The team at Secure Data Recovery handles unique data loss scenarios on a daily basis. Yet, some cases still stand out for their circumstances and challenges.
Our specialists ranked the most extreme cases to land in one of our labs for data recovery services.
Here are ten cases and their incredible stories:
1. Lawnmower Destroys iPhone 14
An iPhone 14 falling from a riding lawnmower can go unnoticed. However, the damage to an iPhone 14 when it encountered the mower’s blades was certainly noticeable.
The customer collected pieces of the phone from the lawn and disposed of the smoking, punctured battery. Later, they realized that the iPhone had not been backed up in years, so they called Secure Data Recovery for help.
When the iPhone remnants arrived in our lab, we recognized the destroyed logic board would require chip-off recovery. An iPhone’s hardware encryption means the device’s controller and internal storage must match. Otherwise, data on the device will be unreadable.
To recover data from the broken iPhone, we had to rebuild the Ball Grid Array (BGA) and reconnect the chips on a donor board. The soldering process demands cutting-edge equipment and extraordinary expertise. A slight mistake during the rework can lead to permanent data loss.
Thanks to our trained technicians, the customer recovered 100% of the iPhone’s data.
2. Corrupted SD Card Scrambles Irreplaceable Research
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) is a non-profit that focuses on cutting-edge ocean science and research. Their Ocean Acoustics and Signals Lab is at the heart of that mission. They use acoustic data to gauge ocean health, analyze climate patterns, and study the behavior of marine animals.
One such project involved underwater recordings off the coast of New England. WHOI planned to store data for the project on memory cards. However, after retrieving the devices from the sea, they realized the media had 4 GB files that should have been much larger.
Technical limitations of the FAT32 file system were behind the data loss. FAT32 is popular for removable media, but the file size cannot exceed 4 GB. As a result, the acoustic data was recorded to the storage medium, but not visible to the operating system. Even powerful data recovery software cannot resolve these structural issues.
We were able to recover data from the corrupted SD card by inspecting each byte in a hex editor to analyze file headers, binary sequences, and embedded metadata. At that point, our specialists could determine where each file was truncated, allowing us to stitch the data together.
In the end, we recovered 100% of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution’s data.
3. Crashed Server Wipes Out Years of Footage
Blackmagic Design is a digital media company based in Melbourne, Australia whose products are widely used across the TV and film industry.
So, when the server in their public relations department crashed, they lost years of footage from projects that used Blackmagic products. It stored a massive amount of valuable data. On a recommendation, they reached out to us for server data recovery.
In the end, we recovered 100% of the files from the corrupted hard drives in Blackmagic’s server shortly after they contacted us.
4. Remote Recovery Restores Deleted Veeam Backups
Our RAID recovery experts see a variety of complex cases. These experiences prepare us for anything when it comes to enterprise data loss.
In 2023, DiversiTech, the leading manufacturer and supplier of heating, ventilating, air conditioning, and refrigeration products in North America, inquired about remote data recovery services. Their Veeam backups were deleted from a Cisco UCS 3260 server. It was a 48-disk volume formatted to RAID 5.
Our engineers connected to their network via SSH to perform RAID 5 data recovery. With file-level access, we found remnants of all the Veeam backups scattered across the system. The archives stored over 14 TB of complex SQL databases, individual documents, and images.
We created custom utilities for DiveriTech’s case that carved the XFS file system for all .VFB files and .VIB fragments from incremental fragments. Then, we stitched them together to form a complete archive chain.
Ultimately, our specialists were able to restore 100% of DiveriTech’s Veeam backups from their 48-drive RAID 5.
5. On-Site Recovery Saves Nuclear Plant Infrastructure
Arkansas Nuclear One is a nuclear power plant operated by Entergy in Russellville, Arkansas. It serves over 700,000 customers across 63 counties.
A Sun Microsystems SPARCstation 5 Aurora workstation with two 2 GB IBM hard drives stores critical historical data for the plant’s systems. In 2015, one of the IBM HDDs failed, leaving the workstation with a single drive. In 2022, the remaining hard drive died, causing the system to freeze. A technician tried to restart the system, but it got caught in a boot loop.
