What have we been up to recently?

Here are some of our more challenging jobs that we have received together
with details of how we have overcome any data recovery complications!

Converting Lotus Notes Files

Posted on 2nd March 2013 by Chantal Stone
Our client wishes to move my data stored on an ibm approach file to a microsoft data base. Our solution is to convert the Lotus Approach files to Microsoft Access, which will serve well for the future. However they are very different in concept and structure and the user interface is not compatible. We are exporting the data from Lotus Approach, but there are no utilities to allow us to import it into Access. Therefore we are writing specific scripts for this. Once the data is in Access we will need to restructure it into a set of properly normalized relational tables and build the Forms and Reports.

Damaged Encryption Key

Posted on 22nd February 2013 by Aran Pitter
Unfortunately we have been unable to recover any data from a recent damaged encryption key. Upon powering the disk the disk comes ready, but had the write protection on it. We then used a Mariner board A0rt and underwent a rom swap and then we could access the disk on data extractor. We then looked at the LBA where the KEY is stored and the key is actually damaged. This is required to access the disk and if this is damaged this is not possible. Unfortunately, there is nothing that can be done about this problem. Therefore, this is not recoverable.

Linux RAID Recovery Limitations

Posted on 21st February 2013 by Aran Pitter
A RAID with two 320 GB SATA drives just in. There are limitations on recovering deleted Linux and Unix files. Unlike in Windows deleted files do not retain their names or extensions so it can be difficult to find the necessary deleted files that you want back. However, it is possible to recover deleted UNIX files but rather difficult and not always successful. Similarly there are no comprehensive undelete utilities. We are going to have to reconstruct the RAID and then attempt to find the deleted files by file size and date of deletion. As I said before, it is important to recover the files as soon as possible, because once the space that the file had occupied is overwritten it cannot be recovered.

Mobile Phone Forensic Examination

Posted on 11th February 2013 by Shaun Weston
Our client is looking for a forensic examination of their mobile phone in support of a civil claim. The mobile phone appears healthy, so we should be able to interrogate both the SIM Card and internal memory for deleted data. Initially we will take a forensic clone of both media, before calculating the data parameters and recovering all information, including deleted data. This will be presented in a series of spreadsheets and will include any metadata pertaining to the relevant correspondence. We have been asked to concentrate on specific SMS messages and will be conducting a signature search for specific data. All our investigations comply with the ACPO Procedures for Electronic Evidence.

DICOM Conversion to JPG

Posted on 21st January 2013 by Aran Pitter
Got a DVD with DICOM images of patient records. We can extract 349 files from the DVD. They are DICOM images that we are extracting as JPG. The client wants to edit them in Quark, but they would have to alter the images themselves. The data is badly corrupted and there is still much more work to do, but we are confident now that this will be a successful recovery.

Firmware Failure on Western Digital Drive

Posted on 18th January 2013 by Aran Pitter
Duncan has been working on this trying to rebuild the firmware on a failed drive, but to no avail. The firmware resides in the motor chip that has blown and the chances are not good. The problem with these Western Digital drives is that the firmware is built into the motor chip. The chances of success at this stage are not overly optimistic. If you imagine the firmware as the “brain” without this the body cannot function. A certain amount of work can be done on the “brain”, but this one has completely burnt out.

Problems with Chinese Manufactured Drives

Posted on 16th January 2013 by Chantal Stone
These drives manufactured in China are notoriously bad mechanically. We suspect our latest drive just received is suffering from a flaw in the manufacturing. Opening the drive it is apparent the head-stack has failed. There is massive media corruption at the beginning *and* end of the drive. I have not been able to access the space in between. A replacement drive is required for donor parts. Thereafter, the media damage must be polished out, headstack replaced and realigned, system parameters calculated and a slow revolution image started. Once we have a full image of the raw code, we can then set about rebuilding the data.

Invalid Boundary for Circular Event Log

Posted on 11th January 2013 by Tony Pitter
When testing the drive, it is assigned a drive letter, but cannot be interrogated. The fault stems from a firmware issue that set an invalid boundary value for the drive’s ‘circular event log’. Where this coincides with a particular test pattern being placed in the system tracks of the reserved area by some of Seagate’s post manufacture ‘tester’ applications, the event log pointer is incremented beyond its allowable boundary. This is detected as an ‘Assert Failure’ by the drive which ‘freezes’ as a self-protection response. Once this occurs the drive is remains inoperable however many times it is subsequently powered up. This is a complicated recovery, which involves a huge amount of engineering time, however we are confident of success.

Heads Failing to Initialise

Posted on 8th January 2013 by Aran Pitter
Just testing a new hard drive received for data recovery. When tested this is spinning up and then down and the heads are failing to initialise. We do not believe there is an underlying mechanical or logical problem, but we suspect the problem is firmware related. In order to proceed, we are going to need an exact replacement hard drive in terms of firmware. Whilst we have drives of the same model in stock, we do not have the firmware revision ZF01. In order to proceed we will attempt to replace the ROM and failing this, a complete firmware rebuild. Parts are not likely to be in until Monday now, so we would not envisage completing this until middle of the week at the earliest.

TAR Format on a SUN System

Posted on 7th January 2013 by Aran Pitter
I’ve a customer who sent me two ½” mag tapes, with data written in TAR format on a SUN system. They wanted the data lifted off and put onto CD. They have a Pertec I/F ½” drive, but this needed a SCSI drive. The tapes were good (although written about 14 years ago) and they gave us a list of the files they needed. The tapes had already been looked at with no success by a leading data recovery company! Even so we have managed to restore everything!

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Free Data Recovery Evaluation

"Our free hard drive data recovery evaluation service will tell you whether your data can be recovered, exactly how much it will cost and how long the data recovery will take. Simply phone or email us for a job number and send your data recovery to us. Your hard drive or media will be photographed, catalogued and bar-coded and the data recovery evaluation will start within an hour of receipt."

