SMR Hard Drive Data Recovery
At Rossmann Repair Group, we specialize in the recovery of data from Shingled Magnetic Recording (SMR) hard drives, which is new tech. SMR drives are widely used in consumer and enterprise environments since they provide higher storage capacity for less money. Their unique structure makes them very difficult to recover when they fail.
If your SMR hard drive is not working, we have all the tools necessary to get your data back!
If your SMR hard drive is not working, we have all the tools necessary to get your data back!
Why Rossmann Repair?
What Makes SMR Drives Unique and Challenging for Recovery?
SMR hard drives write data in overlapping tracks, like shingles on a roof. This allows for higher storage density. While this technology maximizes capacity, it makes recovery more difficult due to the following reasons:
- Overlapping Data Tracks: Modifying or recovering one track risks overwriting or corrupting adjacent tracks.
- Second-Level Translators (SLT): These firmware components map logical block addresses (LBA) to physical block addresses (PBA). If the translator is damaged, the drive can return empty or corrupted data.
- Trim-like UNMAP Commands: SMR drives used in host-managed or host-aware configurations can process UNMAP commands (similar to TRIM for SSDs) in some systems. These commands tell the drive to mark certain data blocks as no longer in use, which can sometimes erase important mapping information in the Second-Level Translator (SLT) that connects logical addresses to physical storage locations. Deleted translator metadata or zone mappings can prevent reconstruction of the overlapping data tracks unique to SMR drives.
- Firmware Dependence: SMR drives heavily rely on firmware for managing data zones, and corruption here can make recovery extremely complex.
Who Uses SMR Hard Drives?
SMR drives are commonly found in:
- Consumer Electronics: External hard drives like the WD My Passport and Seagate Backup Plus.
- Network Attached Storage (NAS): Models like the WD Red series often use SMR drives for storage solutions.
- Surveillance Systems: High-capacity drives for storing security camera footage, such as some of Seagate’s SMR-based surveillance models.
Common Issues with SMR Drives
- Quick Formatting:
- If you format a drive and unplug it, old-style CMR drives (CMR referring to Conventional Magnetic Recording) are trivial to recover with standard software like R-Studio or UFS. Sometimes a pain, but mostly doable.
- With SMR drives like some WD My Passport models, you have to deal with second translators, translator dependencies, and you may not even get all the data from it.
- Basic software like UFS Explorer and R-Studio will show only empty sectors with zeroes in a case like this where the drive was formatted.
- Recovery often requires advanced tools to bypass damaged SLTs and restore fragmented data, like the Acelab PC3000.
- Firmware Corruption:
- SMR-specific firmware handling is more complicated compared to older CMR drives.
- If the second translator has an issue, the drive may click even if the heads are good, which can confuse new technicians into believing the heads are a problem.
- Sometimes this means blocking access to the service area or special modules.
- Software like UFS Explorer and R-Studio will not handle this. In this case, UFS stands for "u find shit" - only zeroes :'(
Our SMR Data Recovery Process
We use advanced technology and methods to deal with the challenges specific to SMR recovery:
- Translator Repair:
- We rebuild or bypass the damaged second-level translator to recover fragmented data.
- Firmware Restoration:
- Our tools safely repair corrupted firmware modules to get the drive back to working condition so we can recover all of its data.
- Zone Recovery:
- By carefully handling overlapping zones, we ensure adjacent data tracks remain intact during recovery.
- Physical Repairs:
- For drives with mechanical issues, our Purair VLF-48 laminar flow bench provides the controlled environment necessary for repairs. The Purair VLF-48 Laminar Flow Bench allows an ultra-clean workspace with ULPA filtration capturing 99.999% of particles down to 0.1 microns. Its vertical airflow design minimizes turbulence, making it perfect for handling delicate media during data recovery. We are NOT opening your drive in any old office!
Watch a Real Data Recovery Service below!
Why SMR Data Recovery Requires Experienced Technicians
Recovering data from SMR hard drives is a highly specialized task that requires lots of technical expertise & precision. New technicians working with tools like the PC3000 or performing cleanroom repairs on a laminar flow bench are on their way to success if they are committed to learning, but newer technicians often make mistakes that lead to permanent data loss. Here’s why choosing an experienced technician matters!
Common Mistakes Made by Inexperienced Technicians
Mishandling Second-Level Translators (SLT):
- SMR drives rely on SLTs to map logical data to physical locations. A newbie may overwrite or improperly rebuild this translator, causing irreversible data loss.
- Using generic PC3000 scripts without understanding SMR-specific firmware quirks can result in fragmented or missing data.
