ACE Data Recovery recent cases blog - hard drive, RAID, SSD recovery
ACE Data Recovery Recent Cases Blog
Data recovery from defective Western Digital WD30EZRX desktop HDD
Hans G., a computer owner from Houston, TX, 77007, contacted ACE Data Recovery support center for help after he had faced serious problem with his desktop. The problem was, Western Digital WD30EZRX desktop drive couldn't get recognized. In order to help Hans and get his files off the faulty data storage device, ACE Data Recovery experts examined WD30EZRX HDD in question in a proprietary lab.
Upon completion, it was determined that storage unit had a firmware corruption. The firmware is the HDD's "operating system". When failed, it may cause serious problems with the drive performance. To solve the issue, defective firmware modules should be restored (replaced with their exact match). To perform the drive's repair, ACE Data Recovery used the advantage of company's System Track Library.
Luckily, the operation was successful and certified specialists managed to access the original data array on the failed Western Digital
WD30EZRX HDD. Using specially designed drive imaging tool, ACEs retrieved all intact files from Hans's WD30EZRX desktop drive. A copy of them was saved to an alternative storage unit and sent back to Houston, TX.
Getting user data from failed Seagate EXPANSION DESKTOP storage
To retrieve important data from a hard drive that can't be recognized by OS, it is strongly recommended to deal with certified data recovery specialists in order to avoid serious file damage caused by DIY actions. The following case shows that timely referral is vital when it comes to saving sensitive information. Francisco J., a resident of Orlando, FL, 32872, contacted ACE Data Recovery in order to retrieve crucial files from his failed Seagate EXPANSION DESKTOP portable data storage. According to the customer's words, his desktop couldn't recognize the drive in question. After the hard drive examination, ACE Data Recovery specialists concluded it was a firmware failure. Namely, some system tracks inside the device were corrupted. To make it possible to retrieve files in one piece it was needed to rewrite defective tracks first. To match the appropriate system tracks, ACE Data Recovery engineers used the advantage of company's proprietary track library. That library can boast of a unique collection of system tracks taken from thousands of data storage devices. After the firmware issue was fixed, technicians managed to create an image of the faulty Seagate EXPANSION DESKTOP storage and retrieve sensitive user information. Finally, saved files were copied to a new external hard drive and sent to the client’s location in Florida.
Data recovery from logically failed Western Digital MY PASSPORT
When a hard drive gets logically corrupted, some files or even file directories can get inaccessible or even invisible. That often happens as a result of file system corruption or when a data storage device was unsafely removed from a PC or Mac. A similar case was found in ACE Data Recovery service records. Alan, a staff member of a financial company in Dallas, TX, 75225, dialed ACE Data Recovery office hoping to recover files missing from his Western Digital MY PASSPORT external HDD. Once the hard drive was thoroughly examined, ACE Data Recovery technicians reported file system damage. In order to run highly-efficient data recovery tools developed by the company staff, it was needed to fix the file system first. To get that job done, qualified specialists used the advantage of proprietary hardware. Upon completion, an image of the faulty WD MY PASSPORT was created in order to preserve the original folder structure. With that image ACE Data Recovery engineers managed to rebuild index creating folder/file structure. As a result, user files were successfully retrieved from the hard disk drive and saved an alternative storage device for Alan.
User data was retrieved from Seagate ST91000640NS after the PCB swap
In order to retrieve crucial information from a hard drive after an electronic failure, it is necessary to swap faulty item pieces to their exact match. That type of operation was carried out for the faulty Seagate ST91000640NS hard drive sent to ACE Data Recovery office by the unit owner, Otoniel from Miami, FL, 33126. According to the Otoniel, his hard drive "... didn't spin and couldn't be recognized by the computer". After the drive installation and thorough inspection, a Printed Circuit Board (PCB) failure was detected. Very often that kind of malfunction can be caused by the overvoltage. Fortunately, it still was possible to retrieve sensitive information from the faulty Seagate ST91000640NS. To retrieve the files, ACE Data Recovery engineers decided to swap defective PCB first. To find the exact match of the defective disk part, company experts used the advantage of unique ACE Data Recovery Physical Drive Library containing lots of complete hard drive parts. Once the faulty unit part in question was swapped to the new one, technicians managed to create an image of the Seagate ST91000640NS from Miami and retrieve crucial files safe and sound. A copy of the user data was saved to an alternative data storage device and sent the clients’ location in Miami.
