Monday, August 29, 2011
Friday, August 26, 2011
fileXray
fileXray is a Mac OS X command-line application for analyzing, dissecting, monitoring, scavenging, and performing forensic investigation on HFS+ file system volumes.
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
Data Recovery Stories
Success!
Thanks to all who responded. Much of the information provided gave me the impetus I needed to go ahead and replace the controller board. And guess what...it took about 2 minutes and worked right away! I am now copying this data to as many places as possible so that it is properly backed up.
This is a Maxtor DiamondMax Plus 9 drive, 80GB, 7200RPM, 6Y080P0, Code YAR41BWO. The replacement controller board (which we horked from a new drive of the same model) was not the exact same revision, but apparently was close enough to get it to work.
I initially thought there was some soldering involved, since from the top of the card the leads to the motor were soldered and led underneath the controller board. When I lifted the controller board, it was a simple contact plate. The installation was completely painless.
The humorous part of this story is that as I was moving the Beige G3 to install the new G5, I saw a SyQuest EZFlyer drive sitting behind collecting dust. This is what they were *supposed* to be using to do backups over the years and they simply didn't follow through. I think perhaps they will now...with a slightly newer device.
I do credit OnTrack Data Recovery with being very professional with how they handled my service inquiries. DriveSavers never even bothered to reply to my e-mail (December 28)! I lost a lot of sleep over this dilemma and am relieved that it is now resolved.
Thanks again!
-------------
Here are the responses:
Chris Franson:
The really critical challenge in finding the identical controller board is that it must be absolutely identical. Same firmware revision, etc., not just same model drive. Beyond that I can't say whether or not it would work.
---
Scott McCarty:
I have successfully swapped HD controllers to get access to the data on a drive. It has never involved soldering.
I doubt that the motor was blown. There are some pico fuses on the controller, which may have blown. It might even be possible to simply replace a blown surface mount pico fuse to make the drive functional again.
I will refrain from lecturing you about backups ;-)
If the data is high value, I would simply send it off to DriveSavers. (and order a backup system.)
---
John Wolf:
I have had good success with swapping logic boards between drives in the
past. As long as they are absolutely identical models (hopefully with even the same firmware revision.)
You mentioned having to desolder some wires... I have never encountered
that. Are you positive it will require desoldering to remove the board? In many cases, what looks like leads poking through the circuit board near the motor are actually the leads to a jack that will simply unplug from the drive once you remove all the screws from the logic board.
I would not trust the drive for day to day use after doing the logic board swap, this is only to get the data off of it. If the drive has a jumper for "read-only" it might be wise to jumper that connection to prevent any changes from getting made to the drive.
In my estimate, you chance of success is 50%, your chance of making things worse is about 10%
---
SMayzels:
I haven't done this since way back in SCSI HD days
back then there was no soldering involved just some ribbon connectors
if the data is important, saving money is not as important as saving time, yours and the district's, and the data
I assume you are referring to drive savers in Novato, CA. I have used them a few times and they have been very successful.
if you have a vendor # with them you can save ~10% and the fee, if they aren't able to recover, is waived
there may be educational discounts, if you want you can use my # for the discount "DS 13985"
While I get a finder fee (disclosed for integrity purposes), you get a discount that you might not otherwise get and, more importantly, your data
I recommend them, with out the finder fee or discount, they have been efficient, helpful and friendly
if you are going to MWSF, visit their booth.
good luck
---
Geoff Lee:
I have read (admittedly on the website of a drive recovery company!) that this can be a very bad idea as the controllers are sometimes flashed with info very specific to the drive they are attached to - even one from an identical drive can apparently just make your problems worse.
Having said that, all the links below seem to suggest ti as a valid option if the drive really won't spin...
http://insight.zdnet.co.uk/business/management/0,39020490,2127079,00.htm
http://www.pcguide.com/ts/x/comp/hdd/failRecovery-c.html
http://techrepublic.com.com/5100-6255-5029761-5.html
Hope this is of some use!
---
Brian Gier:
Yikes! I'm thinking that the card might be hosed. From my
conversations with recovery companies in the past, I've heard that the
mechanisms on drives are usually high quality (to work with the mechanical tolerances required) and the controller cards are not as high quality (read: absolute lowest bidder). It sounds like the motor driver chip on your board went *poof*. Odds are that the motor is not dead...those things are built well.