Damage to Overlapping Data Tracks:
- SMR drives write data in overlapping tracks, meaning a mistake in one area can overwrite or corrupt adjacent tracks.
- Inexperienced techs often use cloning methods meant for standard old CMR drives which can destroy the integrity of overlapping zones.
Improper Use of Cleanroom Tools:
- Handling delicate internal components like heads or platters in a laminar flow bench requires experience. Common errors include:
- Scratching platters while removing heads.
- Misaligning replacement components, rendering the drive unreadable.
- Handling delicate internal components like heads or platters in a laminar flow bench requires experience. Common errors include:
Not addressing UNMAP Issues:
- New techs sometimes overlook the impact of Trim commands, which can prematurely delete data necessary for a data recovery from SMR drives. Misconfiguring recovery software can make things worse.
Inadequate Firmware Handling:
- SMR drives depend heavily on proprietary firmware for managing shingled zones. Without training a technician might apply firmware fixes meant for CMR drives, bricking the device.
Why Choose Rossmann Repair Group?
- Certified Expertise: Our technicians are extensively trained and certified by ACE Lab, the developers of PC3000. We understand the nuances of SMR drives and their unique recovery challenges. While "Apple certification" is useless & often means the technician is not allowed to do real repairs, acelab's actually matter!
- Industry-Leading Tools: We
- Experience You Can Trust: With years of expertise in data recovery, we handle cases other labs cannot.
- Top Rated: No, really. Check google maps - we have the highest(and most) ratings of any data recovery company.
- No paid advertising: No banner ads, no yelp promotions, no google adwords. We rely on word of mouth and videos demonstrating our abilities. The lack of paid advertising means the savings are passed onto you.
Contact Us Today
If your SMR hard drive has failed, don’t lose hope. Contact Rossmann Repair Group for professional data recovery services!
We Can Extract Information From These Types of Media at Our Lab
Laptop Hard Drives
Liquid damaged iPhones
Physically damaged USB flash drives
SD & microSD cards
WD MyPassport
Desktop Hard Drives
External Hard Drives
USB Hard Drives
RAID configurations
SATA, IDE, SCSI, SAS, SSD Hard Drives
Our Rates?
Giving a price without seeing the device, assessing its condition is impossible. Everyone feels better having some basic idea of what things may cost, so for a basic idea, see below. Do realize the + means price can go up! Please do note that drives that have been opened before are rarely if ever recoverable by us: mention this prior to sending it in as we rarely work on pre-worked on drives.
Hard Drives
$100 for basic data retrieval, $250-$650 for firmware repair, $900-$2000 for heads swap.
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CellPhones
$300-$650 for drop or liquid damage, $1200+ for difficult cases(board swap). $400+ for any damage inflicted by inept repair technicians(long screw) that is above and beyond terrible.
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Love From Our Customers
Hear from our satisfied customers who trust us for their data recovery needs in Austin. We didn't become the top rated repair shop on Google maps by accident - this was a 15 year effort of providing best-in-class service, with no gimmicks.
Replaced the battery on my macbook pro. Quoted me the price on friday, done by monday, picked it up tuesday, 90 day guarantee. So much less hassel than genius bar.
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Max
1/21/2019
I ordered smd parts on last Friday and the parts arrived on the following Tuesday in West Austin. Louis Rossmann and his crew provide great service and fast shipping. I highly recommend using this company for Apple repairs and for needed parts if doing the repairs yourself.