Retrieving user data from a bunch of DDS tapes
Sometimes people contact ACE Data Recovery seeking technical assistance with quite specific cases. V. J. from Dallas, TX, 75214, was one of those customers. What he needed was to recover crucial information from a number of outdated DDS tapes. The customer could potentially do it by himself, but he didn't have required equipment to restore files. Very often, magnetic tape recovery procedure takes a lot of qualified time as there are virtually hundreds of data backup routines. In cases when it comes to tape recovery/duplication, ACE Data Recovery technicians use the advantage of unique TapeX Workshop software pack specially designed to retrieve sensitive info from any type of tape. Every single DDS tape received from V. J. was processed in ACE Data Recovery laboratory. Using the advantage of TapeX Workshop, all intact files were successfully retrieved from magnetic holders. A copy of user data was saved to a new-generation storage unit that was given to the client in less than two weeks.
Successful data recovery from degraded Seagate 7200.4 ST9500420AS HDD
Degraded data storage devices can make a bit of trouble for their owners. Michael from McKinney, TX, 75070, contacted ACE Data Recovery for data retrieval after his Seagate Momentus 7200.4 ST9500420AS HDD had failed. According to the customer, he got Blue Screen of Death (BSoD) while working on the laptop and couldn't access files upon booting. A thorough drive testing performed by ACE Data Recovery engineers, showed that the hard disk drive had magnetic platters degradation. When the platters inside the hard drive lose their periodicity (fade), the data storage unit will gradually lower its productivity. Eventually, faded areas on the platters will get unreadable causing data reading errors and serious hard drive failures. In most cases, media fading is a direct consequence of normal wear and tear, overheating or manufacturing defects. Usually, it's pretty hard to recover intact user files from degraded storage unit. To succeed in files retrieval from failed Seagate 7200.4 ST9500420AS laptop drive, ACE Data Recovery experts used special equipment designed by the company's engineers. Fortunately, it was possible to recover data requested by Michael. After verification, the data was copied to a brand new storage device and offered to the client.
Saving user data from dropped Western Digital My Passport Ultra portable storage
Sometimes, as a consequence of physical shock, the hard disk drive's spindle motor can get seized. That quite specific issue is known as "stiction" and can result in full HDD inaccessibility. That was what happened with Hani from Houston, TX, 77094, an owner of Western Digital WDBMWV0020BBK external hard drive. Upon thorough inspection, it was discovered that two very sensitive objects inside the drive (r/w head and the platter) came into contact and got stuck together, preventing the spindle motor from running properly. Fortunately, the head assembly was found to be unharmed. In the ACE Data Recovery cleanroom the faulty Western Digital WDBMWV0020BBK portable storage was carefully disassembled. Using special data recovery tools, the heads were successfully removed from the platter surface in order to prevent further physical damage and new head from a donor drive were installed. Next, proprietary drive imaging hardware was used to create a clone of the faulty WD My Passport Ultra storage. As a result, ACE Data Recovery team managed to retrieve all intact files from the external drive in question. All customer's data was copied to a brand new storage unit and quite soon afterwards Hani got his crucial info back.
Data recovery from Western Digital WDBYCC0030HBK-NESN drive damaged by overvoltage
A power cut or use of an incorrect power supply can result in severe hard drive failure. Power-related issues are just among many other issues in ACE Data Recovery practices. Here's one of them. Alexis from Dallas, TX, 75201, decided to use ACE Data Recovery services after her Western Digital WDBYCC0030HBK-NESN Book drive failed due to incorrect power supply usage. Preliminary unit testing revealed that printed circuit board (PCB) was the failed mechanism. PCB is used to electrically connect electronic components inside the unit. In small terms, it's like a computer inside a computer that has firmware and memory. To make data retrieval possible, ACE Data Recovery experts had to swap the corrupted PCB with its exact match taken from a donor Western Digital My Book drive. Once the right drive part was found in ACE DR Physical Drive Library, qualified engineers replaced the corrupted component without harming the rest of the drive. Eventually, an image of faulty Western Digital WDBYCC0030HBK-NESN was created. Using proprietary data retrieval software, ACE Data Recovery specialists extracted intact user files from the drive's image. The copy of crucial data was saved to a new external hard drive, so the client was able to get her data back within just a few days.
