Expert Data Recovery Quick
A recent customer of R3 Data Recovery dropped of a SanDisk Cruzer USB memory stick. These are small popular devices now days as they have a funky design.
A quick inspection revealed a problem… no internal electronics! The printed circuit board was missing, presumed either still attached to a USB port of dropped out and lost forever.
We have seen this problem before and can only say if you own one of these funky devices please take precautions when handling them.
They say a goat will try to eat pretty much anything it smells, but when your pet tries to eat a memory card from a camera that’s when you call R3 data recovery for help.
When a customer had removed a SD card from their camera and placed it down on the sofa at their side the family pet dog grasped the opportunity to have a play picking the card up in its mouth… The card was quickly retrieved from the pet’s jaws but a dent from a tooth was visible in the plastic casing.
The damage to the plastic casing turned out to be more than superficial and once this packaging was removed the printed circuit board was heavily damaged and the only option to remove the single component that holds the precious data that is the Nand flash memory chip.
All flash memory devices use Nand chips to store the data and even though these have a very robust construction they can’t withstand flexing or pressure from sharp objects and unfortunately in this customer’s case the outcome wasn’t good because the nand chip had a fracture to one side.
We tried to read the Nand chip but wasn’t able to get any response from it. This is indeed a sad story but you would be surprised how many damaged flash devices R3 data recovery do recover so it’s always worth a try by giving us a call.
A recent case at R3 Data Recovery Hospital is particularly interesting because it perfectly describes why a customer shouldn’t try any recovery techniques themselves before seeking professional help.
A USB memory stick arrived with us one morning on an emergency service. It was noticed the plastic casing was removed and the printed circuit board visible rattling around in the envelope. All the pieces were carefully removed from the envelope to find the flash chip yanked free from the printed circuit board and stuck to one half of the casing with hot melt glue commonly used in these cheap Chinese devices.
The flash chip had been ripped free and its tiny delicate connections bent out of shape. The heat from soldering processes renders these connections very brittle but luckily we were able to repair it and get a recovery.
This was a lucky case with a good ending but could have been very different story if the flash chip had been more seriously damaged. Before trying anything at home, contact the professionals here at R3 Data Recovery Hospital, our team will be able to give you an on the phone assessment as to what they believe the problem is which should give you an insight into what needs to be done to recover the data from your device.
Give us a free call on 0800 999 3282 or complete the form on the right hand side of this page and let us help you with your lost data.
The lab received a USB stick that had been drilled into using a power drill so the customer could make the USB into a key chain. The power drill had drilled through the casing and actually caught the PCB and the edge of the NAND chip damaging its pins (legs).
The NAND chip is what we refer to as flash memory which is where the data is stored, possibly the worse part of a USB you could drill into!
However luckily majority of NAND chip devices have unused pins on the chip, and the customer had only damaged the unused pins! This meant the data and the integrity of the data was 100% and a full recovery was done.
Phew! I’m sure a lesson was learnt.
One of the jobs that we received recently at R3 Data Recovery Hospital was in such a terrible state the chances of recovery was almost zero to begin with. The customer had attempted to open the drive himself before the delivery to the lab had been made. Without a clean room, required knowledge and proper instruments to do so, this is always a terrible idea.
This particular job had the all evident signs of everything that could go wrong in the attempt of opening it yourself. If the customer had refrained from trying this and sent in the drive to R3 untampered with, maybe the outcome of the recovery could have been positive. Instead after the initial diagnosis from our engineers from what was left of the drive, the job was deemed unrecoverable.
Wednesday 16:49 – Client made contact
The client (a media company) contacted us for advice, his company has a Buffalo rack mounted NAS configured Raid 5 containing 4 Seagate 2 Terabyte SATA Hard Disks that had failed and contained business critical data.
The NAS had flashed up that one of the disks had failed so on the instruction of a third party support company they had replaced the disk but during the rebuild of the Raid the operation gave an error and they were not able to proceed any further, the Raid would not rebuild and they were not able to mount the device and had lost all the data stored on it.
R3 sales explained several reasons why this may have happened and were quoted a price for recovery on an emergency service (normally 12 to 48 hours after arrival at our lab).
Wednesday 17:02 – Client Accepted
The client decided to proceed and R3 arranged for the device and disks to be sent over night from London to our lab in Sheffield.
Thursday 10:45 – Received
Upon arrival all jobs are booked into our in house bespoke database to note down all serial numbers take images of all devices and to check for any abnormalities whether with the packaging r the devices. Everything is labelled with the client’s unique reference number and is informed of the arrival.
Everything was as expected so the job was sent to the engineers in the lab.
Thursday 11:07 – Diagnosis
The disks were one by one assessed by and engineer and it was determined the following had happened:
Thursday 11:20 – Cloning
The first three disks were all cloning and an internal inspection revealed severe damage to the platter surface which would at the least cause the rebuild process to be problematic.