Though I can't quote any statistics, I do believe the odds are in your favor if you replace the card. Remember to ground yourself when handling the new card and don't expose the platters. Nothing good can come out of opening up the drive completely.
What a recovery company will do is exactly what you plan to do in option 1. If you feel comfortable swapping the card, go ahead. It'll cost $100 or less for the drive. If it works, you recover your data and case closed. If it doesn't work go to option 2. Then you put the newly purchased drive back together and you've got a nice new drive for whatever.
The recovery company that I talked to (for a client) told me that these days HD platters (on multiple platter drives) can't be removed and put into another working mech. Because data on the platters is interlaced between all of them, it's impossible to line them up perfectly again (we are talking sub-micron tolerances).
For a professional recovery service be prepared to pay at least a kilo-buck and then an "attempt" fee that is non-refundable if they don't get your data back. The quote I got from the service was around $2k for a 160GB drive.
Unfortunately, the drive I was working on was a home user's drive. They
couldn't afford the $2k. Bye bye digital baby pictures...I digress...good luck with your project. If you have any questions, let me know!
---
Beth Klawitter, OnTrack:
Thank you for contacting Ontrack Data Recovery. I can help you with this. Here is how our services work:
First we do an evaluation and we determine what is wrong with the media, what it would take to get the data off, and what would be recoverable. There is a $100 fee for the evaluation. If we can recover data we will provide the details of what we can do, show you a list of files that would be recoverable and then quote you an exact cost for the recovery. At this time you will have the option to say "Yes" or "No" on completing the recovery for you.
The cost of the recovery is based on the severity of the problem and what it takes to get the data off the media (not based on a per file charge). The range that this would fall in is $800-$2400.
If you would like to send it in for us to look at please contact me directly and I will send you the necessary paperwork to send the drive in for evaluation.
---
------------------> Post QUESTIONS and SUMMARIES only!! <-------------------
Get answers to Mac questions at the MM home page: http://www.mac-mgrs.org/
Search the Macintosh Manager's list archives: http://archives.mac-mgrs.org/
Send questions and summaries to the list: mailto:mac-mgrs@lists.mac-mgrs.org
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Thanks to all who responded. Much of the information provided gave me the impetus I needed to go ahead and replace the controller board. And guess what...it took about 2 minutes and worked right away! I am now copying this data to as many places as possible so that it is properly backed up.
This is a Maxtor DiamondMax Plus 9 drive, 80GB, 7200RPM, 6Y080P0, Code YAR41BWO. The replacement controller board (which we horked from a new drive of the same model) was not the exact same revision, but apparently was close enough to get it to work.
I initially thought there was some soldering involved, since from the top of the card the leads to the motor were soldered and led underneath the controller board. When I lifted the controller board, it was a simple contact plate. The installation was completely painless.
The humorous part of this story is that as I was moving the Beige G3 to install the new G5, I saw a SyQuest EZFlyer drive sitting behind collecting dust. This is what they were *supposed* to be using to do backups over the years and they simply didn't follow through. I think perhaps they will now...with a slightly newer device.
I do credit OnTrack Data Recovery with being very professional with how they handled my service inquiries. DriveSavers never even bothered to reply to my e-mail (December 28)! I lost a lot of sleep over this dilemma and am relieved that it is now resolved.
Thanks again!
-------------
Here are the responses:
Chris Franson:
The really critical challenge in finding the identical controller board is that it must be absolutely identical. Same firmware revision, etc., not just same model drive. Beyond that I can't say whether or not it would work.
---
Scott McCarty:
I have successfully swapped HD controllers to get access to the data on a drive. It has never involved soldering.
I doubt that the motor was blown. There are some pico fuses on the controller, which may have blown. It might even be possible to simply replace a blown surface mount pico fuse to make the drive functional again.
I will refrain from lecturing you about backups ;-)
If the data is high value, I would simply send it off to DriveSavers. (and order a backup system.)
---
John Wolf:
I have had good success with swapping logic boards between drives in the
past. As long as they are absolutely identical models (hopefully with even the same firmware revision.)
You mentioned having to desolder some wires... I have never encountered
that. Are you positive it will require desoldering to remove the board? In many cases, what looks like leads poking through the circuit board near the motor are actually the leads to a jack that will simply unplug from the drive once you remove all the screws from the logic board.