Data recovery from the dropped Western Digital WD5000BMVV-11GNWS0
A physical shock can lead to a heavy damage of hard disk drive platters. That's what happened to Lauren from Chicago, IL, 60622. Her Western Digital WD5000BMVV-11GNWS0 hard drive got inaccessible after it was accidentally dropped. The owner of the device decided to call ACE Data Recovery for professional help. The test results of the failed hard drive received from Chicago showed that some media sectors were physically damaged due to read-write heads bounce. As a result, heads actually touched the surface of the magnetic platter. In order to extract all intact files from defective Western Digital WD5000BMVV-11GNWS0, the work in a cleanroom environment was required. Then ACE Data Recovery engineers managed to read all available drive sectors by using proprietary tools and software pieces. It took a few hours to complete the task because of the file system fragmentation. After the saved files integrity was checked and confirmed, recovered information was copied to a brand new USB Flash drive and the client picked it up at the ACE Data Recovery lab in Chicago on the same day.
Data recovery from failed Hitachi HTS723232A7A364
Firmware-related issues are not rare in the field of data recovery. The following case is an illustration of how ACE Data Recovery specialists cope with storage units containing defective firmware components. Garret, a staff member of an energy company at Portland, OR, 97209, contacted ACE Data Recovery Service Center to get help when his Hitachi HTS723232A7A364 external hard drive had became non-responsive. Namely, the HDD couldn't be recognized by BIOS. The analysis revealed that the hard drive had system track corruption. The area of the system tracks is written by the HDD manufacturer. Usually, it is virtually inaccessible for an ordinary user. In case of a track corruption, a drive will fail to read data. To retrieve user data in one piece, ACE Data recovery engineers decided to recover the System Area (SA) first. In a laboratory environment defective system tracks were rewritten with the identical ones taken from the unique track library ACE Data Recovery experts have been collected for years. Upon the completion of SA fixing, an image of the faulty Hitachi HTS723232A7A364 was created in order to preserve the original data structure. Using proprietary tools ACE technicians managed to retrieve Garret's files. After a copy of those files was saved to a brand new flash drive, it was sent back to Oregon.
Retrieving files from failed Lexar LJDM10-32G flash drive
Retrieving data from a failed USB Flash drives requires a lot of tedious work. On the other hand, saved client's files are always worth it. Meredith from Middlebury, IN, 46540, contacted ACE Data Recovery HQ in order to get vital files from her failed Lexar LJDM10-32G Flash drive. According to the customer, her computer wasn't able to recognize the storage unit when she tried to access her crucial data. The test results for the USB Flash device showed that the unit was physically fine but its file system was severely damaged. That system is needed to arrange the volume and keep track of where data is written. To retrieve as many files as possible from the failed Lexar LJDM10-32G drive, ACE Data Recovery staff used proprietary recovery tools to work with the unit. The USB Flash drive was scanned for undamaged files. Finally, all intact data was extracted, copied to an alternative data storage device provided by the company and sent back to the customers’ location in Indiana.
Western Digital WDBCTL0020HWT-00 deleted file recovery
Retrieving deleted or formatted files from hard drives can be a challenge for some people. ACE Data Recovery experts handle such cases every day. Sean, a staff member of an engineering company from Dallas, TX, 76205, called ACE Data Recovery in order to get professional assistance with recovering disappeared drawings from his Western Digital WDBCTL0020HWT-00. Once the company specialists had received the hard drive, they scanned it in order to make sure every drive's sector included data responsible for files integrity. Generally, the yield of good versus corrupted recovered files is dependent upon a few things such as the condition of the MFT, FAT or Inode Tree, the amount of new data written to the drive after the accident, and how often the drive was defragmented. Luckily, Sean's call ACE Data Recovery on time and his Western Digital WDBCTL0020HWT-00 was “just” formatted and needed files weren’t overwritten. It was routine task for ACE Data Recovery engineers to recover customer's files. Finally, the data was successfully copied to a brand new flash drive, so the happy client could pick it up in the company’s HQ. This recovery project took less than 3 days.
