Blog Posts

Jan 22, 2024

First in the world! Seagate Helium data recovery service

Exclusive! Data recovery from Seagate Helium hard drives

Jan 10, 2024

Seagate Helium hard drives firmware access granted!

We are delighted to announce the successful identification of a solution to complete firmware access for Seagate Helium hard drives.

Nov 21, 2023

BLACK FRIDAY & CYBER MONDAY 2023 SALE!

Black Friday & Cyber Monday discount 20% on all our tools! The offer is valid for orders placed during 21.11.2023 till 5.12.2023. https://hddsurgery.com/shop

Nov 17, 2023

A Closer Look at Our Latest Firmware Database Update

In our latest update to the firmware database we added 4322 firmware files and total update size is 71GB. In this update, we're introducing 20 new models and 3 new families.

Sep 05, 2023

Autumn Sale 2023 - 20% off on all our tools!

Autumn Sale 2023 offer is valid for orders placed from 01.09.2023 to 30.09.2023. https://hddsurgery.com/shop contact us at sales@hddsurgery.com IMPORTANT NOTE: Offer valid while stocks last.

Jun 22, 2023

SURVEY: Most often used HDDSurgery's tool?

SURVEY: Most often used HDDSurgery's tool? - we had to think about which our tool you're using the most

Nov 23, 2022

Black Friday 2022 - 20% Discount

Black Friday discount 20% on all our tools! Black Friday offer is valid for orders placed during 25.11.2022 till 2.12.2022. https://hddsurgery.com/shop contact us at sales@hddsurgery.com

Nov 24, 2021

Black Friday 2021 - Discount

Black Friday discount 20% on all tools Black Friday offer is valid for orders placed during 26.11 till 3.12.2021. https://hddsurgery.com/shop contact us at sales@hddsurgery.com

Sep 15, 2021

HDDS Hard Drive Repair Workbench V2 is available in our web shop now!

We are proud to announce our new product is in our web shop! HDDS Hard Drive Repair Workbench V2 HDDS Hard Drive Repair Workbench V2 is saving your time it is designed to facilitate the multiple daily handling of hard drives.

Jun 02, 2021

FIRMWARE DATABASE - IMPORTANT UPDATE!

Dear firmware database users, we have a good news for you. After a many user requests, we have decided to boost our services by increasing the daily download quota for our free users. As of June 2021, our firmware database users will be granted with 10 instead of 5 daily downloads. While premium user policy remains the same.

May 31, 2021

SEAGATE EXOS 12TB - Opening

SEAGATE EXOS 12TB - Opening its alu membrane using our tool Helium Opener

Oct 30, 2020

Update regarding HDDS Sea 7200.12/.11/.10+ p1 Set

Update relates to the owners of (HDDS Sea 7200.12/.11/.10+ p1 Set) And to those who were looking for solution on hard drives such as: Seagate ST1000DM010 (PN: 2EP102-300) and ST1000DM003 (PN: 1SB10C-300) This head replacement tool perfectly fits to mentioned models.

Jun 17, 2020

Fun and strange cases

In the sea of boring head-swap cases in data recovery, engineer often craves for some unique and fun case. Our engineers were lucky to get one such as that recently. Unfortunatelly the whole story is covered with fraud from unnamed vendor.

Apr 28, 2020

Refurbished hard drive, a story...

Last month, we had received clients hard drive for recovery. From the first point of view it was just another common Western Digital drive from the Dragon family WD30EZRX. What was a little different compared to standard hard drives, was the label on the front of the drive, which made it easy to see that it was a "refurbished" hard drive. Refurbished hard drives have come to us before, but the situation was more specific this time.

Dec 10, 2019

Interview with Ivan Jurić from DataSector

Almost two years ago when we announced Job Organizer V 3.13 our colleagues from data recovery industry had nothing but very positive reactions. Our software was made from scratch and offers a complete solution made only for data recovery companies. This kind of software has filled the gap that existed on the market since there were no solutions that covered every aspect of data recovery process.

