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Data Recovery Handling Survey

7/26/2017 11:14 AM

We would like to know how you handle your data recovery projects! Answer this 1 question survey and receive a 15% off coupon for your next parts purchase or data recovery project. See the article for all details.

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Posted in Company News Data Recovery By Donor Drives Team

Head Swap Donor Matching Guide

1/8/2016 12:52 PM

The following instructions are for maximizing compatibility when looking for a donor head stack assembly. Be aware that there is no way to 100% guarantee a match, but following these guidelines will help you increase the chances of locating a successful donor.

Locate the make of hard drive you are working on, and then try to match the specs listed. Please note that we do not cover Quantum or very old Western Digital drives (pre-Caviar) here. For any information visible on the label, we have highlighted where you can find that in the accompanying example label for each type. Your label may look different, depending on the date or the product line that the drive belongs to.

We have prioritized and color coded each aspect. Chances are, you won't be able to find a donor that matches all of these specs, but using the color-coding you can see which information is more important.

  • RED - Essential. You almost certainly cannot use a donor without this matching.
  • ORANGE - High priority. This information often is required to match for a donor to be compatible.
  • YELLOW - Medium priority. This information can help increase the chances of compatibility if a match is available.
  • GREEN - Low priority. This is normally not a factor, but can be used to choose between multiple donors matching everything else.
SELECT A BRAND
Fujitsu Samsung
Hitachi Seagate
IBM Toshiba
Maxtor Western Digital

 

 


 

Western Digital

Caviar 1st Edition

These are generally drives that are 10 or more years old. They can be differentiated by having a PCB that is, more or less, square compared to the L-shaped PCBs of later models.

Use the following criteria to find a donor drive.

  • Model number: Match the entire first part of the model number as well as three characters in the second part. Eg: WD800BB-55JKA0
  • Heads map: Match the physical heads (PH) map exactly. It is OK if the donor has more heads than the original drive, but all heads before that should match.
  • DCM: Locate the J or 2 in the DCM. It should be towards the end. Make sure that the J or 2 as well as the preceding character matches on the donor.
  • Country of manufacture: Should be the same.
  • Date of manufacture: Should be within three months — the closer the better.
  • Serial number: Match the first four digits of the serial numbers.
  • PCB Revision: The PCB Rev should be the same.

Marvell (version 1)

These drives can be identified by the family code in the model number (the 3rd and 4th digits after the hyphen). The following families are part of this type: Mammoth (family codes EY, EZ, FA, FC, FJ, FM, HE, HF, JE, JS, JT, JY), Sabre (JH, JJ, JK, JL, JM, JN, JP, JR, JU, KS, LN, MG), Hawk (MH, MJ, MK, ML, MV, MW, MY, MZ, NC, ND, NE, NF, NG, NH, NJ, NK, NT, NV, NY, PA), Hawk-2 (SG, SH, TG), Starling (RD, RE, RF, RJ, RK, RL), Buccaneer (KE, KF, KG, KM), Zeus (MN, MP, VJ), and Raider (PC, PD, PE, PF, PG). Even if these families of drives say "Caviar SE" on the label, they belong to the Marvell architecture.

Use the following criteria to find a donor drive.

  • Model number: It is ideal to match the whole model number, but if none is available you can try one that matches the entire first part of the model number as well as these three characters in the second part: WD1600JB-40TGB0
  • Heads map: Match the physical heads (PH) map exactly. It is OK if the donor has more heads than the original drive, but all heads before that should match.
  • DCM: Locate the J or 2 in the DCM. It should be towards the end. Make sure that the J or 2 as well as the preceding character matches on the donor. If the three characters before that match as well, it will have an even better chance of being a match.
  • Date of manufacture: Should be within three months — the closer the better.
  • Preamplifier: Exact match for both vendor and revision.
  • Microjogs: Each value should be within 300 of the original drive — the closer the better.
  • Country of manufacture: Should be the same.

Marvell (version 2)

These encompass most newer and modern Western Digital drives.

Use the following criteria to find a donor drive.

