so i want to start doing DR, (using DDI and pc3k) but i was wondering if i need to study any more in order to successfully use those machines (i currently do logical recovery and use dd_rescue, and understand the advantages of both of those machines), if there is something i need to learn please point me to it.

sincerely from a noob
thanx

Simple answer is YES you will need to study. The DDI is easy to use & no training courses AFAIK.
The PC3000 UDMA is a steep learning curve but you need one to practice & learn on, the manuals are big & full of info. I did the AceLabs training courses in Russia & they were very intense but worth every £. The PC3000 UDMA can also image / clone so you could decide to save some money & just get that. Personally I have both

If your serious about DR then you will need deep pockets with lots of $ for the tools, hardware, training & reseaching you will do.

Loki

hey loki thanks for your reply, really PC3000 UDMA can image? or thats only with the data extractor? also how is the manual supplied is written well in english i am a bit worried because its from a non english speaking country

Yes you need data extractor. I would definitly recommend getting it.
Yes the manual is in english so no worries there. I had the same concerns taking the training class but it was fine.

Loki

so why exactly would you recommend data extractor over DDI, is it because its $1000 cheaper, or because it has more functionality?

i do see that it can do logical recovery but is it any better than other software that does logical recovery?

thanks for the comfort that the manual is readable

Personally I would recommend both but if your on a budget then the data extractor offers more bang for your buck.
Yes data extrator is better as you can manipulate head maps in RAM etc.

If you speak to Acelab they will answer any questions you have.

Loki

well doesn't DDI also give individual head access?

but i guess these questions should be directed to acelab

anyway thanks loki for your help

Yes, DDI can image by head on most drives (excluding Samsung).

But what Loki means is to "trick" a drive with a duff head into initialising by temporarily altering the head map in RAM, as opposed to the map in ROM. Only DE can do this.

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indeed interesting, please excuse my ignorance but what is the gain of altering the head map in RAM over ROM?

Ability to actually work with the drive when on its own is not possible.

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Hard Disk Drive (HDD), Solid State Drive (SSD, SATA, NVMe, etc), USB Flash Drive and RAID Data Recovery Specialist in Massachusetts

thats regarding RAM right? if true how is that an advantage?

I explained. You can actually do some things with a "damaged" drive that is basically inaccessible.

But I guess one can't really understand until experiencing it.

Here is a poor analogy: you know how a Windows installation has some issues with some critical booting files and your system is not loading? Well it is nice to use the recovery console utility to fix or replace whatever broken files there are, right?

Kinda the same thing here with an hdd.

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Hard Disk Drive (HDD), Solid State Drive (SSD, SATA, NVMe, etc), USB Flash Drive and RAID Data Recovery Specialist in Massachusetts

@labtech thanx for going the extra mile and giving an analogy

i do understand the purpose of manipulating head maps (like that you can at least still read from the good heads, right?)

but i was trying to understand the difference of doing that in the RAM and in the ROM, are you simply saying it will fix the HDD by permanently turning off the damaged head(s) and then the HDD will be considered fixed (as opposed to simply doing data recovery and putting the HDD in garbage because the bad heads are still active)

RAM means temporary - so the manipulation of heads will work only while powered on.
There is no fixing of the heads, just disabling the BAD one(s) that prevents the drive from not working.

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Hard Disk Drive (HDD), Solid State Drive (SSD, SATA, NVMe, etc), USB Flash Drive and RAID Data Recovery Specialist in Massachusetts

@labtech superb that's precisely how i understood you from the beginning, my issue was how is that an advantage for the data extractor?

Imaging with a bad head in DE slows the image down and causes more stress on the drive when trying to read sectors corresponding to the bad head(s), but since they are disabled in RAM, then you know...

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Hard Disk Drive (HDD), Solid State Drive (SSD, SATA, NVMe, etc), USB Flash Drive and RAID Data Recovery Specialist in Massachusetts

Allocation of tracks and zones and lengths of each zones is determined by capacity vs head count. Permanent modification of this in ROM alters the sizes of the zones which affects operational. Heads switch to alternative zones too soon, relative and physical location of tracks are not consistent etc. Modification in RAM maintains the correct zone allocation while still 'disabling' the bad head.