Sep 09, 2019

Low Cost Shipping

We would like to announce Low Cost Shipping, which is available from now on. This way of delivery is recommended for all orders of HDD tools up to 1000 EUR value (as per Serbian Post Office regulations for the post-export packages).

Nov 19, 2018

Over 12.000 drives from our data recovery partner program

At the beginning of the year we announced Partner Data Recovery program for data recovery companies worldwide, with the idea to officially offer professional, fast and high quality service for all types of media. Although the Partner program existed before, this announcement helped closing the deals with several new data recovery companies since the official call for partnership was released. So far we’ve passed the number of 12.000 drives received throughout the years from various data recovery companies and PC repair shops around the globe.

Aug 16, 2018

The appropriate HDD head inspection – The light source

The head replacement procedure on a hard drive is one of the most delicate mechanical operation during data recovery process. Due to various types of head damage, this procedure sometimes may takes several tries and donors. In a certain number of cases, engineers need to inspect and clean the heads from all dust and small particles which got stuck on the head’s ferrit. The whole cleaning process should be performed under the microscope and with extreme caution in order to preserve the functionality of the heads.

Jul 06, 2018

Track all tasks from PC3000 on a smartphone - PC3K Monitor

Everybody in data recovery business knows that cloning patients does not finish when the working time is over. This process may last from several hours to several days, sometimes even weeks. It often happens that data recovery engineers need to monitor these tasks from their home during non-working time and this is usually done by some available applications for remote desktop access, like TeamViewer for example. However, this option can be a bit hard for the engineers because many windows have to be open at the same time, especially if they need to check more than one computer with PC3000 card.

May 03, 2018

Organize your data recovery company with Job Organizer 3.13

Job Organizer 3.13 is a software solution developed to help your DR company simplify the usage of procedures and activities that are necessary steps in order for the entire system to function. Job Organizer 3.13 is a symbiosis of activities that need to complete financial, technical and all other internal procedures necessary for a single company to run easy and with no problems. What can be proven to be a problem is how to manage so much administration and internal procedures. For last 15 years the HddSurgery team was designing software that connects all the specific procedures required to successfully run a data recovery company. The result was the software in which we implemented knowledge and experience which we gained while working on vairous data recovery cases.

Feb 22, 2018

A successful training for the Head replacement tools

Recently we held one more training for the usage of our Head Replacement Tools. The training was successfully demonstrated in our office where we presented various types of Seagate, Western Digital, Samsung and HGST drives.

Jan 11, 2018

Overview of HddSurgery projects in 2017.

Last year, as in all previous years, we have tried to raise the quality of HddSurgery products and services to a higher level. We were trying to listen to our clients carefully and based on that our team of engineers have prepared a set of conceptual solutions for head replacement procedures. The HddSurgery team had only one thing on their mind – clients should be given more than they could expect. During the realization of these ideas, the development of new tools was not going smoothly - researching, presentation of ideas, selection, evaluation, design, production, testing, rejection some of the prototypes, preparation of new solutions, re-design... until the moment we did not get the final version of our products with the best performance.

Jan 03, 2018

Partner Data Recovery

Are you looking for a outsource solution? You need help with solving complicated cases? Your current outsource partners are overloaded?

Oct 27, 2017

Firmware Database big update

It has been more than a year since we announced the Firmware Database, useful online library for data recovery and computer forensics experts. Today, with almost 12.800 files, we hold one of the biggest database of the firmware files in the world. New files are uploaded weekly and we have 76.1 GB of files ready for download.

May 22, 2017

New tools - New training

HddSurgery trainings are the best way to learn complicate data recovery procedures like head replacement, jammed spindle replacement, solving problems with head stictions, head analysis and so on.

Mar 16, 2017

HddSurgery accepts PayPal payments

Dear colleagues, we inform you that we can accept PayPal payments from now on. Available payment methods are Bank transfer and PayPal. Happy buying!