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Sonya
12/21/2019
For the sake of objectivity, my rating ONLY reflects the quality of the work as requested, however, be warned that the customer experience is a different story.I brought in an iPhone Pro Max that wouldn't power on. A common problem with a simple enough fix. This phone has sentimental value to me due to it being one of the first produced. It was a test unit used by Tim Cook himself and still carried his personal collection of over 250GB of traumatizingly nasty adult videos.The Apple Repair center REFUSED to even attempt a repair and offered only a replacement after much debating. OUT OF THE QUESTION, for obvious reasons. I'm well aware of the quality of Apple's products and know for a fact that dropping it into an industrial shredder is not enough to cause irreparable damage, as they claimed.Ordinarily, I would never bring an Apple product anywhere but an authorized repair center. I am strongly opposed to allowing untrained personnel to risk their lives fumbling around with the internals of such a device, and aside from that, they're unlikely to even be capable of comprehending the intricacies of the design. Without highly specialized tools and training, these amateurs pose a significant danger to not only themselves, but those around them, and to some extent, society as a whole. But I had to make a rare exception.Rossman repair group came recommended by some of the less scrupulous Apple fans I know, so that's where I went.Upon entry, as any discerning iPhone owner would, I looked around for the tell-tale signs of forced labor, underage workers, and a volatile undercurrent of resentment among the employees. Those are the marks of a shop owner that truly understands Apple's methods. Disappointingly, I found none.When they finally noticed my arrival, the desk worker pointed to my companions and said "we don't serve their kind here!" When I requested clarification, he replied "You can come in, but your droids will have to wait outside." I found this odd and somewhat discriminatory, and still to this day don't know how he was able to tell they were Android users. While I try to be tolerant and open minded, they are indeed lesser forms of life so I complied and sent them outside.I described my predicament and deposited the fragments of my phone on the desk. He took it to the back where his co-workers gathered and seemed to discuss it at length.I was elated when one of the staff informed me that they could fix it. I thanked Saint Eugene, patron Saint of tradesmanship and customer satisfaction for guiding me here.I watched as they initiated some sort of summoning ritual. They placed the remains of the phone in the center of a circle. Around the perimeter, a camera, a microphone, a Tesla Enthusiast newsletter, and one gallon of Amtech flux were placed, while members of the staff chanted incantations that seemed to imply that a certain person's manhood or lack thereof was dependent on their ability to complete the repair.It was then he appeared, as if he had been present the whole time. Lewis Rosmann himself approached my phone. Lifting the bottle of flux, he began pouring it on the fragmented components. Only the whites of his eyes were visible as they rolled back in his head. He began speaking in tongues as the flux continued to pour from the bottle, now running off the edge of the table.The smell of brimstone overwhelmed me as heat seemingly fueled by Hell fire issued forth from the nozzle of his Atten hot air rework station in his other hand. The flux had by then covered the entire shop floor as an impossible amount still poured from the container. The Mark of the Beast(SAMSUNG) appeared on his forehead. As he began cursing the name of Paul Daniels, the solder started to reflow and the pieces of the phone drew back together and became one.The shop turned silent, we were at that point ankle deep in flux. For a single instant, I saw a black cat, seemingly above it all, observing, as if he alone made the rules that dictate causality, the beginning and the end. Then..."Fan Spin!" There was a blinding flash as the phone's backlight suddenly illuminated. The cat was gone, flux was everywhere.As I regained my wits I asked him to repeat himself."Fan spin," Rosman said as he returned the iPhone, "that's all that matters."I examined the phone, and the fan was indeed spinning, very impressive considering that iPhones don't have fans.I confirmed the device was fully functional and that no data was lost, and asked how much I owed."$138 and your first born," he replied, which I gladly agreed to, because if you've ever gotten a quote from Apple you'd know that's quite a bargain!So, despite using unofficial, even unothodox tools and techniques, they were able to help me out, and perhaps they can help you too.read more
Andrew C.
2/15/2022
Great Customer service. Way better than apple (Specially in terms of charges). You can go with any Mac, iphone or data recovery related problems. They are genuinely helpful. Would recommend to anyone anytime.read more
ImTi BabLu
12/17/2021
Great customer service, and prices are very fair i had no complaints at all this guys go above and beyond the call of duty, my Samsung phone is working amazing again! Not to mention they recovered all my data before the repair started, I really love the work they do and I shipped the phone from California and the send it back to me super fast, this guys really know what their doing will send more products in the near future for repair.Thanks rossman!read more
Luis G.
10/13/2020
After years of watching Louis' YouTube vids I had to contact them for a damaged USB drive. I know they work on Apple products 99% of the time. This thumb drive had important documents that could not be reproduced, so I sent it in and they quoted me three times under what My big city wanted. Not to negate the time and work that goes into working on something so small. They are absolute professionals and I will be sending more damaged items in the future. From the time sent to return was exactly 15 days. Absolute life savers.read more
Randy M.
12/17/2021
I never write reviews, but I feel it's especially important because this store and the service they provide are one of the reasons why New York is a great city. Amid attacks on right-to-repair, on top of all the other struggles businesses in our increasingly corporatized city faces this is the kind of place that makes this city unique. I have a new MacBook Pro M1. It took an accidental bath, and Apple quoted me 2-week turnaround for repair at a number within 20% of the purchase price for the repair. I could have bought a max'd out brand new MacBook Air for less money than the amount Apple was charging for the job. It appears as though Apple doesn't repair discreet components - they junk an entire logic board and transfer the SSD over as opposed to truly trying to make a fix. Rossmann Repair Group took the time to diagnose the issue right in front of me before I dropped it off, gave me a quote that was fair and reasonable, repaired it within 48 hours, and when I went to pick it up the total cost was less than the stated quote. The machine was good as new. They knew I was willing to spend up to the quoted amount to get a repair, yet they billed me less. It's so very rare to find specialists with that sort of honesty. They knew I was willing to pay a certain price and they billed me for the true value of services rendered. While I never hope to be a repeat customer, if any future machine faces the same fate I know where I'll be going before I ever get it looked at by Apple. This place is awesome.read more
Matt B.