I would not trust the drive for day to day use after doing the logic board swap, this is only to get the data off of it. If the drive has a jumper for "read-only" it might be wise to jumper that connection to prevent any changes from getting made to the drive.
In my estimate, you chance of success is 50%, your chance of making things worse is about 10%
---
SMayzels:
I haven't done this since way back in SCSI HD days
back then there was no soldering involved just some ribbon connectors
if the data is important, saving money is not as important as saving time, yours and the district's, and the data
I assume you are referring to drive savers in Novato, CA. I have used them a few times and they have been very successful.
if you have a vendor # with them you can save ~10% and the fee, if they aren't able to recover, is waived
there may be educational discounts, if you want you can use my # for the discount "DS 13985"
While I get a finder fee (disclosed for integrity purposes), you get a discount that you might not otherwise get and, more importantly, your data
I recommend them, with out the finder fee or discount, they have been efficient, helpful and friendly
if you are going to MWSF, visit their booth.
good luck
---
Geoff Lee:
I have read (admittedly on the website of a drive recovery company!) that this can be a very bad idea as the controllers are sometimes flashed with info very specific to the drive they are attached to - even one from an identical drive can apparently just make your problems worse.
Having said that, all the links below seem to suggest ti as a valid option if the drive really won't spin...
http://insight.zdnet.co.uk/business/management/0,39020490,2127079,00.htm
http://www.pcguide.com/ts/x/comp/hdd/failRecovery-c.html
http://techrepublic.com.com/5100-6255-5029761-5.html
Hope this is of some use!
---
Brian Gier:
Yikes! I'm thinking that the card might be hosed. From my
conversations with recovery companies in the past, I've heard that the
mechanisms on drives are usually high quality (to work with the mechanical tolerances required) and the controller cards are not as high quality (read: absolute lowest bidder). It sounds like the motor driver chip on your board went *poof*. Odds are that the motor is not dead...those things are built well.
Though I can't quote any statistics, I do believe the odds are in your favor if you replace the card. Remember to ground yourself when handling the new card and don't expose the platters. Nothing good can come out of opening up the drive completely.
What a recovery company will do is exactly what you plan to do in option 1. If you feel comfortable swapping the card, go ahead. It'll cost $100 or less for the drive. If it works, you recover your data and case closed. If it doesn't work go to option 2. Then you put the newly purchased drive back together and you've got a nice new drive for whatever.
The recovery company that I talked to (for a client) told me that these days HD platters (on multiple platter drives) can't be removed and put into another working mech. Because data on the platters is interlaced between all of them, it's impossible to line them up perfectly again (we are talking sub-micron tolerances).
For a professional recovery service be prepared to pay at least a kilo-buck and then an "attempt" fee that is non-refundable if they don't get your data back. The quote I got from the service was around $2k for a 160GB drive.
Unfortunately, the drive I was working on was a home user's drive. They
couldn't afford the $2k. Bye bye digital baby pictures...I digress...good luck with your project. If you have any questions, let me know!
---
Beth Klawitter, OnTrack:
Thank you for contacting Ontrack Data Recovery. I can help you with this. Here is how our services work:
First we do an evaluation and we determine what is wrong with the media, what it would take to get the data off, and what would be recoverable. There is a $100 fee for the evaluation. If we can recover data we will provide the details of what we can do, show you a list of files that would be recoverable and then quote you an exact cost for the recovery. At this time you will have the option to say "Yes" or "No" on completing the recovery for you.
The cost of the recovery is based on the severity of the problem and what it takes to get the data off the media (not based on a per file charge). The range that this would fall in is $800-$2400.
If you would like to send it in for us to look at please contact me directly and I will send you the necessary paperwork to send the drive in for evaluation.
---
------------------> Post QUESTIONS and SUMMARIES only!! <-------------------
Get answers to Mac questions at the MM home page: http://www.mac-mgrs.org/
Search the Macintosh Manager's list archives: http://archives.mac-mgrs.org/
Send questions and summaries to the list: mailto:mac-mgrs@lists.mac-mgrs.org
Subscription information: http://www.mac-mgrs.org/list/subscribe.lasso
Read the mac-mgrs listFAQ!: http://www.mac-mgrs.org/list/mac-mgrs-FAQ.lasso
Monday, August 15, 2011
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