Data compass owners

[thatdellguy]

In my experience trying to read lots of files from a failing drive can lower your chances of a successful recovery. I've seen it happen countless times in my early days of data recovery before I knew any better. It puts more stress on the heads and platter. If the drive has platter damage your heads sweep past the damaged spots thousands of times a minute. This increases the chance of complete head and platter failure. We have always had a higher success rate by imaging a drive up to the damaged area and then running a reverse image. At least in the end we recover a good percentage of the data instead of potentially killing the heads and making the recovery worse. DC reminds me of Spinrite with an expensive USB to IDE adapter. Runtime gives away for free a Shadow Copy program that’s does almost the same thing. Download the free software and add in a good PCI IDE controller and poof you have most of what DC does. I hate to put SalvationData down but this tool seems like it was designed for Frys and BestBuy techs.

[falther]

Technically I do agree 50%, but not comercially:

There are thousands of customers out there, who never would pay more than $ 400,- / 500,-
to get their data back. They even would not mind when they where told that there was no
succsess to retrieve the data with a "cheap" tool.

For the 50% where I disagree: How big is the chance to ruin a disk in a complete image
or in trying to get about 1 to 2 gb of data?

Its also my commercial decision how I operate: A customer not willing to accept the
price for a possible time consuming imaging will only get what he/she pays for - the quickest
possible way....


I am confused about the background of the DC package. As one can use any DR software
to retrieve data from the source, I do not understand how or where the shadow disk
technology is implemented respectively could then be used from an unmodified DR software.

***

[craig6928]

Before its release, I had the impression that Data Compass would be an all in one solution combining all the SD products, and adding an imaging/cloning & recovery feature.

It is starting to become a little difficult getting a worthwhile review!!

that is what we where thinking as well

the marketing was a data recovery unit and when you read it

you say great it can repair corrupted firmware etc

but infact its only a imager system nothing more.
which has many bugs

for sure if someone is looking to be buying anything

your best bet is turning towards the ninja or deepspar imager.

[craig6928]

In my experience trying to read lots of files from a failing drive can lower your chances of a successful recovery. I've seen it happen countless times in my early days of data recovery before I knew any better. It puts more stress on the heads and platter. If the drive has platter damage your heads sweep past the damaged spots thousands of times a minute. This increases the chance of complete head and platter failure. We have always had a higher success rate by imaging a drive up to the damaged area and then running a reverse image. At least in the end we recover a good percentage of the data instead of potentially killing the heads and making the recovery worse. DC reminds me of Spinrite with an expensive USB to IDE adapter. Runtime gives away for free a Shadow Copy program that’s does almost the same thing. Download the free software and add in a good PCI IDE controller and poof you have most of what DC does. I hate to put SalvationData down but this tool seems like it was designed for Frys and BestBuy techs.

good point there if you can do two copy of the hard drive reverse for the first image
and then do a forward imager
you got more chance of recovering all the data.
if the headstack is failing you got a less chance of recoverying the data

[HDD Spaz]

@ HDD Spaz

Data Compass is definitely not a cloning / imaging device.
***

You don't know what your talking about. Of course it's an imaging device.

Fromthe salvation data website :

Pioneered Disk Image Technique - ShadowDisk, which images the sector physically from the defective drive to a functioning drive at the same time as the sector is being requested automatically. So that each sector being requested will first be imaged to a good drive, and then the read/write request will be directed to the image disk. You don't need to spend lots of time to create an image, but actually you are working on an image.

Data Compass adopts UDMA100 transmit protocol to reduce the time it takes to image a disk with bad sectors, which is at least 30% faster than any other imaging tools available elsewhere.

Stop and continue imaging as needed - configuration information together with the map of good/bad/unprocessed sectors are saved on the destination drive, so whenever you stop you will have the read permit to each imaged sector. Shadow Disk will also record each sector you successfully read from the source drive during the imaging process. There is no way you would lose what you've done.

Real-time monitor, buzzer and LEDs give you a clear feedback of the current imaging.

