used by $300 Data Recovery and other top data recovery companies on our Tools page.

PCB

Software Data Recovery Myth – Hard drive’s PCB and PCB repair tools.

A crucial aspect of our hardware-software-based data recovery is addressing firmware problems on the hard drive. The hard drive’s firmware is comparable to your computer’s operating system. If the operating system crashes (e.g., Windows’ “Blue Screen” or Mac’s Kernel Panic) on your computer, the computer won’t function properly. Similarly, if the hard drive’s firmware becomes corrupt, it won’t work correctly (it may become inaccessible, “click,” or spin up at all).

Using specialized data recovery hardware and software tools designed to help identify and fix firmware problems, just about all firmware issues can be fixed without needing expensive level-3 data recovery repairs. Software-based data recovery tools can’t deal with these problems because they can’t “talk” to the hard drive on a vendor-specific base-level.

Finally, our hardware-software-based data recovery techniques deal with the hardware on the hard drive itself: the PCB. The PCB is the circuit board on the bottom of the hard drive. This circuit board, just like your computer’s motherboard, is filled with small components (like resistors, RAM chips, ROM chips, fuses, and jumpers). If these small components fail, the entire hard drive may stop working. Diagnosing and fixing these little PCBs safely is something you only learn from experience and practice. At $300 Data Recovery, we have the tools and knowledge to replace and fix all damaged PCBs.

We also go beyond hardware-software-based data recovery and use our ISO Class 5 portable cleanroom for problems like weak motors, bad heads, heads stuck to platters, and other issues.

Read more about Our Process to learn the steps we take when diagnosing and recovering your hard drive.

Read this in-depth article by Deepspar on Technibble to learn more about software-hardware-based data recovery.

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