Successful recovery of deleted files from Kingston memory card
Retrieving deleted files is possible, even if a customer doesn't have a backup copy of sensitive files from the desktop. Even if the data storage device has been formatted, there's no reason for panic and “everything is lost” thoughts. James, a staff member of an IT company from Chicago, IL, 60613, called ACE Data Recovery team for help after he had deleted all important user files from his Kingston (N0531-002.A00LF) memory card. When it comes to dealing with formatted or deleted user data, ACE Data Recovery experts need to scan the drive for intact data stored on a disk. Files deletion makes a special data recovery case, but it’s not impossible to ensure 100% files retrieval. It took the company technical staff hours of a tiresome, monotonous work to find and carve out headers and signatures of particular files and sort them out to preserve the original directory structures. To retrieve intact files from the customer's Kingston memory card, proprietary ACE Data Recovery tools and software pieces were used. Finally, all client’s data was recovered, copied to a brand new flash drive and given back to James.
Data recovery from failed Western Digital My Cloud
A hard drive can often fail after a power cut. This is exactly what happened with a hard drive that belonged to Carlos, a resident of Coral Gables, FL, 33146. The customer reported serious Western Digital My Cloud disk drive failure that happened after a power outage. After a thorough device examination in ACE Data Recovery lab, it was determined that some internal drive components were severely damaged. This kind of a hard drive failure is typical for power surges. In such cases, damaged mechanical parts should be swapped as a part of a data recovery procedure. In a cleanroom environment, faulty Western Digital My Cloud from Coral Gables was disassembled piece by piece. To restore the drive, ACE Data Recovery engineers turned to the company physical drive repository for donor parts. That library is a true treasure as it contains a lot of data storage devices spare parts for all occasions. Finally, Western Digital My Cloud drive was fixed, and ACE Data Recovery technicians managed to create an image of it in order to retrieve intact files. Recovered data was copied to a brand new hard drive and sent back to the client from Florida.
Unrecognizable Western Digital WDBZFP0010BBK-01 hard drive recovery
Sometimes even the best hard drives, such as Western Digital drives, may have various firmware issues. Failed hard disk drive often can't be recognized by computers. Precisely such issue was reported by Linet from Trophy Club, TX, 76262. According to the customer, first her Western Digital WDBZFP0010BBK-01 got frozen and, after the laptop reboot, it couldn't be recognized by OS. A thorough storage device examination revealed as serious media degradation caused by an enormous number of bad (unreadable) sectors in the GA list of System Area. In such cases, ACE Data Recovery experts need to manually reprogram the System Area (SA) in order to access the files within the drive's data area. In the company’s laboratory environment the firmware modules were rewritten with identical ones taken from ACE Data Recovery unique system track library collected for decades. After SA of the hard drive was fixed, the company engineers were able to create an image of failed Western Digital WDBZFP0010BBK-01 using proprietary software pieces, retrieve intact files, copy them to a brand new external drive, and given back to client. 100% of critical data has been recovered!
Retrieving data from failed Corsair SURVIVOR USB flash drive
Roderick from Seattle, WA, 98115, contacted ACE Data Recovery after his Corsair SURVIVOR flash drive was heavily damaged. As a result, all data on the storage unit got locked. Thorough device testing revealed several NAND RAM memory chips with dead cells inside causing logical corruption and locking the system into a busy state. Usually, when USB devices fail due to physical actions, they can't be properly recognized by the computer or widget. Moreover, the fact that in most cases flash drive failures result in unrecoverable data loss made matters worse. In the ACE Data Recovery HQ lab, faulty Corsair SURVIVOR was disassembled and defective RAM chips were removed. Next, chips were read on special equipment in order to recover their contents. The main problem was to link the memory chips together. Nevertheless, ACE Data Recovery engineers have all the necessary know-how to cope with that sort of issue. As a result of skillful efforts, Roderick's files were successfully retrieved from damaged Corsair SURVIVOR drive, copied to a new storage device and sent back to the satisfied client.
