Hit 200 successful drive recoveries this week and it changed my mind about software tools

I've always been a hardware-first technician. If a drive clicked or made any weird noise, I'd immediately tell the client it was dead and recommend replacement. But I hit my 200th successful software-based recovery last Wednesday on a Seagate Barracuda from 2019. The client had dropped their laptop two days before and the drive was clicking softly. I tried DDRescue on a whim, expecting nothing, and pulled 98% of their files in about 6 hours. That number - 200 - made me realize I was being too quick to write off these tools. I used to think software recovery was for amateurs, but now I see it's a legit first step before cracking open a drive. Has anyone else had a milestone like that change how you approach common issues?

2 comments

2 Comments

uma3062d ago

That's a really cool milestone to hit.

derek_dixon782d ago

Hold on, 200 recoveries is a good number but calling it a total change of heart seems a bit much. You wrote off drives on a single click before even trying a basic tool? That just sounds like skipping a simple step, not some big philosophical shift. Nice milestone I guess, but this is pretty basic stuff most techs figure out way earlier.