Mar 13, 2017

Interview with Greg Grill from CBL Data Recovery

We had an opportunity to speak with Greg Grill from CBL Data Recovery Company. 1. Hi, please tell us something about CBL Data Recovery Company. CBL Data Recovery Technologies focus on providing a transparent pricing system and quality customer service, while understanding your privacy and time. Many of our competitors offer ‘Free Quotes’ or ‘Free Evaluation’. We know that nothing is ever ‘free’ and that your eventual quote will always include the cost of evaluating your device. This is of no benefit to you because we know that all you want is to;

Feb 21, 2017

Motor problem on WD Sadle G6 drive

Western digital drives are known for their motor durability and lack of problems with the jamming. However, there can be other problems that can happen with the bearing and no hard drive is immune. The video below shows two identical Western digital hard drives, but there is a significal difference between them - platter rotation speed.

Jan 31, 2017

Firmware Database Summary

Last year we announced the Firmware Database, a free service for downloading firmware files for various types of hard drives, intended for data recovery and computer forensics proffesionals. Creating of such service was possible due to collecting a huge amount of firmware files which was provided by HelpDisc Data recovery (HelpDisc spasavanje podataka).

Nov 28, 2016

Grand opening of Ace Lab new office in Prague

This November we have been honored by the invitation from Ace Lab company to attend the opening of their new offices in Prague, Czech Republic. November is not the most beautiful month to visit Prague, but although it was cold outside, our kind hosts tried their best to make us feel comfortable as their guests.

Nov 22, 2016

Interview with Hugo Adrian Francisconi from RecuperoDatos.com

With us today is Hugo Adrian Francisconi, an experienced data recovery engineer, from RecuperoDatos.com 1. Hugo Adrian, can you introduce us to your company a little? RecuperoDatos.com is based in Buenos Aires, Argentina. We are the only data recovery lab in Argentina equipped with HDDSurgery tools, a certified clean room and qualified engineers. We also maintain an extensive bank of donor hard drives for our clients. Our company constantly strives for the highest success rate possible, because of this we want to only work with the best tools, software, engineers and developers in the world. We never want to compromise the quality of our service by using sub quality equipment. We are a boutique style company so our clients always receive personal attention and being on the 28th floor of our building means our laboratory can also boast one of the best views of the city…

Aug 11, 2016

HDDS WD Black 2.5''-3.5'' Ramp set updated model list

Since the publishing, HDDS WD Black 2.5''-3.5'' Ramp set has been a great success. Recently, we have been receiving a lot of inquiries about the new Western Digital 6TB hard drives, which lead our R&D team into a research of the mechanics of these drives. After completing several extensive measuring processes, we came to a conclusion:

Jan 25, 2016

Opening the hard drive – Regular vs. Clean room environment

Data recovery sometimes does not require the patient drive to be opened, but when it does, a specific problem occurs - exposure of the hard drive’s interior to the influence of the environment in which the data recovery operations are performed. Compared to the hard drive’s interior, the surrounding environment’s air is filled with particles of different sizes, and if those particles get in contact with the surface of the hard drive platters, they can irreversibly damage the delicate magnetic coating, creating bad sectors and thus permanently erasing the data recorded in those sectors.

Nov 16, 2015

Interview with Adrian Merdariu from Serman Recuperación de Datos

1. Hello Adrian, can you tell us something about ''Serman Recuperación de Datos''? - Serman was the first laboratory in Spain and one of the first in Europe starting in this field in 1989. Currently we remain a market reference, we have experienced an exponential increase in the volume of recoveries while downhill in prices. We bet the steady increase in quality and not only focused on the recovery process but in communication with the client. 2. What is your opinion on the future of data recovery, what kind of challenges are ahead us?  - I believe that the future will be an exciting one, probably the challenges will be more in software development than hardware mechanics. No doubt about it, the development of hardware tools shouldn't be on a second plan. 

Sep 28, 2015

HddSurgery training in Bangkok (Thailand)

After another successful HddSurgery tools training, many companies have shown interest in the presentation of the use of HddSurgery data recovery and computer forensics tools. The next country HddSurgery training was held in was Thailand. It was hosted by the government's Electronic Transactions Development Agency (Public Organization) or ETDA, Ministry of Information and Communication Technology. The training took two days to complete. 

