Drive-Independent Data Recovery Via Spin-Stand Imaging

In the paper, an ex-situ technique for drive-independent data recovery based on spin-stand imaging is presented. In this spin-stand imaging based technology, the disk is removed from its native drive, placed on a spinstand, and scanned with a magnetic head. After raw signal acquisition, bit detection, data decoding, and sector mapping, the otherwise unrecoverable data can be retrieved. Spin-stand-based data imaging has the potential to provide recovery at data rates approaching those in the native drive and is the only truly drive-independent method to recover hard disk data in a time-efficient manner.