Data Recovery

To better understand the data recoverys process that we have shown below, we recommend downloading the flow chart that graphically describes all the processing phases of our Data Recovery service.

The Data Recovery service offered by Aesse Service srl is structured on 2 levels, excluding intervention on Solid State Drives (SSDs), Ribbons / Tapes, Cd / Dvd, Memory Cards and Floppy Disks. Each Level is in divided into 2 phases, one for Diagnostics and one for Data Recovery.

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DIAGNOSTIC PHASE

In the 1st level of intervention, we proceed to the preliminary assessment of the possibility or the impossibility of Data Recovery, without opening the support in the clean room. If it is possible to resolve the inconvenience it will follow, the Customer will be informed via email about the list of the recoverable files and the pricing for the next stage of data recovery. If it is impossible to retrieve data at level 1 intervention, it will follow a Diagnostic Pricing for the clean Room with 2nd Level intervention. The tape diagnostic/recovery service does not provide for the defective media to be returned as technically impossible. In case of tape diagnostic and data recovery service, the defective media will not be returned to the Customer, as it is technically impossible.

DATA RECOVERY PHASE

In both levels of intervention, the data recovery process will only be executed following a special estimate, and technical report provided to the Customer. Any move from one level of intervention to another will always be preceded by a budget estimate and will be subject to express acceptance by the customer. Depending on the amount, the recovered data can be saved to CD, DVD or Hard Disk. However, the type of data storage device will always be indicated on the quote and may be agreed in advance with the Customer.

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DESCRIPTION OF THE TWO LEVELS OF INTERVENTION

1st Level

This level includes Diagnosis and the eventual Data Recovery service, without opening the support in the clean room, resulting in significant cost containment. Through our low-level reading system, if possible, we create a mirror of the clusters of the data storage media, both in the reference areas and the data area, skipping bad blocks. After completing the operation and working exclusively on the virtual image of the media, we reconstruct the reference areas and look for all the fragments in the data area for each single file, to create the original structure. At the end of the procedure, it is usually possible to recover all or part of the lost data. Thanks to the technique we have adopted and our expertise, we have achieved a success rate in recovering data at this level equal to 90% of the workings. At this level, to limit the cost, the Customer can refer to the provided File List by selecting what data he wants to be recovered. The selection must be only made by indicating the folders you want to recover from the root directory, and not file by file.

The 1st level of intervention can be applied to the following media:

Hard Drive, Solid State Drive (SSD), RAID / NAS Systems, Virtual Machines, Removable Cartridges, Floppy Disks, Cdr, Dvd, Ribbons / Tapes, PenDrive USB, Flash Card ™, Smart Media ™, Micro Drive, Multimedia Card, Secure Digital Card and all other data storage media for digital cameras.

2nd Level

This level includes Diagnosis and the eventual Data Recovery service, opening the disk in a clean room. Depending on the case and the severity of the defect, it may be necessary to replace damaged electromechanical parts (eg: Testine, Engine, Voice Coil, etc.) or work directly on the magnetic surface of the support to create a cluster mirror, Both in the reference areas and in the data area, by skipping any bad blocks. After completing the operation and working exclusively on the virtual image of the media, we reconstruct the reference areas and look for all the fragments in the data area for each single file, to create the original structure. At the end of the procedure, it is usually possible to retrieve all or part of the lost data. Thanks to the technique we have adopted and our expertise, we have achieved a success rate in recovering data at this level equal to 80% of the workings. At this level, the Customer can not select the data he wants to retrieve. In fact, the processing involves retrieving all files that are listed in the provided File List.

The 2nd level of intervention can be applied to the following media:

Hard Disk, Sistemi RAID/NAS, Virtual Machines and removable cartridges.

In case of data loss, it is very important to avoid some actions, which can greatly affect the probability of recovery. Below is a brief guide on what to do and what not to do in case of data loss.

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WHAT DO NOT DO

Hard Drives, Removable Cartridges and Raid / Nas Component Drive Units should never be opened unless in a clean room. Opening the media in an unprotected environment greatly compromises the ability to recover the data. The dust that is normally present in the environment, depositing on the magnetic surfaces, interferes between the reading head of the unit and the surface itself, thus effectively ruining the sectors involved. Touching the magnetic surfaces also causes the same damage. Also do not attempt to open Solid State Drive (SSD), Ribbon / Tape, Memory Card, PenDrive USB or Floppy disk drive as it may physically damage the media.

In the case of Hard Disk, Raid/Nas Systems, Removable Cartridges, Floppy Disks and Tapes / Tapes, DO NOT insist on turning the unit on and off. In fact, if the units have undergone a Head Crash or the head for any other reason physically destroys the surface, insisting will only cause more damage to the surface of the platters. Any additional attempt to access data will result in further damage to the magnetic surface of the media, compromising the ability to recover the data.

In case of Hard Disk, Solid State Drive (SSD), Raid/Nas Systems, Removable Cartridges and Floppy Disks, PenDrive USB, Flash Card ™, Smart Media ™, SONY Memory Stick ™, IBM ™ Micro Drive, Multimedia Card, Secure Digital cards etc. Never run surface scan programs (Ex: Defrag, Disk Doctor, ScanDisk, etc.). These programs can execute overwriting tasks, and greatly compromise the ability to recover the data.

WHAT TO DO IN CASE OF DATA LOSS

In case of Hard Disk, Raid / Nas Systems, Removable Cartridges, Floppy Disks and Tapes / Tapes, turn off your device or computer to prevent further damage. Through our On-Line Request Form, you can request a personalized data retrieval service, depending on your needs.