3/30/2022
My USB-C MacBook Pro recently stopped charging. The local Apple Store wanted to replace the whole logic board, which was expensive and would have lost all my data. I asked them if it was the charging circuit and they specifically said "no".I mailed my Mac to Rossmann, and they correctly identified the problem as being the charging circuit after all. The repair was cheaper than Apple, was just as fast, and (because it didn't require replacing the logic board) I got to keep all of my data.Overall I couldn't be happier. I used the prepaid shipping box they sell, and the service was smooth and fast.
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Christopher Waltham
1/17/2020
If I could give them more than 5 stars, I would. The Apple Genius wanted twice the price and 10 weeks to fix my Macbook Pro. Rossman received it on a Thursday, repaired and shipped it back out next day. I happily paid a nominal expediting fee for a quick turn. It arrived back to me very well packaged, clean as a whistle, and working flawlessly. EXCELLENT!read more
Brian Stinson
12/17/2021
What can I say? These guys are the best at what they do. I brought in a 2019 Macbook Pro that suffered from an entire beer bottle spill. At the end of all the repairs, a month later of getting it back, it kept panicking and shutting off with high cpu usage tasks. They then refunded me the repair costs since it was not able to be saved. I ended up also selling it to them for parts and now happy with my Lenovo. My two friends who I also referred are super happy with their services as well. They are also just finished a hard drive recovery and transferred the data to a new hard drive for me. Top notch service and fairness. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THEM.read more
Shabad Sarpal
12/17/2020
If I could give this place 10 stars I would. Long story short my wife's macbook pro wouldn't see hard drive. Upon startup all we saw was a blinking file with a question mark. Called apple and made appointment with "genius" bar. They said that hard drive was dead and to take it to a micro center or similar store to try and get my wife's pics and videos (which she NEVER backed up) off of the dead drive. My wife was in tears now because it wasn't even a definite that she could recover them. Pricing for this according to numerous data recovery shops was 500-1500 and like I said it wasn't definite they could get the data. Well went on yelp and saw Rossman repair group which was a 40 minute drive and had 4.5 stars on yelp. Their pricing was tiered according to what had to be done to get the data and started at around 200 bucks so I figured I'd take a ride into the city with the wifey and hope for the best. Upon walking into this little shop a nice young lady asked to see the computer. She started started it up, saw the blinking file and handed it to a gentleman sitting at a work desk right next to her. The guy says might be a cable issue they're known to go bad in these computers. He then opened the computer, hooked up his hard drive and it still didn't work. Cable is bad and NOT HARD DRIVE!!!! Give us about 20 minutes we have these in stock and it will cost 100 bucks plus tax!!!!! OMG THANK YOU SO MUCH !!! went for a nice little dinner right on next block at this great little pizzeria/restaurant while we waited. Got the wifey a nice glass of wine and picked computer up 45 minutes later. THESE GUYS ARE THE BEST !!!!read more
Glen L.
11/25/2019
They will save your life (and your harddrives life)The new address for Rossmann Repair Group is 2410 San Antonio St, Austin, TX 78705.read more
Nils R.
12/13/2022
I had the pleasure of visiting the Rossmann Repair Group in Austin one day almost two years ago as friends of mine needed an evaluation of a broken Macbook Pro, a bad hard drive and possible data transfer. Louis Rossmann greeted us immediately and was very friendly and patient. He told us exactly what the problem was and said that the Macbook Pro was beyond repair due to bad GPU connections. In fact he saw this as soon as he turned it on, he could detect very faint lines on the screen which indicated this issue. He was very honest about this, he said that some places would get it to work for a while by heating it up and charging a few hundred dollars, but that the repair would not last long and it would certainly fail again.My friend asked him if he could transfer the data from the Macbook to a Mac Mini so it would work like the Macbook. He said he could and it would take a couple of days. We returned a few days later to pick everything up. The cost was very reasonable and my friends were very satisfied with the service. He gave the bad HD back to us, said it would require sending to a recovery center. Just honest. No ripoffs.