File Listing Of Recoverable Files

"Once in the laboratory, your media will undergo a comprehensive data recovery evaluation to determine the extent of the data loss. We aim to complete this process within 24 hours depending on the complexity of work involved. The engineers will provide a no obligation recovery prognosis, with a guaranteed list of recoverable files and an estimated timescale. You can then decide whether to proceed with the recovery. Should you choose not to proceed, we will return your media by secure data courier."

Completing the Data Recovery

"Should you choose to proceed, the data recovery process will be completed and the data will be safely stored on our servers. We will then copy out the data to your preferred choice of output media - either 64Gb memory stick or HDD (for purchase or loan). Your data will be dispatched on our secure, next day courier service. Once you have received your data any copies of your data will be permanently and securely erased from our servers after 7 days."

Established and Trusted

"40 years experience in the data recovery industry chairing ISO and BSI standards, we have developed a reputation for excellence at a price that is affordable. With extensive data recovery research and development capabilities, our success rates are second to none - without compromising on our prices! This is why over 36,000 companies and individuals come to us every year."

Safeguarding Your Data

"Your data is important to us, which is why all our data recovery procedures comply with the Association of Chief Police Officers Guidelines and Civil Procedure Rules for handling electronic evidence. Great care is taken when recovering and handling your data to ensure that its integrity is maintained and that there is a clear audit trail through the entire data recovery process."

Industry Leading Diagnostics

"Our data recovery laboratory completes over 120 successful recoveries every day from clients including the BBC, NHS and Ministry of Defence. With ISO 27000 (Information Security) and ISO 9001 (Quality Management) accreditation - we are a data recovery company you can rely upon! Class 100 clean rooms, specialised platter removal jigs and software applications allow us to provide the most comprehensive service in the industry."

"I would definitely recommend them to all"

"I had an employee who kept two years worth of his work, on his local drive rather than his network drive. When the drive died the user was in a panic! I send the drive to Data Recovery Specialists, who were able to recover all the users data, promptly and at a good price too! I would recommend them to all - 5 Stars!" - Gary Mulvihill

"You guys saved my company"

"Laptop died with everything for my business on, all invoices, contacts, emails, resources and financials. One data recovery 'expert' just said "your hard drive is dead", but everything was recovered by DRS... Also, provided an extremely fast turn around for reasonable price, where other companies were asking for a significantly higher fee just to look at the computer. Literally, you guys saved my company. I can not thank you enough!!!" - Andrew Laundy

"Professional and friendly throughout"

"I am so pleased as data recovery specialists managed to recover all of my thousands of photographs which I stupidly didn't back up. Service was great and fast. The service wasn't cheap, but they kept in touch with me the entire time, and were professional and friendly throughout. And they recovered my data too!" - Claire Whalley

"I would definitely recommend them for hard drive recovery"

"What do you do when faced with a data recovery situation - I just wanted to cry. After an internet search and phoning around several companies, Data Recovery Specialists seemed to be the best solution. Even though it was a Saturday, they dealt with my enquiry and assured me they could help. I sent my hard drive to them and within a day of receipt they had already determined what was recoverable. They quote was reasonable and I am so thankful to Data Recovery Specialists. I would definitely recommend them for hard drive recovery!" - Shaun Weston

"I would definitely use them again"

"Our RAID-5 failed after two hard drives went down with mechanical issues. Data Recovery Specialists were recommended and they immediately responded to our enquiry. On reciept of the RAID hard drives they expedited the data recovery process and 24 hours later we received all the RAID data. We were expecting considerable downtime, so to be up and running again so quickly was definitely a bonus. I would definately use them again, but I am hoping we don't have any more data recovery issues!" Willmott Dixon

"Surprised how quick the data recovery was!"

"Thank you for processing our data and copying it to hard drive. We were pleasantly surprised how quick the data recovery was and you kept us informed throughout the process. Data Recovery always raises trepidation, but we found the whole experience quite reassuring. I would not hesitate to recommend Data Recovery Specialists in future." Ministry of Defence

"Fast, effective and professional data recovery"

"I thought we would never get our scans recovered and imported back onto our PACS system, but you came to our rescue. Your RAID data recovery service was fast, effective and professional and the consultants we dealt with were very knowledgeable and helpful. Brilliant data recovery service - thank you!" NHS

"Data Recovery Specialists are a real life saver"

"Thank you so much for all your help - Data Recovery Specialists are a real life saver! I do not know what I would have done without the data you recovered from our external hard drive. We would have probably had to re-record all the location shots, which would have been time consuming and very expensive." BBC Wales

"Your hard drive data recovery service really was second-to-none"

"Thank you for solving our stiction issues so promptly from our reel to reel tapes. We were expecting to lose some of the data, so we were extremely happy when you recovered the full survey. Your hard drive data recovery service really was second-to-none! The data you recovered has proved invaluable." Regal Petroleum

"They really eased my mind"

"I was so worried when I dropped my laptop. It contained all my work and stupidly, I had not backed up the hard drive! I had heard the hard drive data recovery was expensive but had no option. From my first discussion with Data Recovery Specialists, they really eased my mind and I felt confident they could do the job. And to my surprise, the quote for data recovery was not nearly as much as I had budgeted. Thanks for all your help guys! " Victoria Hall

"They really are life-savers!"

"From the moment I called Data Recovery Specialists to receiving the data, I cannot fault the service. They recovered absolutely everything from my hard drive and at a price I was comfortable with. Data Recovery Specialists really are life-savers! Whilst I hope it doesn't happen to me again, I would certainly call their data recovery team if I need to." Shenda Falvey

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