Sep 01, 2015

Opening the helium hard drive - Video

Data recovery on helium-filled hard drives may be our reality in the future, according to some data recovery experts. The reasons for putting the helium inside the drive are numerous: heat reduction, increased platter density and speed, reduced waste of energy, increased number of platters from five to seven with more storage, less noise and so on...

Aug 17, 2015

Interview with Mike Montgomery from MjM Data Recovery Ltd

1. Hello Mike, please tell us about yourself and your role in MJM Data recovery. Hi, I am Mike Montgomery, Managing Director of MjM Data Recovery Ltd in the UK. We set up the company in 1999 and before that was named MjM Computer Publishing where we did a whole range of computer services - including Data recovery from the late 1980's as a part time business mainly doing back up and computer repairs and installations.

Jun 15, 2015

HddSurgery data recovery tools training

Last week, HddSurgery held its first official training regarding the usage of HddSurgery data recovery & computer forensics tools. Multiple presentations about principles of hard disk drive mechanics were also a part of the training. At the beginning of the presentation, HddSurgery's marketing manager Miloš Gizdovski welcomed our guests from the United States and France and held brief introductory presentation. Firstly, he presented both of our companies - HelpDisc data recovery, as a company which needs and ideas stand behind creation of HddSurgery, firstly as a tool brand and later as completely new company.

May 06, 2015

HDD actuator

HDD actuator is a device which moves head arm assembly. Its task is, not only to start and secure continuous movement of hard drive head assembly, but also to fully control it. Securing and control of this movement is of crucial importance for performing elementary function of hard drives. Surface area of HDD platters is divided into large (and increasing) number of sectors for data storage.  Actuator brings head arm and its sliders to the right spot over HDD platters, from where data should be read/or where new data should be written. At the same time, electronic controller manage HDD motor operation. Platters are set in position so that firstly actuator, and then sliders, are able to perform their task.

Apr 27, 2015

HDD head assembly

Hard drive heads are the most sensitive part of the device. They are responsible for all virtues of modern HDDs, such as read/write speed. However, issues with their functionality represent one of the most common HDD failures. HDD heads movement is electronically controlled. Their ultra-precise positioning over platters, which rotate with (usually) 5400 or 7200 RPM, is not a simple task from the mechanical point of view. Therefore, HDD head assembly and its functionality is considered as a classic example of successful integration of mechanical engineering solutions with electronics and control.

Apr 14, 2015

HDD motor bearings

At the very beginning of the hard disk drives development, for the purpose of securing safe, fast, smooth and precise rotation of the HDD motor spindle (rotor) - roller ball bearings were used. They secured satisfactory low friction and high reliability at the time and were logical solution in terms of price, productivity and availability.

Mar 31, 2015

Interview with Dimitris Loulis from Northwind

1. Today we are speaking with Dimitris Loulis, data recovery specialist from Northwind Data recovery. Dimitris, can you tell us about your company?     Hello :)     We are one of the largest Data Recovery companies in Greece, located in Thessaloniki. We are currently           setting up our expansion offices in Athens too.     We are the only Data Recovery company in Greece who are certified WD partners and also we are the           only ones with a full sized Clean Room.

Mar 27, 2015

HDD Spindle Motor

Hard disk is a compact mechatronic component and there is no lot available space for placing its motor. On the other hand, the motors of the hard disks (called "spindle motors") must be able to generate enough torque so the magnetic platters could rotate at the desired speed. This means that the crucial requirement for spindle motors is the large ratio between their power and size. Hard drive motors are designed for operation at high speeds over a long period of time. This principle is, as such, problematic in the start and can easily lead to defect. Some time ago, in hard drive industry, leading trend was continuous increase of motor speed, so some devices were working on speed over 15,000 RPM. 

Feb 20, 2015

Data recovery support tools

In order to share our knowledge and experience, we decided to create this blog, so we can further explain our products and methods. Our plan is to make this blog as a place for writting about our solutions, ideas and vision.