Free Data Recovery of Wet Phones and Hard Drives for Hurricane Harvey Victims(drivesaversdatarecovery.com)
drivesaversdatarecovery.com
Free Data Recovery of Wet Phones and Hard Drives for Hurricane Harvey Victims
https://www.drivesaversdatarecovery.com/2017/08/30/drivesavers-offers-hurricane-harvey-victims-free-data-recovery-of-wet-phones-and-hard-drives/
30 comments
Unless they have built-in encryption or similar, RAID controllers generally have pretty straightforward on-disk layouts; staring at the disk contents in a hex editor for a little bit will usually reveal the solution.
In any case that's still a logical recovery, which is far easier than the presumably physical recovery being offered here.
In any case that's still a logical recovery, which is far easier than the presumably physical recovery being offered here.
Well, as noted above, there were two physically failed disks—one which triggered the rebuild, and a second disk which failed with read errors during the rebuild. Then the RAID card died. According to the official policy, the equipment should have been replaced almost five years earlier.
So this recovery involved physical recovery of at least one disk to meet the RAID's minimum threshold, then a logical recovery.
So this recovery involved physical recovery of at least one disk to meet the RAID's minimum threshold, then a logical recovery.
Wow, $7,000 to recover a hard drive is a lot. Does it involve a lot of time-intensive labor?
Economically, I'm worried that since this service is free, people will submit drives that have nowhere close to thousands of dollars of value, because it's free so why not? Then if they're overloaded with requests, the company cannot prioritize which drives to save first. Maybe it would be better to offer a heavy discount rather than provide it for free?
Economically, I'm worried that since this service is free, people will submit drives that have nowhere close to thousands of dollars of value, because it's free so why not? Then if they're overloaded with requests, the company cannot prioritize which drives to save first. Maybe it would be better to offer a heavy discount rather than provide it for free?
I'm in Australia so this question isn't for me, but it might be relevant for anybody slightly closer.
Could/should people who want to volunteer contact this company and offer their time? Are there things people with limited expertise in data recovery could assist with?
It's certainly obvious that quite a few areas in data recovery - like relocating disk platters, Flash/SSD chip resoldering, etc - need a clean room, hands that are proven steady, and a good handle on what can go wrong and how to deal with it. This can't be taught in a day.
Waterlogged media probably means tons of controller board replacements. That's not a completely unskilled job either, and one I would be cautious about helping out with.
When I think of waterlogged phones I immediately go worst-case-scenario and think of Flash chip desoldering because PCB + battery + water == disaster. Nope. I don't have the skill for that!
It's (unfortunately) also quite possible that water-damaged media has also been impacted due to the rough-and-tumble of rescue efforts as well.
Then I think about the software side. Manufacturer and/or in-house recovery tooling that operates at such a low level (on the same order as BIOS updates etc) is likely going to require attention to detail and high awareness (and knowledge of what a proper run looks like) to get an intuitive sense that something's working or not. Then there are probably "this tool never existed" NDA things on top of that.
My main consideration is reputation. It's cases like these where a 32-year reputation is cemented even further - or blown out the door if dozens of failures are reported at once.
Now I've just thought of all this I feel like I've answered my own question in the firm negative - but I'll ask anyway, since others (particularly those near one of the ~18 (!) drop-off locations - https://www.drivesaversdatarecovery.com/contact-drivesavers/) may benefit from knowing "no, definitely not useful" or "yes, these jobs are very hard to get wrong if you know the basics".
Could/should people who want to volunteer contact this company and offer their time? Are there things people with limited expertise in data recovery could assist with?
It's certainly obvious that quite a few areas in data recovery - like relocating disk platters, Flash/SSD chip resoldering, etc - need a clean room, hands that are proven steady, and a good handle on what can go wrong and how to deal with it. This can't be taught in a day.
Waterlogged media probably means tons of controller board replacements. That's not a completely unskilled job either, and one I would be cautious about helping out with.
When I think of waterlogged phones I immediately go worst-case-scenario and think of Flash chip desoldering because PCB + battery + water == disaster. Nope. I don't have the skill for that!
It's (unfortunately) also quite possible that water-damaged media has also been impacted due to the rough-and-tumble of rescue efforts as well.
Then I think about the software side. Manufacturer and/or in-house recovery tooling that operates at such a low level (on the same order as BIOS updates etc) is likely going to require attention to detail and high awareness (and knowledge of what a proper run looks like) to get an intuitive sense that something's working or not. Then there are probably "this tool never existed" NDA things on top of that.
My main consideration is reputation. It's cases like these where a 32-year reputation is cemented even further - or blown out the door if dozens of failures are reported at once.
Now I've just thought of all this I feel like I've answered my own question in the firm negative - but I'll ask anyway, since others (particularly those near one of the ~18 (!) drop-off locations - https://www.drivesaversdatarecovery.com/contact-drivesavers/) may benefit from knowing "no, definitely not useful" or "yes, these jobs are very hard to get wrong if you know the basics".
These are almost certainly physical recoveries, so definitely requiring very specific skills and training.
But it wouldn't hurt to ask. Maybe they would much appreciate things like cleaning off the exterior dirt and otherwise washing drives in distilled water.
(One of the tips I've read is that if you have wet electronics that can't be immediately dried thoroughly, flush thoroughly and then keep them submerged in distilled water to prevent further corrosion.)
But it wouldn't hurt to ask. Maybe they would much appreciate things like cleaning off the exterior dirt and otherwise washing drives in distilled water.
