HDD GURU FORUMS

Hi everyone,

My Seagate Central 4 TB HDD was recently damaged. I had to give it to a local recovery service (I took it out of the enclosure and gave them just the disk). They found that some components on the electronic board were damaged and replaced them. That was fine, but then they did something strange. They converted the disk to NTFS (originally it had a Linux EXT partition) in order to use their recovery software that works under Windows (iCare Data Recovery). They asked too much money for that step, so I did not accept and took the disk back from them.

Had they not converted the disk to NTFS, probably now I would be able to read it directly under Linux. Now I am forced to use iCare Data Recovery. However the software is not able to find most of my lost files. The guys at the service say that I don't know how to use iCare Data Recovery and that they can recover all files (for which they ask quite some money).

First thing I want to ask, is it possible (and will it make sense) to convert the disk back to Linux EXT? Probably it would be a good idea to clone it first and then to try to convert the clone to Linux EXT?

Or alternatively, could it be that I am missing something in iCare Data Recovery? It's interface is very simple and straightforward, so I don't know what I could have missed. But the guys at the recovery service say that it definitely should be able to recover all the files but that would take about 4 days. Currently the software finds only the files of some specific types (like jpeg or mp4). But most of my lost files are DVD vob files. The software does not know this file type and does not display them.

Any other suggestions? I would be grateful for any idea.

ldor777 wrote:but then they did something strange. They converted the disk to NTFS (originally it had a Linux EXT partition)

bad approach, every DR firm who respects himself and knows what he is doing, never touches the original media.

ldor777 wrote:in order to use their recovery software that works under Windows (iCare Data Recovery).

first, there are programs that work under linux.
second, there are programs that work under windows who can handle linux based format.

ldor777 wrote:Had they not converted the disk to NTFS, probably now I would be able to read it directly under Linux.

maybe, but hard to say without proper analysis, depends on the problem.

ldor777 wrote:Now I am forced to use iCare Data Recovery.

not realy.

ldor777 wrote:However the software is not able to find most of my lost files.

try something else.

ldor777 wrote:The guys at the service say that I don't know how to use iCare Data Recovery

i would say they are a bunch of amateurs who are trying to make some extra $$$ on people.

ldor777 wrote:and that they can recover all files (for which they ask quite some money).

i wouldn't trust them.

ldor777 wrote:First thing I want to ask, is it possible (and will it make sense) to convert the disk back to Linux EXT?

of course it's possible, would i recommend doing it ? of course not.

ldor777 wrote:Probably it would be a good idea to clone it first

that's right.

ldor777 wrote:and then to try to convert the clone to Linux EXT?

you can do whatever you want, but, no need to do the that (as stated above).

ldor777 wrote:Or alternatively, could it be that I am missing something in iCare Data Recovery?

maybe, depends on your knowledge.

ldor777 wrote:But the guys at the recovery service say that it definitely should be able to recover all the files

again i wouldn't trust them to touch my HDD (or any media storage) for recovery, and i wouldn't call them a data recovery service, a DR firm doesn't change (and doesn't need to) the original.

ldor777 wrote:The software does not know this file type and does not display them.

there are programs who can handle even file types that they are not familiar (you can add those file types manually).

ldor777 wrote:Any other suggestions?

try UFS explorer.

Thank you everybody.
I have already understood that I should not have dealt with that company, so I will not give the disk back to them. But what can I do now? I see one recommendation to try UFS explorer. Are there any other ideas?

Maybe they still have a clone of your drive in their archive with your data but because you refused to pay and they didn't want you to have the data without paying they did mess something out in a way it wouldn't be easy for you to recover the files ?

Spildit wrote:Maybe they still have a clone of your drive in their archive with your data but because you refused to pay and they didn't want you to have the data without paying they did mess something out in a way it wouldn't be easy for you to recover the files ?

Bingo!

May I ask what fee they asked you for? Was it extortionate?

I don't think they would be competent enough to fix the pcb/original problem and then they would mess the logic recovery, even more if they are a reputable DR firm, and not just a computer repair shop... In any case your drive didn't work at all and now it's NTFS, meaning that they most likely replaced pcb correctly + pcb ROM... So if they have knowledge to do that i doubt they would miss the last phase of recovery out of incompetence. As you didn't pay i would say that they mess something to get you to pay...

ldor777 wrote:They found that some components on the electronic board were damaged and replaced them.
...
They converted the disk to NTFS (originally it had a Linux EXT partition)
...
The guys at the service say that I don't know how to use iCare Data Recovery and that they can recover all files (for which they ask quite some money).
...
the guys at the recovery service say that it definitely should be able to recover all the files but that would take about 4 days.
Any other suggestions? I would be grateful for any idea.

Their "approach" (if it can be called this way) is indeed more than strange.
Moreover, if your drive had PCB issues and used ext FS they do not support, then I can hardly guess how and for what purpose they used the iCare tool.

The only thing, which looks realistic, is the 4 days estimate for processing 4 TB of data.

If you are looking for a knowledgeable DR company to contact, give a call to http://verikurtarma.com/
They will definitely not convert the drive into another FS.

And if you believe that first service kept an image and trying to get a ransom for your data, there's probably an option to catch them on that. But it depends a lot on whether the local law enforcement will be interested in such case.

ldor777 wrote:First thing I want to ask, is it possible (and will it make sense) to convert the disk back to Linux EXT? Probably it would be a good idea to clone it first and then to try to convert the clone to Linux EXT?

No, that's a bad idea. You should avoid any writing operations on this drive.

Scan the drive (or it's image) with UFS Explorer and see what it will find.
Although the conversion process is likely to destroy the data at least partially.

Spildit wrote:Maybe they still have a clone of your drive in their archive with your data but because you refused to pay and they didn't want you to have the data without paying they did mess something out in a way it wouldn't be easy for you to recover the files ?

Quite possible but they said they did not have a clone. So, I suppose, I can't get anything from them.

jermy wrote:try UFS explorer.

I am trying UFS explorer but I am confused. It does not show anything to recover. Even on other, healthy drives it just shows the existing files, nothing to recover. I've read the manual and did not find any hint there. And the interface looks quite straightforward, so I have no idea what I could have missed.
Could you tell me how to deal with it?

ldor777 wrote:They converted the disk to NTFS (originally it had a Linux EXT partition) in order to use their recovery software that works under Windows (iCare Data Recovery).

Oh dear

ldor777 wrote:

Spildit wrote:Maybe they still have a clone of your drive in their archive with your data but because you refused to pay and they didn't want you to have the data without paying they did mess something out in a way it wouldn't be easy for you to recover the files ?

Quite possible but they said they did not have a clone. So, I suppose, I can't get anything from them.

Right click on the drive to left, select "Recover lost data", choose the FS you want to find/scan, and wait.

ldor777 wrote:I am trying UFS explorer but I am confused. It does not show anything to recover...
I've read the manual and did not find any hint there...

You need to perform the scan (search) first to see what can be recovered.

If UFS Explorer is too functional, download Raise Data Recovery for Ext2 / Ext4 / Ext4:
http://www.ufsexplorer.com/rdr_ext23.php

It is more specialized, but all the functions you need are present and software fits your task perfectly.
At the same time interface is simpler and license cost is a bargain.