homegrown solutions can be unsafe, I do agree with you, but persistance, determination and constant improvements to your solutions and techniques, and the skill of the engineer all should be enough to secure the data. I did not get to where I am now by purchasing PE tools, and head combs. When I began doing Data Recovery there was nothing commercially available that could assist me. Anybody can perform a platterswap if they purchase the correct tools, and read enough information, but the real skill comes from developing your own tools and methods.

I would bet that most of the experienced DR technicians here have recovered many failed drives using homegrown solutions, and most likely are still using these solutions.

If I have a 90% success rate with a specific method, whether intrinsecally safe or not, then I think I will stick to it.

I work hard, and research lots, and constantly looking to better myelf and my DR team, and if homegrown solutions work for me with good success, then homegrown solutions it is

Well from what I have seen with the platter extraction tools, I think they are all a waste of time and money. Any video on the net that shows them in use displays an inept "technician" performing some back street surgery on a HDD. In the one I saw the other day the "technician" cocked up the removal of the heads by allowing them to slam on the magnet and then proceeded to take about 15 minutes securing what looks like a baked bean tin around the platters to pick them up. Then another 10mins fiddling around trying to re-align the platters into the new chassis.

If you have a tried and tested method of doing something use it. Don’t re-invent the wheel. HDDGuy is a great DR tech with some amazing knowledge. I have worked with him in the past on some problems and he has helped no end.

Anyone trying to promote their own useless product should not be using the forums for it.

And anyway you could throw Toshiba platters into a chassis from the other side of the room and the drive would still work fine.

C’mon guys. Let’s put the balls and spirit back into data recovery.

PS. Can everyone start spell checking their posts please. One finds it rather annoying

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The last I heard of God he was worshiping me

I admit I used homegrown solutions too in the past, but my homegrown solutions are near professional tools - maybe I'm lucky beacuse I can have any tool or piece machined from a simple project. As for other things, Internet is flooded with bogus information just for fools. That's why I don't trust it.
And anyway good tool / service equipment companies , if required, give you every live demo if they want to sell you something. I just asked...
This applies to every costly equipment. Sometimes is not possible to have a direct demo from their sales representative, but from local distributors... yes, just ask. Sometimes you have to move. But if they refuse, probably their solutions are not as good as they claim, and in any case someone who already bought "it" can be contacted. Only my 2 cent.

I have used some commercially available products, and I have found only a small ammount to be of value. Obviously I am very interested in new products, but it is a little worrying that the way the market is going, we will end up depending on these tools, rather than building on the specific knowledge, experience and skill that we already have. It is not the available tools that hold the capability to recover the data, they can only assist, and PE and HS tools in the hands of a novice, is no comparison to no tools in the hands of an experienced and technical DR engineer

Totally agree, HDDGUY.

Hi



Can you told us how?

Thanks, Giuseppe