Data Recovery Glossary
Technical terms and concepts explained by our recovery specialists
ATA (Advanced Technology Attachment)
Interface standard for connecting storage devices like hard drives to computer systems. Modern versions include SATA (Serial ATA).
Bad Sector
A disk sector that cannot be read due to permanent damage or formatting errors. Can be "soft" (logical) or "hard" (physical).
BGA (Ball Grid Array)
A type of surface-mount packaging for integrated circuits used in SSDs. BGA chips require specialized equipment for repair or replacement.
Chip-Off Recovery
A method where NAND flash memory chips are physically removed from a device and read separately, often used for severely damaged SSDs or phones.
Cleanroom
A controlled environment with low levels of pollutants used for opening hard drives, typically Class 100 (ISO 5) with <100 particles per cubic foot.
Degaussing
The process of decreasing or eliminating a remnant magnetic field, which permanently destroys data on magnetic media like hard drives.
ECC (Error Correction Code)
Codes added to data to detect and correct errors that occur during transmission or storage, crucial for modern SSDs and RAID systems.
Firmware Corruption
When a drive's embedded software becomes damaged, often causing the drive to not be recognized or function improperly.
Head Crash
A physical failure where the read/write head contacts the platter surface, often causing severe data loss and requiring cleanroom recovery.
Logical Failure
Data loss caused by software issues (deletion, formatting, corruption) rather than physical damage. Often more recoverable than physical failures.
MTBF (Mean Time Between Failures)
A predicted elapsed time between inherent failures of a system during operation, often used for hard drive reliability estimates.
NAND Flash
The type of non-volatile storage technology used in SSDs and USB drives. Different types include SLC, MLC, TLC, and QLC with varying durability.
Platter Damage
Physical harm to the magnetic disks inside a hard drive, often resulting from head crashes or contamination. Recovery from severe platter damage is usually impossible.
RAID Reconstruction
The process of reassembling data from multiple disks in a failed RAID array, often requiring specialized software to account for parity and striping.
SMR (Shingled Magnetic Recording)
A hard drive technology where tracks overlap like shingles to increase capacity, but can complicate data recovery due to rewrite limitations.
Solder Reflow
A controversial technique of reheating solder joints to repair connections, sometimes used as a last resort for failed SSD controllers.
TRIM
A command that allows an OS to inform an SSD which blocks of data are no longer in use, improving performance but potentially complicating recovery.
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