Press Release: DriveSavers Rescues the Impossible!

Earthquakes, tornados, hurricanes, floods, tsunamis and fires are everyday challenges for this professional data recovery company

NOVATO, CA – July 19, 2011 – DriveSavers Data Recovery, the worldwide leader in data recovery services, has recovered data from storage devices that have been destroyed by some of the worst natural disasters imaginable, including infamous ones such as Hurricane Katrina, Hurricane Ike, Southern California fires and most recently the Japanese earthquake and tsunami. Recovering data that have been exposed to sustained water and fire damage, corruption, corrosion and erosion are just a few of the challenges that DriveSavers faces every day.

Most recently, computers, laptops and single hard drives destroyed by the Japanese tsunami were shipped by the leading Tokyo-based IT solutions partner, PC KIDS, to California where data recovery services were performed by DriveSavers. Data was recovered for individuals, families and small businesses in the Tohoku district. The recovered data included digital photos, critical financial records and other personal and/or business-related documents.

“The drives arrived in dreadful condition,” stated President and CEO Tetsuo Hiraoka of PC KIDS CO., LTD. “We attempted salvage data from many hard drives in our own laboratory, and succeeded to recover some data. However, due to the limits of our component and firmware inventory, we realized that the drives in the worst condition needed specialized technology and expertise for the data to be recovered. We selected DriveSavers for their extensive knowledge, advanced technology and proven methodology for recovering data from unbelievable disasters. It has been an honor to partner with DriveSavers and help the Japanese people salvage data from hard drives that were destroyed in the tsunami disaster. We hope a little peace of mind was restored when their data was returned.”

A resident from the Tohoku district, the area hardest hit by the powerful tsunami, was extremely appreciative to receive his data back. He had lost everything to the tsunami: his house, family members, pets and all his valuables. After searching through a mountain of debris, he found his PC computer. He didn’t think about the possibility of recovering the computer’s data because it was so badly damaged. Then, he read an article in the local paper about a company offering tsunami victims data recovery support. His hard drive contained many photos of his family that are more precious now than ever. DriveSavers was able to recover those photos, among other important personal files, and safely return them to him.

President of DriveSavers Data Recovery, Scott Gaidano stated: “With the vast amount of digital data that the average person stores today, recovering data from disaster-related situations could be a lifeline to a person’s past and their future. While the computers may never work again, the drives hold irreplaceable data such as family photos, home videos, music, financial documents, business files and more. With the help of our partners worldwide, disaster victims are able to benefit from our specialized data recovery expertise and get their data back.”

Getting the data back is always a challenge. The computers and laptops from Japan had been caked in thick, wet mud. Most of the drives appeared to have been heavily banged up and buried, not just submerged in water. Because hard drives are not hermetically sealed, ocean water and mud seeped into the drive’s mechanisms. Corrosion occurs much more quickly when exposed to salt from the ocean water, and these drives did show signs of corrosion, erosion and water spots from condensation build-up. That combination equates to a highly complicated and nearly impossible data recovery, which is common for disaster related recoveries.

The recovery process for the Japanese drives was unique. For added safety precautions, radiation detection equipment was installed for testing at both the point of origin in Japan and before entering DriveSaver’s facility. Next, DriveSavers engineers used a separate triage area to wipe the drives free of excess contaminants, mud and debris. The drives then entered DriveSavers Certified ISO Class 5 (Class 100) Cleanroom, one of the most technically advanced, Cleanrooms in the industry. Inside the Cleanroom, data recovery engineers disassembled the drives using specialized tools and surgical precision to perform component-level repairs. Once a drive was in temporary working condition, the engineers made an image of the data, bit by bit, onto a target drive. The target drive was then used to reconstruct the data; if the file directory was not recovered, engineers matched the jumbled data to file types in order to reconstruct the original files.

To learn more about DriveSavers Certified ISO Class 5 (Class 100) Cleanroom and the company’s industry leading security certifications, visit drivesaversdatarecovery.com.

About DriveSavers 
DriveSavers Data Recovery, the worldwide leader in data recovery services, provides the fastest, most reliable and only certified secure data recovery service in the industry. DriveSavers is the only data recovery company to post proof of annual, company-wide SOC 2 Type II Audit, the Corporate Industry’s standard for an overall control structure.. DriveSavers High Security Service adheres to U.S. Government security protocols to ensure that no data is ever compromised during the data recovery process. DriveSavers maintains the most technologically advanced Certified ISO Class 5 (Class 100) Cleanroom in the industry and is authorized to open drives by all major storage device manufacturers without voiding the warranty. DriveSavers engineers recover lost data from all storage devices and all operating systems and are trained and certified in all leading encryption and forensics technologies. Satisfied customers include: Bank of America, Google, Lucasfilm, NASA, Harvard University, Salvation Army and The Rolling Stones. ()