  • Model number: It is ideal to match the whole model number, but if none is available you can try one that matches the entire first part of the model number as well as these three characters in the second part: WD1200BEVT-22A23T0
  • Heads map: Match the physical heads (PH) map exactly. It is OK if the donor has more heads than the original drive, but all heads before that should match.
  • DCM: Locate the J or 2 in the DCM. It should be towards the end. Make sure that the J or 2 as well as the preceding character matches on the donor.
  • Preamplifier: Exact match for both vendor and revision.
  • Microjogs: Each value should be within 200 of the original drive — the closer the better.
  • Country of manufacture: Should be the same.
  • Date of manufacture: Should be within three months — the closer the better.

 

 


 

Seagate

Barracuda

These drives can be identified by containing a period ( . ) in the firmware number.

Use the following criteria to find a donor drive. 

  • Model number: Match the model number exactly.
  • Heads map: Match the physical heads (PH) map exactly. It is OK if the donor has more heads than the original drive, but all heads before that should match.
  • Serial number: Match the second and third characters of the serial number.
  • Firmware (7-series or earlier): Optional — For drives that are 7-series or earlier, match the firmware number.
  • Serial number: In addition to the 2nd and 3rd digit, match the first character of the serial number.
  • Site code: Match the site code. This indicates the location of manufacture.
  • Part number: Match the 1st half of the part number. If the second half also matches, it is likely to be an even better match.
  • Date code: Convert the date codes. They should be within three months of each other — the closer the better.

F3

These drives can be identified by NOT containing a period ( . ) in the firmware number.

Use the following criteria to find a donor drive. 

  • Model number: Match the model number exactly.
  • Serial number: Match the second and third characters of the serial number.
  • Heads map: Match the physical heads (PH) map exactly. It is OK if the donor has more heads than the original drive, but all heads before that should match.
  • Preamplifier type: Optional — Match the first two digits of the preamplifier type.
  • Part number: Match the 1st half of the part number. If the second half also matches, it is likely to be an even better match.
  • Site code: Match the site code. This indicates the location of manufacture.
  • Date code: Convert the date codes. They should be within three months of each other — the closer the better.

 


 

Samsung

Older

These drives can be identified by having a separate barcode sticker with two sets of numbers on it.

Use the following criteria to find a donor drive.

  • Model number: Match the model number exactly.
  • Heads map: Match the physical heads (PH) map exactly. It is OK if the donor has more heads than the original drive, but all heads before that should match.
  • Country of manufacture: Should be the same.
  • P/V: To the right of the part number. Some drives may be missing this field.
  • PCB revision: PCB Rev should be the same.

 

 

Newer

These are 2.5" inch drives, series M7S2, M7E (i.e. Mercury / Rev .07 / S3M), MP4, MT2, M8E, and M9T, as well as 3.5" inch drives, series F3 or later. The series can be found printed on the PCB or in some instances on the drive label.

Use the following criteria to find a donor drive.

  • Model number: Match the model number exactly.
  • Heads map: Match the physical heads (PH) map exactly. It is OK if the donor has more heads than the original drive, but all heads before that should match.
  • Preamplifier revision: The preamplifier revision should be the same.

 


 

Hitachi/IBM

Use the following criteria to find a donor drive.

  • Model number: Match the model number exactly.
  • Part number: Match the part number exactly.
  • Heads map: Match the physical heads (PH) map exactly. It is OK if the donor has more heads than the original drive, but all heads before that should match.
  • MLC: Match the MLC exactly.
  • Date of manufacture: Should be within three months — the closer the better.

 

 

 


 

Toshiba

Use the following criteria to find a donor drive.

  • Model number: Match the whole number. If you cannot do this, you may be able to match the first eight digits of the model number and the family code instead.
  • Country of manufacture: Should be the same.
  • Hard drive code: The first part of the HDD code should match.

 

 


 

Maxtor

Use the following criteria to find a donor drive.

  • Model number: Match the model number exactly.
  • Four-letter code: The 1st and 3rd digits are most important. If the 2nd and 4th digits also match, that further increases the likelihood of a match.
  • Date of manufacture: Should be within three months — the closer the better.

 


 

Fujitsu

Use the following criteria to find a donor drive.

