RAID Data recovery

[BOB IROC]

I have a client that has an alienware laptop that had a RAID 0 Hard Drive setup with 2 100GB Hard Drives. The problem is I think the motherboard is shot as it does not recognize any hard drives put into the system. However the drives are recognized by other laptops and even using a USB adaptor that can connect to a laptop drive. The only problem is since the Hard Drives were in a RAID configuration none of the data is accessible.

I came across this program called Raid Reconstructor and was wondering if any of you have heard anything about it or tried it. It has a 30 day free trial, but it doesn't say if it is a fully functional trial. I do not have the drives in my possession and I sent him the link to the software. He is pretty computer saavy so I think he can handle running the software. I just hate for him to spend $100 on a piece of software he will only need this one time.

So if any of you know anything good or bad about this software or can recommend an alternitive it would be appreciated.

[slgrieb]

Raid Reconstructor works very well. I've used Runtime's products for years (mostly GetDataBack for recovery) and I'm very pleased. Runtime's trial versions won't do actual recovery, but they will show you what they can recover with no BS involved. GetDataBack will let you use the demo to open and read recovered Word, Excel, image files, or whatever so you can see exactly what level of recovery to expect. The files can actually be opened in the relevant application; not just some "viewer". The trial version won't let you edit, copy, save, or print the files until you buy the software.

RAID Reconstructor works about the same way. It can't directly rebuild the array, but it can move the data to another drive and let you re-create the array with new drives using the recovered data. Excellent product!

[BOB IROC]

RAID Reconstructor works about the same way. It can't directly rebuild the array, but it can move the data to another drive and let you re-create the array with new drives using the recovered data. Excellent product!

So if he decides to purchase Raid Reconstructor will he need anything else to retrieve his data? He is not concerned about rebuilding the array, he just needs his music and movie files for a wedding this weekend. He is a DJ and made this music slideshow and a set list and all of that was on the laptop.

[KAIANA]

I have worked with plenty of Raids and do not beleive that the Raid is the problem. It is more likley that the drives are encripted by the notebook to stop theft.

http://news.com.com/Seagate+bakes+se...3-6130824.html

Regards
Kaiana - MCDST

[slgrieb]

Bob, you would need to connect the drives to the computer running Recontsructor, and the drive where he intends to recover the files needs sufficient capacity to hold however much data he needs to recover. So, yes, there are some potential issues with needing a mainboard that supports the drives he wants to recover, and the like. Extracting data from the image file does require GetDataBack, but you can selectively recover files and folders.

Personally, if I were you, I'd buy the software so you have a legal copy, and do the recovery for the customer. Common data recovery charges run about $1500, so you can buy and keep the tools, make a buck, save the customer lots of bucks, and have a nice package of recovery software to show for it.