Secure Data Recovery (SDR) is offering to rescue files up to 256KB from corrupted SanDisk Extreme SSDs for free. A $79.99 licence fee is required for larger file recoveries.
Some 2TB and 4TB Western Digital SanDisk Extreme Pro, Extreme Portable, Extreme Pro Portable and MyPassport SSDs, released in 2023, have suffered data loss due to a possible firmware bug. This has sparked a lawsuit which hopes to become a class action. Secure Data Recovery thinks it has a way to salvage most if not all of the data from such drives.
SDR reckons the firmware bug messes up allocation metadata which stops the SSD managing data distribution among its flash pages and cells. SDR says its “software detects traces of scrambled metadata and file indexes. Once located, it pieces the information together and retrieves the data.” It is providing a process to recover the lost data with users paying a license fee if files above a certain size are recovered. We haven’t tried this process or verified it and include it here for information purposes only.
The sequence of operations a user needs to carry out, after connecting the SSD to a PC or Mac host, is this:
1) Download the Secure Recovery software (free)
2) Select the location containing lost data. That is C: drive for most users.
3) Select Quick File Search or Full Scan.
4) Choose the relevant file or folder.
5) Continue with the relevant subfolder if applicable.
6) Select the file from the list on the right.
7) Click to select the output folder for recoverable files. That is the E: drive for most users.
8) Click Recover in the bottom-right corner of the window. A status update will appear if successful.
9) Click Finish in the bottom-right corner of the window.
SDR says that “sometimes, the parent folder structure is lost in the process. However, the files inside them are unaffected. Most subfolders remain intact. Recovered files from missing directories are assigned to a Lost and Found folder.”
The company is a SanDisk platinum partner for its recovery services under a no-data-no-recovery-fee deal. WD’s data recovery webpage lists four US-based recovery operators: Ontrack Data Recovery, Drive SaversDataRecovery, Datarecovery.com and Secure Data Recovery.