(One of the tips I've read is that if you have wet electronics that can't be immediately dried thoroughly, flush thoroughly and then keep them submerged in distilled water to prevent further corrosion.)
Seen as a market mechanism, it is really weird that when a service is most needed, it becomes free.
A great service to the victims of Hurricane Harvey and also a great marketing opportunity. It seems like everyone wins in this situation (well, except DriveDavers' competitors), and that's not common.
Having used them in the past for a water-damaged hard drive I'd say a good portion of those people will get their data back.
Having used them in the past for a water-damaged hard drive I'd say a good portion of those people will get their data back.
I was watching the news and and a woman was recounting how her family escaped the flood, and in particular the things she wished that she had done differently. One of the things which struck me was that she hadn't considered the effect of the water on her phones which she and her family put into their pockets. The phones of course they were dead when they arrived at the shelter. I'm guessing this was a pretty common experience, and without something like this free service coming along I have to assume that they would just be writing them off and be focused on rebuilding/relocating. This is a really amazing thing to offer people are absolutely devastated, good PR, but also just good behavior.
In particular for those people who lost everything, it might be that some of the only photos they have are on those phones.
In particular for those people who lost everything, it might be that some of the only photos they have are on those phones.
Maybe it is because i grew up in a more rural setting. But i am gladly taking a more bulky and low spec phone if it means it is more rugged in various ways.
My last couple phones have all been Sony Xperia phones simply because they are water proof/resistant. It's hard to go back to anything else after you get used to it. Never have to worry about damage in the rain and its great being able to use the phone in the shower.
> its great being able to use the phone in the shower
?!
?!
They also make a number of water resistant phones. They aren't really any more bulky. Some have things like Girilla Glass and are pretty robust. I'm not sure that lower specs are a requirement.
None of them will survive submersion for any significant amount of time.
A Sony Xperia, or similar, is rated for 30 minutes at 1.5m depth (IP65 / IP68). Presumably, it would last a fair bit longer at (waterlevel-waistheight) depth.
My first was replaced under warranty due to water damage, but the replacement is fine. I haven't subjected it to more than a few minutes submersion, or heavy rain.
My first was replaced under warranty due to water damage, but the replacement is fine. I haven't subjected it to more than a few minutes submersion, or heavy rain.
I purchased an S5 Active, and I had seen me through when I would have clumsily murdered most other phones. I agree that ruggedization is practically essential.
As an IT person who's ended up having to use Drive Savers a number of times (don't ask), I can speak to their great service. They're a standout in an industry of nickel & dimers.
> having to use Drive Savers a number of times (don't ask)
It's weekend - don't tell :)
It's weekend - don't tell :)
As a former (and future, should the need arise) customer of Drive Savers, I can attest to their remarkable abilities and standout service. I've met reps from the company at a few trade shows and when I told one that my (then) employer sent them lots of business, I was introduced to several of their techs. Even when I wasn't playing the role of 'paying customer', everyone was extremely friendly.
Even still, this is a surprisingly generous offer. Good PR for them, obviously, but right in line with the encounters that I've had in the past.
Trivia: DS successfully recovered a full episode of the Simpsons. This was relayed to me at a trade show.
Even still, this is a surprisingly generous offer. Good PR for them, obviously, but right in line with the encounters that I've had in the past.
Trivia: DS successfully recovered a full episode of the Simpsons. This was relayed to me at a trade show.
This is certainly an awesome and generous gesture and Drive Savers wholly deserves all the attention they get here. (No sarcasm!)
Meanwhile, this is the donation page of Save the Children for the victims of the South Asia Floods:
https://secure.savethechildren.org/site/c.8rKLIXMGIpI4E/b.95...
Clicking on this link is probably not much harder than clicking the upvote button on this story.
Meanwhile, this is the donation page of Save the Children for the victims of the South Asia Floods:
https://secure.savethechildren.org/site/c.8rKLIXMGIpI4E/b.95...
Clicking on this link is probably not much harder than clicking the upvote button on this story.
This is definitely a great gesture, and will probably require a lot of labor on their part. I wonder why they did not restrict it to households with income below a certain level? That way they would have received both the positive publicity as well as reduced the free labor they need to provide.
> That way they would have received both the positive publicity as well as reduced the free labor they need to provide.
not everyone has an agenda. perhaps this was just about helping people.
not everyone has an agenda. perhaps this was just about helping people.
Possibly because they wanted to help everyone involved, regardless of income?
How would you verify it?
Off topic, I am wondering what will happen to drivesavers business model given mechanical hard drives are on the way out.
They've been "on the way out" for a long time. The cost per GB on SSD is still 20x the cost of platter drives.
I am sure ssd and flash recovery will keep them plenty busy.
I thought nearly all new SSDs implement AES-256 encryption instead of actually wiping the drive, and controller/key loss means zero chance of recovery?
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13884421
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7918288
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13884421
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7918288
And recovering from phones (same thing as flash pretty much, but with different mechanics in terms of getting access)
I'd imagine that phones are usually the easiest to recover, assuming the storage is not encrypted and the flash chip is not physically damaged. Just pop off the flash memory, pop into a socket, and go to town. No dealing with controllers or servo track or anything.
We ended up paying about $7,000 to Drive Savers and they managed to recover all my employer's data. Drive Savers is definitely a class act.
So this offer is a big deal: This isn't some fly-by-night company just trying to market their services. This is a very high-end recovery operation which normally costs a lot of money.