Given the security concerns around nuclear power plants, Arkansas Nuclear One needed on-site data recovery from an approved GSA contractor.
We promptly dispatched a certified engineer to Arkansas with a laminar flow work cabinet. It uses HEPA filtration to protect the legacy hard drive’s internal components from further damage during the recovery.
Secure Data Recovery retrieved data from the IBM hard drive and restored critical infrastructure for Arkansas Nuclear One.
6. Fire-Damaged DVR Looked Like Burnt Toast
After a restaurant fire, a digital video recorder (DVR) resembled a burnt piece of toast. Due to the suspicious circumstances of the fire, the insurance company needed to know the cause.
Upon the first examination of the device, our engineers found severely damaged read/write heads and spindle motor failure. In fact, many of the hard drive’s components had melted components, including the heads.
Before bringing the DVR to Secure Data Recovery, the insurer tried other data recovery companies who were unsuccessful or didn’t want to put in the work.
Finally, they turned to Secure Data Recovery for DVR data recovery after an IT provider’s recommendation. And we delivered. Our engineer used his own innovative techniques to clean and emulate the DVR encoder. Then, he successfully extracted the footage for the insurance company and helped the restaurant owners.
7. iPhone With a Week of Water Damage
Another case involved an iPhone 6S+ that was submerged underwater for a week straight.
When our engineers examined the water-damaged iPhone, they found it would not power on. Unsurprisingly, iPhone data recovery involving water damage often requires extensive board-level repairs.
The amount of water damage made it challenging, but Secure Data Recovery’s skilled engineers were able to recover 100% of the device’s data.
8. Hard Drive With Fire Damage Reveals the Truth
A house fire caused damage to the hard drive inside a Swann security system. Due to the circumstances surrounding the case, police examined the drive and attempted to recover its data.
However, they were unsuccessful in their attempts.
The client still had hope for hard drive data recovery and was determined to discover who had burnt their house down. They then sought out Secure Data Recovery. We were able to retrieve the footage in a certified Class 10 ISO 4 cleanroom.
9. Water-Damaged Hard Drive After Hurricane Harvey
Hurricane Harvey left a stunning path of destruction in its wake in 2017. Some of the damage included lost photos and videos on storage devices.
One customer approached Secure Data Recovery for hard drive recovery services. Their soaked hard drives contained the family’s library for home movies. The drives had been submerged in water for days following landfall. The customer brought the drives to our engineers for hard drive repair and they successfully recovered the valuable video files.
10. The Proof Is In the Poop
Some cases stink more than others for customers.
In this instance, a customer was upset by her neighbor’s dog leaving poop on her lawn. She took photos on her Blackberry tablet to use in court, but unfortunately the device failed and the photos were lost.
She contacted Secure Data Recovery for help. After our engineers successfully retrieved the incriminating photos, she was smelling roses.
We Restore Data When Others Declare It Unrecoverable
Secure Data Recovery routinely accepts complex cases that other companies will not. We always strive to recover as much of your data as technologically possible. That is why we have over 7,000 reviews and counting.
Our commitment and expertise leads to a 96% success rate across all device types and physical conditions.
Call us at 800-388-1266 or request a free quote if you need data recovery and start your case today.
Timothy Burlee
Timothy Burlee is a content writer for Secure Data Recovery Services. He specializes in various topics in the data industry, including data recovery technology, storage devices, and digital forensics. Throughout his career, he has covered complex concepts and provided accessible solutions for users. Before joining Secure Data, he worked as a freelance technical writer.
Ready to talk?
Our core value is to support you in every way possible. Whether it’s answering your questions, setting up a case for your failed media, or sharing as much information as we can about the data recovery process - even if you decide not to use our services.
If you’re experiencing data loss, don’t hesitate to reach out to us right now.
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Ready to talk?
Our core value is to support you in every way possible. Whether it’s answering your questions, setting up a case for your failed media, or sharing as much information as we can about the data recovery process - even if you decide not to use our services.
If you’re experiencing data loss, don’t hesitate to reach out to us right now.