In this tech repair industry, dishonesty is very common since tech people know the average person has no clue about any of this technology and there is almost no chance they would know if they are being fooled or how much the repair is really worth. I know this well since I also do computer and electronics repair and support myself and I know how easy it would be to fool customers left and right! I don't do this and I highly appreciate other tech experts who aren't tempted to profit from people's trust and innocence!
So in summary, if you don't want to get ripped of and lied to, and are looking for a highly competent reliable technician, make sure you go here with your Mac equipment. If you like, you can stop by an Apple Genius bar first for a good laugh, while they give you the wrong diagnosis, quote you an insanely high repair price, and try to convince you to buy a whole new unit.
Finally, if you want to be amazed, look for Louis Rossmann on YouTube and watch some of his videos where he shows exactly how he repairs the "unrepairable" and inspires many others to do their own repairs, start their own repair businesses and with his tireless entrepreneurial positive attitude even motivates disillusioned young students to not give up on school and go to college! (In fact one student said he was about to give up on education but after watching Louis on YouTube he made the decision to enter Med school! Now that's remarkable!)
Louis is such a great guy, that in some cases where the issue is very minor, like a bad cable, he even does the repair for no charge! Try to find anybody who is willing to do anything for no charge these days! (The Genius bar would certainly tell you that your unit has been water damaged, when it wasn't, (maybe was in a humid room which would turn the water indicators red!) and quote you $1000 for a repair that would cost them $7 for the cable)
Louis Rossmann is a hero, one of those rare individuals who make positive contributions to individuals and society every single day. I am pretty sure that anybody who gives him a bad review probably either is part of Apple, or considers Apple to be some kind of religious deity.
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Jerry D.
9/05/2019
I stumbled on my daughter's 2012 MacBook Pro that she had been told (years ago) was beyond repair. I powered it up and a little research led me to guess that the hard drive was dead or not being seen. So I sent a note with that assumption to Rossman Repair Group. They said it could be the hard drive or it could be the drive cable which is a known issue with this model - $100 to repair if that's what it is. I gambled and paid $13 to ship it. For retail customers, Rossman will diagnose, outline the problem, and provide an estimate for free. They confirmed it was the cable and they needed the OS password to further test the operating system to make sure that it boots (loads to your desktop). I did not have the password so I asked if they could use the password reset? They replied "We wouldn't be able to reset the password, but we can wipe it and reinstall a new OS with a new password if you'd like. The hard drive cable is indeed bad on this device, with a new cable the hard drive does show up." I got it back (free return shipping), since the hard drive now shows up I was able to reset the PW and it looks to be running perfectly! Total repair cost $113.read more
Scott Jones
12/17/2021
I was referred to Rossmann Repair Group by a friend whose dad swears by the shop. After my Macbook Pro crashed and Mikey's Hookup in Brooklyn quoted me $511 to fix it and recover my data (plus a $90 diagnostic fee), I was desperate for a second opinion. Enter: Rossman Repair Group, who was able to get the job done for $250. What's more, the guys accidentally fixed my computer without first sending me a quote - when they realized this mistake, they graciously offered that I not pay full price for the repair. One of the best customer service experiences I've had in a really long time, ESPECIALLY when it comes to Apple products... I highly recommend them!Thanks Rossmann Repair! My laptop is working great now - you guys are the best!read more
L A.
10/30/2018
Our Recent Work
Our highly trained technicians have worked on some of the most complex cases with great success. If your hard drive or SDcard is no longer responsive, we’ll get your information back!
Have a failed external USB drive? We can by-pass the USB on your drive and go straight for your data!
Stuck heads? No problem! We have the tools and the clean room to un-stick your heads..
We can do clean room data recovery on premises when necessary.
Inspecting a 6 head stack from a donor drive before it goes into the patient.
Bottom Line:
At Rossmann Repair Group, we don’t just recover data; we restore your peace of mind. Contact us today for your hard drive data recovery needs in Austin and experience service that sets the industry standard.
Top Reasons To Have Your Repairs Done By Us
All data recovery done on-site.
Our pricing is fair.
High success rate.
You can meet & speak with the recovery specialist working on your case directly.
Get In Touch with Us
Give us a call or fill out the form below to get a fast price estimate on a fix for your device. If you are not local, we also offer a very streamlined Mail-In Service which makes it very easy to work with us from anywhere in the country.
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Common Questions
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We Can Fix Your Problem
We provide the best unauthorized MacBook, iPad & iPhone Repair in Austin. You can come to our store for a free estimate without an appointment, or mail your device to us from anywhere in the world to receive service.