Thursday 11:25 – Client advised
Customer services advised the client of the situation with all four disks, we were up front and advised a successful recovery may be possible with the first three disks due to the redundancy of Raid 5 but we had the options of rebuilding the fourth disks as our team has lots of experience dealing with mechanically failed disks that others would not but to keep their costs down we would only go down that route if needed.
Thursday 16:15 – Cloning complete
Just after 4 o’clock we had the first three disks cloned, Disk 1 and 3 had no unread areas, disk 2 had some corrected sectors.
Thursday 16:20 – Raid rebuild
In some Raid recoveries, for reasons we won’t go into details here there is a need for the disk order to be worked out, in cases such as these however the disk order is obvious, what isn’t so obvious though is what is known as the stripe size. The complexities of exactly how Raid work is beyond the scope of this article (we will publish more on this subject at a later date), but the disk order, stripe size, file system are some of the parameters that have to be worked out to allow the Raid to be reconstructed and so allow access to the lost data.
Thursday 16:35 – Data Transfer
During recovery the most common way of recovering raid is to rebuild them in a virtual environment.
Approximately 1.5tb of data was stored on the raid, there were several business critical files that were copied off before the whole volume of data so that it could be sent directly to the customer and all the data was copied over to a new external hard disk. Due to the volume of data and time to physically move that volume of data the most critical data was copied to another disk to be sent back directly to the customer with the original device.
Thursday 17:00 – FTP transfer complete
The most critical of the data was back in the hands of the client who were able to resume their work.
The NAS was setup new hard disks and was back up and running.
Mike – R3 Data Recovery
External hard drives are used quite frequently in this high technological era. Unfortunately, most external hard drives can get easily damaged or corrupted due to many reasons. Regular backups of your important data is the best way to protect your data against a catastrophic data loss. But total protection is not always possible since there are many situations where your external hard drive can get damaged or fail. Recovering important data from such external hard drives is a quite delicate process. Improper handling will cause you to lose all the important data for good. This could cause a disastrous situation especially if your data goes to the wrong hand. This is why, you need to consult an external data recovery service immediately.
An external hard drive recovery service should employ the best technicians who are capable of recovering data from damaged, failing or corrupted external hard disks. There are a few things to look for when hiring an external hard drive recovery service. Some of the most important things are listed below.
The effectiveness of the service is one of the most important things to consider when hiring an external hard drive recovery service. In fact, you cannot risk losing extremely crucial data due to the inefficiency of the service provider you choose. You will need to check the service’s average success rate for file recovery before hiring them. The best service providers will have high success rates in recovering data from a damaged external disk drive.
A professional service provider should be able to offer comprehensive recovery solutions that would cater to individuals as well as businesses. They should deal with a variety of data loss problems such as damaged drives, failed drives and virus infections. These services should also be able to restore data from various other media such as servers, flash media and much more.
Recovering data from a damaged external hard drive require great craftsmanship from highly trained technicians. They should follow stringent quality control methods and perform the operation in certified clean rooms. The recovered data should be treated with total confidentiality, especially financial records and other important company information. The service provider should be able to produce a confidentiality agreement before starting the operation of recovery.
If you are looking for a professional recovery service for your damaged external hard drive don’t hesitate to contact our team at Data Recovery Hospital and let us take care of your lost files no matter what caused the data loss. We are able to recover your data from the most unlikely disasters. Your files are in safe hands with us.
It’s easy enough to tell by the name that RAID data recovery has something to do with recovering lost data but if you’re like most people, you’re probably wondering what RAID means.
The term RAID means Redundant Array of Independent Disks. It’s one form of technology which combines the multiple components of a multiple disk drive into one logical unit for data redundancy and to improve the performance of the drive. RAID protects prevents the total and non-recoverable corruption of files.
RAID is configured into different levels and each level affects how data is recovered and how much of that data can be recovered. The different RAID configurations are JBOD, 1, 0, 5, nested RAID, among others. You will plenty of information online on the differences between them.
RAID data recovery is a complex process and you will need to enlist the help of data recovery services that have RAID engineers in its payroll. As it is, the configuration does affect the process of data recovery, however, experienced professionals would know how to recover data regardless of configuration.
In order for the process to begin, you need to have your disk manually checked, although there are instances where remote data recovery is possible through remote desktop.
If you need to have RAID data recovery done, the first thing you really need to do is to look for data recovery companies. As with anything else, not all services are created alike and there are companies that do a better job than others. Obviously, you will want to work with a company that has a high recovery rate and extensive experience in working on different configurations. The price should be the least of your concerns, especially when very important data has been lost.
How much it would cost to have your data recovered will really depend on several factors, including RAID configuration level, the failure scenario, the amount of data to be recovered and how badly damaged the drive is.
Engineers typically make clones of each RAID array before performing any repairs. This is very important because it increases the chances of full data recovery.