The case of Apricorn ADT-3PL256-3000 hard drive with scratch platters
In most cases data recovery specialists of any company can't retrieve client's data from hard drives with severely damaged platters. Therefore, customers are notified of the inability to save their files. Most professional companies don’t charge any service see if this happens. John, from Amarillo, TX, 79111, called ACE Data Recovery for help after the company’s Apricorn ADT-3PL256-3000 external hard drive had made loud clicking noises and gone dead. Once ACE Data Recovery technical staff received the hard drive in question, it was disassembled in a cleanroom environment in order to get to the root of the problem. It was initially predicted that the r/w heads got damaged and needed to be swapped to donor ones. After examination, however, it became evident that the problem was far more serious: the platters of the hard drive got scratched and damaged the r/w heads. Usually, when the platters get scratched, all the files and folders on a faulty holder get lost forever. However, our engineers with their tremendous experience in data recovery were able to recover almost 70% of client’s data.
Western Digital MY PASSPORT damaged landing ramp recovery
Sometimes physical shock can result in quite unusual hard drive damages. A problem reported by Nilay from Frisco, TX, 75035, is a perfect case in point. According to the customer, external Western Digital My Passport failed after the drop. Nilay reviewed data recovery partners of Western Digital on their website and decided to contact ACE Data Recovery in order to extract as many crucial files as possible. Once the hard drive had arrived to ACE Data Recovery clean room, it was disassembled and thoroughly examined in order to determine the nature of the malfunction. It turned out that plastic landing ramp and head were damaged. As a result, the platters couldn't spin. It was decided to replace the defective drive parts in order to get access to the customer's files and folders. Once the landing ramp as heads were swapped to donor ones, ACE Data recovery engineers managed to rotate the platter and revive the hard drive. Finally, all Nilay's data was successfully retrieved from a faulty Western Digital My Passport drive and copied and offered to the client on a new external HDD.
Data recovery from a failed Seagate ST2000DM001 drive
Jose, a resident of Denton, TX, 76205, requested ACE Data Recovery services after his Seagate ST2000DM001 got inaccessible. As he explained, the data storage device simply couldn't be recognized by his computer. After extensive unit testing, it was determined that the main problem was a high number of bad (unreadable) sectors. Moreover, some firmware parts became corrupted due to the mentioned failure. In order to recover client's data from his faulty Seagate ST2000DM001, it was decided to access the service area (SA) and restore the modules by utilizing a donor from the company’s huge library of system tracks. Most modern hard disk drives store those modules on the platter. In most cases, it is referred to 2 sides of a single platter known as primary and secondary SAs. Furthermore, the secondary service area is used as backup to fix damaged firmware modules in the primary one. It is hardly possible to access mentioned areas without special tools and skills. In laboratory environment, the entire SA of Seagate ST2000DM001 we got from Jose was backed up. Finally, corrupted modules had being swapped to ones taken from a donor HDD, all data was successfully retrieved, copied to a brand new storage device and given back to Jose.
Data recovery from Western Digital WD10JMVW-11AJGS2 with firmware issues
Steven, the worker of a photography and camera store at Arnold, MD, 21012, reported the following external hard drive failure: "... It powers up, but is not recognized by computer". Once ACE Data Recovery team received the faulty Western Digital WD10JMVW-11AJGS2, the full unit examination was conducted. The testing found that data storage device had a firmware problem known as System Track (ST) corruption. What makes data recovery difficult in such cases is that the mentioned area is hidden from the user and can comprise tens of tracks. Sometimes when the ST fails, the hard drive shows signs of physical damage while in fact there is a logical issue. Extracting crucial data from a storage device with a firmware issue is very difficult, but nothing is impossible for ACE Data Recovery experts. In ACE HQ in Dallas, TX the system area of Steven's Western Digital WD10JMVW-11AJGS2 was restored in order to get access to customer's files within the data area. The competence and expertise of highly-skilled engineers were brought to bear. After putting in a lot of hard work, the data area was accessed; 98% of client’s files were extracted, copied to a brand new external hard drive and sent back to client.