Data Compass,Broken Promise for >Hitachi SA Emulation

[matrixblade]

SD launched Data Compass with Hitachi SA Emulation(see extract below) with the promise to include Seagate then WD & the rest. This was one of the deciding factors for me to invest in Data Compass.

Time & again they announced upcoming Seagate SA Emulation availability in early 2009, then mid 2009 then it just seemed to die a natural death.

No more announcements. In fact, there's no longer any mention of Hitachi or any SA Emulation on Data Compass Standard or Premium on their website. This has been totally removed.

Does any one else who waited patiently for SD to fulfill their promises feel betrayed like I do? Should we, as a community allow our vendors & suppliers to get away with such blatant daylight robbery?


Data Compass SA Emulation:
Feel it's too difficult to repair your firmware? Or you have come across bad sectors in SA which is headache even
for experienced engineers? Through the new technology, DC directly generates key information for booting
drive in RAM; therefore, users can directly access data area in hard drive without initializing the SA. With the fast
changing hard drive density and models today, such "hot swap method" to access the drive brings us to the times of
"data recovery without firmware repair". We can read damaged SA and access the data directly, "Analog" no need to find
suitable firmware donor or do hot swap, especially problems like multiple bad sectors in SA.


The SalvationDATA Data Compass easily helps me get rid of SA
bad sectors which can't be repaired by other drive restoration
products we've been using before, because it gives access to
user data area directly by using its Analog technology which
virtually boot the hard drive SA-independently.
--- Yimei Cao, Lead Data Recovery Engineer
CBL Data Recovery Technologies Inc.

[falther]

Sorry, but I am confused ....:

The first part of your post is critics on the (known) behaviour of SD ...

But the second part is like a commercial advertisement for their tool.

Is it a kind of information that you like the tool -
or is it out of an advertisement / a brochure of SD - where you disagree?

+++

[matrixblade]

Thanks for your post, falther.

To clarify, I find Hitachi SA Emulation a good tool. However, I am a 100% critic & 0% fan of SD's arrogance in not keeping their promise to include SA Emulation for Seagate, WD, Maxtor.

The "(see extract below)" portion of my post refers to portion which reads:

Data Compass SA Emulation:
Feel it's too difficult to repair your firmware? Or you have come across bad sectors in SA which is headache even
for experienced engineers? Through the new technology, DC directly generates key information for booting
drive in RAM; therefore, users can directly access data area in hard drive without initializing the SA. With the fast
changing hard drive density and models today, such "hot swap method" to access the drive brings us to the times of
"data recovery without firmware repair". We can read damaged SA and access the data directly, "Analog" no need to find
suitable firmware donor or do hot swap, especially problems like multiple bad sectors in SA.


The SalvationDATA Data Compass easily helps me get rid of SA
bad sectors which can't be repaired by other drive restoration
products we've been using before, because it gives access to
user data area directly by using its Analog technology which
virtually boot the hard drive SA-independently.
--- Yimei Cao, Lead Data Recovery Engineer
CBL Data Recovery Technologies Inc.

In short, I have extracted portions from their Data Compass Quick Guide which refer to SA Emulation as SD has removed all references to Data Compass SA Emulation on their website.

[thatdellguy]

I am a 100% critic & 0% fan of SD's arrogance in not keeping their promise

Give it time and they will break even more promises...

[poehere]

Wow I am sure if this one was really possible more people would buy this tool. I have this tool and yes it is good for some work on the HDD but have never found it can work without repairing the SA. It is also very slow in cloning and the more they improve it the slower it becomes in cloning. They have also promised the USB 3.0 and waiting to see if this one come out. But for SA emulation I think they are referring to the part that you need to have their tools also and can use their tools and the DC together to get your data off the drives. You can work with their repair tools and then attach the DC to the system and without taking the drive off their other tool use the DC to extract data off the drives. Maybe this is their SA emulation they are referring to.

[falther]

Here is a complete explanation from SD about this SA emulation - its to be found on their
own website - the download section:

http://www.salvationdata.com/downloads/ ... nology.pdf


If it suddenly disappears - send me a pm, I have the file

+++

[matrixblade]

Thanks everyone for your views.

Thanks for the link, falther. I already have that file.

However, there is no mention of their commitment to deliver SA Emulation for Seagate, Maxtor & WD in this file. This commitment was expressed in their Data Compass page on their website. This has since been removed sometime after Mar'09 when I last pressed them for a delivery time line.

The only existence of this commitment I can still find is in Page 31 of the Data Compass Quick Start for Data Compass v1.0.

Quick Start for Data Compass v1.0.pdf

Data Compass Quick Start for Data Compass v1.0

(3.71 MiB) Downloaded 1002 times

. I think they realize that they are shooting themselves in the foot as DC's SA Emulation may negate the need for HD Doctor(at least the more basic features).

I only wish there was a way for us, as a community, to band together & pressure (thru' warning others on Forums like hddguru) SD to improve their pre-sales (SD even takes forever to answer even questions that enable making informed decisions to buy) & post-sales (practically non-existent) service & support & to honour their commitments. What is a man if even his word can't be trusted?

Unfortunately, when SD doesn't like what they hear about themselves on Forums, they simply excuse themselves & stop participating with the defense that they are being defamed & henceforth retreat to the safe sanctuary of SD's own Forum. They seem to say that only the good (however little) feedback about SD is true & the bad feedback are just lies concocted by their competition & detractors. How convenient!

Nevertheless, we should all continue to highlight their shortcomings & warn each other in the hope that SD will wake up one day & realize that they can't just get by on "take it or leave it if you want the cheapest" attitude. What else can those who can't afford PC3000 or Atola Insight do?

Meanwhile, I eagerly await the day when SD meets a competitor that gives them a run for their money, yet provides impeccable pre- & post-sales service & support.

[thatdellguy]

I seriously doubt SD will even make it through 2010 if they continue to shut out end user suggestions.

[ppumkin]

I seriously doubt SD will even make it through 2010 if they continue to shut out end user suggestions.

I have to agree on this.. they just ignore everything you suggest..