  • Model number: Match the model number exactly.
  • Part number: Match the part number exactly.
Posted in Data Recovery By Marcus Gilchrist

Donor Drives Partners With ACE Laboratory

Donor Drives is proud to announce a new partnership with ACE Laboratory—the preeminent name in data recovery solutions. Both companies have a long history of being instrumental to the data recovery industry, and we’re proud to take that to a new level of integration.

This new partnership will help data recovery professionals work more efficiently. Purchasing donor parts is about to get a lot easier.

 

New PC-3000 Integration

ACE Laboratory is the maker of the hugely successful PC-3000, which is the gold standard for data recovery professionals. Their latest software update allows users to order directly from Donor Drives without leaving the PC-3000 interface. The model information you need will be automatically filled in so you can quickly search the Donor Drives inventory.

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Posted in Company News Data Recovery By Marcus Gilchrist

Heads up, data recovery professionals!

 

ACE Labs is offering a FREE one-day conference in New York on monolith flash recovery. This will be a must-see for professionals who need to perform monlithic flash recoveries, especially forensic specialists and companies who perform NAND recoveries.

ACE Labs is the company behind the PC 3000--the most trusted family of professional data recovery solutions.

 

Topics covered will include:

  • Making monolith recoveries more efficient
  • Methods of working with monolith devices
  • Monolith chip soldering
  • Working with unknown monolithic flash drives
  • Troubleshooting controllers and power supply voltage
  • and more!

Be sure to register by the deadline of September 10th! Details below:

 

 

Monolith. Top-Level Technology for Top-Level Tasks.
Presented by

Friday, September 18, 2015. 10am to 4pm.
Holiday Inn Midtown (440 W. 57th St., NYC)

 

Register now for free!


 

Posted in Data Recovery By Marcus Gilchrist

The storage media industry is changing rapidly, and as a result the data recovery industry is adapting. Some have forecast that the industry has peaked, but new innovations are actually providing unprecedented new areas for growth. This article will spotlight the innovations and trends that are shaping the industry as we close out 2014.

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Posted in Company News Data Recovery By Marcus Gilchrist

Got a broken hard drive? Is your hard drive clicking? Could it be a logical failure? Bad sectors? Head crash? Check out Donor Drives' new video and learn how to identify common hard drive failures and simple fixes for some of them to try at home.

Posted in Company News Data Recovery By Marcus Gilchrist

RAID storage has been around for decades, but those who have heard about it or who use it often think it is only for enterprise users and wouldn’t be practical or useful for an individual. However, recently, more and more individuals are embracing the advantages in speed and protection offered by RAID.

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Posted in Data Recovery By Marcus Gilchrist

HDD vs SSD - How to Decide

7/28/2014 12:51 PM

RAID storage has been around for decades, but those who have heard about it or who use it often think it is only for enterprise users and wouldn’t be practical or useful for an individual. However, recently, more and more individuals are embracing the advantages in speed and protection offered by RAID.

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Posted in Data Recovery PCB Services By Marcus Gilchrist

Forbes Features Data Recovery

7/17/2014 3:25 PM

This week, Michael O’Dwyer wrote an excellent article on Forbes.com entitled “How Not To Lose Your Head When You Lose Your Data”.  As he notes, “PC users, almost without exception, are experienced with data loss.” This is an unfortunate reality of computing, but he does mention some important solutions.

If possible, the “goal should be disaster avoidance not disaster recovery”.  Creating a backup of your data can help avoid the stress of data loss in the unfortunate case of hard disk failure. The article suggests regular, automatic backups, such as our Unlimited Automatic Cloud Backup (now on sale for $14.99/mo).

Should you find yourself without a suitable backup, there are other options. You may be able to repair your failed hard drive and extract the data from it. (For advanced technicians we have a guide to PCB replacement and offer plenty of hard drive parts and PCB components for sale.)

If doing it yourself is a bit daunting or the failure is too severe, you can send it to a professional data recovery service, such as Outsource Data Recovery. They offer a $60 hard drive repair service, after which you can extract your own data. If this is not possible, they also offer full data recovery service – you can get a free instant quote by filling out some information on their website.

As the Forbes article says, in our computer-centric world, we all have data we would hate to lose—whether important business documents or priceless family photos—but we increasingly have options to protect or recover our lost data.

Posted in Data Recovery PCB Services By Marcus Gilchrist

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