We give total control over imaging parameters: passes scripts configuration, read timeouts, retry attempts, bad sector retrieval (Error Correction Code (ECC) processing), selectable read commands (PIO or UDMA), and error-dependent imaging algorithm based on UNC/AMNF/IDNF/ABRT bad sectors or read/ready timeouts.

And you say its not an imaging device. Have I missed something?

[hddguy]

sounds like an imager to me

[falther]

1.
Cloning / imaging - in my opinion - should be understood as the copy process of
the complete hard disk. And thats the usual way these two words are used.

Why should we debate about a terminology and how it is used - especially when
we all know what is ment?

2.
Even if the explanation or advertisement of SD declares the DC as an imaging device,
it is my personal opinion, that it is not. Or at least one should not compare it with
real imaging / cloning devices. It would be like comparing pears with apples.

I.e. one could name the tools YEC Ninja or Deepspars Drive Imager to be imaging /
cloning devices - besides other very special features.

But neither Data Compass nor the new Atola Insight should be named imaging /
cloning devices - because of their USB ports and the resulting slow data transfer
to the destination system. A bottle neck remains a bottle neck, whatever you
name it - in an advertisement.
And - additionaly - the strenght of these systems are definitely other features.

***

[hddguy]

So does this mean Data Extractor should not be classed as a imager?

[HDD Spaz]

It would be like comparing pears with apples.

***

I ordered a juicy sounding pear from Salvation Data. It appears I have received a 'Bad' Apple.

If Falther is correct it appears that Data Extractor is not a cloning device, even though it is the best piece of kit available which clones failing HDD.

The fact is, if they advertise a cloning function, you expect the cloning function to work. I wouldn't mind so much if I downloaded it via a torrent but I spent my hard earned cash on this, I can only have the 4 holidays next year now, not the planned 6 and my engraved gold plated toilet seat is currently on hold.

[falther]

But never the less it was / is clear in the documents, that DC connects through the
USB port to the PC - compared to DDI, which connects through the IDE port to the PC.

But once again: Isnt it always a new decision how to operate with a case:

Cloning / Imaging allone could be done with True Image - with the advantage to
modify the partition sizes.
But - when problem arises - then one could rely on one of the tools - according which are
available and to the own experience.

If I was told by a customer, he just wants to get his "My documents" folder, I would
go on with DC. And - with a defect drive - if no other tool is available - and a complete
cloning is requested or necessary - I definitely would use/try with DC.

As I wrote several times in my post: DC is for retrieval of pinpointed data.
Imaging (of a complete disk) is an option - but slow (via the USB port).
If the daily work needs often a quick imaging/cloning of defective drives, then
DC was/is not the right choice (thats my opinion/experience).

***

[HDD Spaz]

Imaging (of a complete disk) is an option - but slow (via the USB port).
If the daily work needs often a quick imaging/cloning of defective drives, then
DC was/is not the right choice (thats my opinion/experience).

***

Ah Ha. Imaging is an option. It would be if it actually worked. Also "If the daily work needs often a quick imaging/cloning of defective drives, then
DC was/is not the right choice" We finally agree on something. It would be the right choice if it worked as advertised.

[falther]

A few posts ago in the same thread I wrote:
"In the advertisement its clearly stated that DC is connected via an USB port to the PC".

Therefore it was clear how slow a complete cloning/imaging or even the copying of
bigger parts of data would/could be.

I had a complete cloning of a 160GB Samsung done with Deepspars Drive Imager in about
80 minutes. After I read your post I started the same cloning with DC. The standard
software bundled with the unit - Data Recovery Studio - advises close to 8 hours for the
complete image. Tonight I will try the same cloning with Atola Insight, I wonder whether
it will / can be quicker..?

I assume you are in the repair business - therefore you do understand the information with
the maximum possible speed of an USB Port. For that you should not blame SalvationDATA

If the cloning (of a complete drive) fails (which even might fail with any other tool), then
contact SD (Laura or Selina). I am sure they will try their utmost to help.