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SECTION DEDICATED TO RAID/NAS SYSTEMS

In some data recovery operations from RAID / NAS systems, it has happened that due to erroneous operations performed by the Customer,data recovery was only partially possible or, in the most serious cases, impossible. For this reason, we would like to provide some useful tips to our Customers, and anyone who lost data from RAID/NAS systems.

The most used RAID configurations are:

RAID0 - ALSO CALLED DISK STRIPING

This level allows you to get high storage capacity at low cost and remarkable read and write performance. Unfortunately, it is a non-redundant level and therefore does not provide any data security. Minimum 2 hard drives can be used. In this configuration, data is written in equal parts on all disks that make up the RAID.

Example of RAID0 consisting of 5 80 Gb HDD:

Overall capacity = 80Gb * 5 = 400Gb In this case it is sufficient that only one disk fails, to completely compromise the ability for the customer to access data on the media.

Tips:

• Avoid turning the RAID power on and off. If the failure is caused by a Head Crash, any attempt to restart the system is likely to further worsen the situation.
• Never move disks that make up RAID from the original locations. The logical structure of the system has a precise layout that is related to the physical position of the disks. Moving one or more disks has the effect of overwriting data, greatly compromising the ability to recover the data.

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RAID1 - ALSO CALLED DISK MIRRORING

This level provides some data security. A minimum of 2 hard disks can be used. In this configuration, data is written simultaneously on both disks, creating a mirrored copy of the data.

Example of RAID1 consisting of 2 80Gb HDD:

Overall capacity = 80Gb In this case, if one of the two Hdds is faulty, the system continues to operate correctly. If both disks fail, the Customer will no longer be able to access the data. The mirroring system can also be applied to RAID0 structures, ie two groups in Striping, one the mirror of the other (RAID 0 + 1), and also RAID5 structures (see below), that is, two groups in Striping + Parity one the mirror of the other (RAID50).

Tips:

• Avoid turning the RAID power on and off. If the failure is caused by a Head Crash, any attempt to restart the system is likely to further worsen the situation.
• If you replace the defective disc, pay close attention to the reconstruction operation to avoid copying the new disc, that is empty, to the one that contains the data.
• If a RAID of this level suddenly becomes unavailable, avoid absolutely any operation so as not to compromise the ability to retrieve the data. In fact, it is absolutely normal that, having 2 Hdd available in the mirror of the other, the data is unavailable.

In this situation, there may be only two cases, in one case both Hdds have failed at the same time, in the other case the system has a logical defect, both cases result in the impossibility to access the data. We advise our Customers to avoid any reconstruction operations.

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RAID5 - ALSO CALLED STRIPING+PARITY

This level provides an excellent level of security and reading and writing performance. A minimum of 3 Hdd can be used. In this kind of configuration, Files are written in equal parts on all disks that make up the RAID, along with the parity bytes that, in case of failure of one of the disks, allows you to rebuild the complete file.

Example of RAID5 consisting of 3 80Gb Hdd:

Total capacity = (80Gb * 3) -80Gb = 160Gb In this case, if one of the disks fails, the system continues to function properly. If at least 2 disks fail, the customer will no longer be able to access the data.

Tips:

• Avoid turning the RAID power on and off. If the failure is caused by a Head Crash, any attempt to restart the system is likely to further worsen the situation.
• If one of the disks that make up fails, the system must still be perfectly accessible. If after you turn the RAID off and on again, the system does not start anymore, do NOT perform a RAID reconstruction operation, that behavior Indicates a clear corruption of the logical structure and performing a reconstruction greatly compromises the ability to retrieve the data.

Do not ever change the original physical location of the disks that make up the RAID. If one of the disks is moved, the system interprets this as a logical tree failure and may begin a reconstruction procedure that, having moved 2 Hdd, will overwrite both Hdd compromising the ability to retrieve the data.

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Section dedicated to USB PenDrive

There are two types of PenDrive USB available on the market. The first is called monolithic the second non-monolithic (See images below):

Monolithic pendrive	Non-Monolithic pendrive

A monolithic pendrive uses a single electronic chip to store data. Both physical and logical corruption can happen on this kind of pendrive. However, in the event of a physical defect, it is only possible to intervene if the unit has the Service Pin (See Technical Item at the following link.

In case of non-monolithic PenDrive it is possible to intervene to recover data from both physical and logical corruption.

The prices listed in the "Non-Monolithic Memory Card" table are applied in the following cases:

• Non-Monolithic Memory Card with logical defect
• Non-Monolithic Memory Card with physical defect
• Monolithic Memory Card with logical defect

The prices quoted in the "Monolithic Memory Card" table are only applied in the case of a Physical Defective Monolithic Memory Card. In this case the Customer will be notified in advance and we will only process it after receiving explicit authorization.

Price List Valid from 11/01/2016

Important informations:

• Aesse Service Srl guarantees that in 95% of cases the maximum price for data recovery services does not exceed twice the minimum price quoted. The remaining 5% is made up of complex, particular and rather rare cases. The Customer will be given a detailed offer and technical report, and will be free to accept it or not.
• Diagnostic Price is intended for each support.
• All prices are exclusive of VAT.
• Depending on the amount of recovered data, they will be saved on CD-Rom, DVD-Rom or Hard Disk.
• The indicated deadlines are normally always respected. In some cases, when the damage to the media is very serious, there may be delays. The Customer will be informed in case more time is needed to ensure the best quality of the data recovery service.
• In case of data recovery from Tape devices, the defective media will not be returned to the Customer, as it is technically not possible.