If you are looking for a professional RAID service fill out the online contact form on the right or call 0800 999 3282 for expert advice and help. Talk with the Data Recovery Hospital team, tell us what the problem is and let us find a solution for you.
If you notice any damage to your RAID system, you should limit further damage by turning off the server. By keeping the power down, you also increase your chances of making a full recovery. Do NOT attempt to rebuild damaged RAID array because it might only make things worse.
Data stored in computers, laptops, and servers can sometimes get compromised by mistake or some other unforeseen means. Luckily, there are companies that are dedicated to carrying out emergency data recovery for individuals, small businesses, or even big Fortune 500 firms. No task is too small or too big for companies that provide such services. Data recovery technicians specialize in investigation and use appropriate technology to salvage your data. Here are some of the reasons why you may need the services of professional recovery engineers.
1. Computer or laptop crash. Urgent data recovery may be performed when data is lost because of a computer virus or hardware failure that caused your PCs or laptops to crash. Do not worry about not being able to recover important employee information or research documents and files that you have been keeping in your computer. You can easily rescue your data with the help of a data recovery specialist.
2. Accidental formatting and wrong partition. Formatting your computer or laptop accidentally will not totally erase your data. Similarly, if you have assigned a wrong drive for partition and lost important data, a recovery technician can help you get them back. You may even opt to do the recovery on your own with the help of the same technician. They can allow you to access a dedicated site or software that they own and walk you through DIY data recovery.
3. Damaged repository or hardware. Another instance where you may need critical data recovery is when your hard drive gets physically damaged. Technicians may try to repair your damaged hardware and subsequently, recover and back up your lost data the way they would recover data from a working hard drive. Additionally, you do not need to worry about overwriting on existing data because they will use a separate drive to duplicate your data for security. When this happens, invest in a new or better hard drive, even if the technicians will get your old one to work again.
4. Forensic recovery. If you need to recover data from either a working or a damaged drive or hardware to assist authorities in crime investigation, look for a professional data recovery service provider that can help you rescue needed data and one that can be discreet about confidential information.
These are the top reasons why you may need to hire an emergency data recovery service. To ensure that loss of data will not happen again, always back up your data and also make sure that your important hard drives and repositories are encrypted to prevent information and identity theft as well. Always choose a reliable service provider that will protect the integrity of your data like their own. There are plenty of companies that provide such service over the internet, but always go for those that are reputable and have been in the industry for many years. Most of these trustworthy companies offer their own recovery software to help you get your data back on your own. However, it is highly recommended to try their service first before doing the recovery unaided.
Whatever the problem is, regardless of what caused it or what type of storage system is involved, Data Recovery Hospital is here for you. We are ready 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to respond and restore your vital data to you so that you can get back to business as normal. Get in contact now either by calling our support number @ 0800 999 3282 or fill in the online form on the right of this page and let us take care of your lost data.
Have you ever mistakenly deleted a file and wished there was some way to recover it. While it may seem impossible, the reality is that this is something that can be done. One thing many people do not understand is that computers are quite complex and pressing the delete button does not mean your file is 100% gone. Here are some solid tips you can use if you are ever in the unfortunate situation of attempting to recover a lost file.
It is not a good idea to wait until you have already lost your files to install a recovery tool on your computer. There are many options available, and you should take advantage of that as early as possible. The best thing about this is that some of these programs are free of charge. That means that you can have your system all set to deal with a file mishap and you will not have to come out of your pocket to pay for it.
One thing that many people do not realize is that the recycle bin does not automatically delete your files. Once you send things there to be deleted, they sit there until you manually empty the bin. Keep in mind that you should probably delete things here and there since to preserve some of the limited space. Once the files start to build up too much, some of the older ones are deleted automatically.
There are websites available that allow you to save many of your files in the cloud. Some people refuse to use these because they have concerns about security, but they are quite helpful when it comes to recovering files you may have accidentally deleted. Look for a site that has been verified as being secure. This should take away some of the apprehension you feel about using it for a backup.
These small devices can be purchased for a very small amount of money. Any time you save a file to your computer, make sure that you save a copy there as well. In the event that you lose everything on your computer, you can restore things with your thumb drive files. Since this will be used to back up your original files, you may want to keep your thumb drive in a safe place.
Sometimes people try all types of methods to recover files and nothing seems to work. Just because you cannot find them, that does not mean that all hope is lost. There are data recovery experts out there who specialize in this type of thing, so you may want to give one a call. You may have to pay a premium for this service, but it will be worth it to have everything back in order.
Whatever the problem is, regardless of what caused it or what type of storage system is involved, Data Recovery Hospital is here for you. We are ready 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to respond and restore your vital data to you so that you can get back to business as normal. Get in contact now either by calling our support number @ 0800 999 3282 or fill in the online form on the right of this page and let us take care of your data.