***

[HDD Spaz]

Have to tried cloning with sector servo mode? This is what I am talking about.

[falther]

If you mean the point [sector servo] in the Data Compass Panel - that is for
viewing the access times of the whole disk or of defined ranges. That has nothing
to do with imaging/cloning.

If you mean another point, then please send a PM.

I did not (yet) find it anywhere else, neither in the Data Compass Panel, nor in the old or
the new (beta) data retrieval softwares.
***

I started the imaging/cloning of the drive with Atola Insight, as I mentioned in a prior post.
The time range advised to finish was about 4 hrs 30 mins. Compared with DC its close to half
of the time (but for more than 3 times the price).

***

[hddguy]

I get the feeling this thread is going to spiral out of control!

[HDD Spaz]

If you mean the point [sector servo] in the Data Compass Panel - that is for
viewing the access times of the whole disk or of defined ranges. That has nothing
to do with imaging/cloning.

If you mean another point, then please send a PM.

I did not (yet) find it anywhere else, neither in the Data Compass Panel, nor in the old or
the new (beta) data retrieval softwares.
***

I started the imaging/cloning of the drive with Atola Insight, as I mentioned in a prior post.
The time range advised to finish was about 4 hrs 30 mins. Compared with DC its close to half
of the time (but for more than 3 times the price).

***

How come during remote support I requested a clone using shadow disk. Salvation Data engineer enabled a shadowdisk and started sector servo. He stated the disk was cloning. I suggest you wipe a disk, enable shadow disk and start sector servo. Once complete scan the shadow disk for data. i'm sure there will be data written to the disk.

[hddguy]

Why wont somebody from SD clear things up here

[treeroot]

How come during remote support I requested a clone using shadow disk. Salvation Data engineer enabled a shadowdisk and started sector servo. He stated the disk was cloning. I suggest you wipe a disk, enable shadow disk and start sector servo. Once complete scan the shadow disk for data. i'm sure there will be data written to the disk.

Hi,

I'm a recent new owner of Data Compass (otherwise no affiliation with SalvationDATA). I took a peek at the shadowdisk with a hex editor to see what its headers look like - it certainly isn't a direct sector clone of the original hard drive. At the very least it has a header containing (among other things) the label you've applied to this particular shadowdisk and the sector length of the shadowdisk (both of which you can hack). I have not tested to see what other system data DC lays down through the shadowdisk.

My "Quick Start Guide" manual points to DR-Studio and "Image Disk" which DOES produce a sector-by-sector clone to the target disk of your choice (can be an internally mounted hard drive). Of course, the USB connector limits the speed, but at least it's possible.

So it looks like jobs I use DC for will require up to 2 spare hard drives (target clone and shadowdisk).

That's ok - like falther has said: the main advantage of DC is for targetting known folders/files. The shadowdisk allows you the possibility of expanding that to a full clone without rereading the sectors read during the rescue of the critical folder...

...we could certainly argue whether it's better to clone 100% first or grab key files first. Partly philosophical, partly commercial, partly gut-feel on a per-job basis.

I'm eagerly awaiting for them to finish the full manual (now that SD have released their 7200.11 early Xmas surprise)

Tom

[HDD Spaz]

When you enable and format a shadow disk, the cloned data starts at sector approx 1014800 (I had it written down but ive lost my post it note)



I challange somebody to wipe a drive. Enable showdow disk then run sector servo. The data will be clone to the shadow disk after sector 1014800 (approx). Use winhex to seach a hex string on the shadow disk from the patient HDD.

Tell me you results. I have tried to clone many times using sector servo (it looked like a data extractor rip off so I presumed this is the shadow disk cloning function.) and some of the disk cloned to the shadow disk.

Data Compass if a useful product for targeting data on unstable drives ( I use it all day) but until the new software is released it's nowhere near as good as data extractor

[HDD Spaz]

Sector Servo is cloning function. The End.