News
Kroll Ontrack demonstrates successful data recoveries with multiple helium-filled hard drives
September 2014 by Marc Jacob
Kroll Ontrack, the provider of data recovery and ediscovery products and services, today announced its engineers have successfully recovered data from several helium-filled hard disk drives (HDD). With a dedicated research and development (R&D) team, Kroll Ontrack proactively created data loss scenarios across multiple drives to develop a path to recovery before a customer need arose. The result is newly developed processes and propriety tools to recover data from helium-filled drives in the company’s labs and cleanrooms around the globe.
Because helium is only one-seventh the density of air, drives like the HGST Ultrastar® He6 Helium Drives run with less friction, which allows for tighter head and platter spacing and thus more data capacity in the same 3.5 inch enclosure. Less friction and resistance also means lower power consumption and cooler operating temps.
Leveraging automated equipment to safely open the hermetically sealed drives, Ontrack Data Recovery engineers then use custom-built tools to keep the tight fitting heads in a helium-filled drive separated and appropriately spaced during disassembly to avoid further damage. Damaged components are then replaced as needed to make it possible to read the customer’s data.
