Tapes, are the most popular and commonly trusted medium used to safeguard and archive data, however and unfortunately tape backups can, on rare occasion do fail. Server and Personal Computer Tape Backup systems using 4mm DAT, Travan, Exabyte 8mm, LTO and the various QIC formats can be rendered useless once the data stored on them is no longer accessible.

If you have lost tape data due to software problems or backup failures, overwritten tape media, tape drive failure, or physical tape damage, trust the SalvageData tape recovery experts to have the tools and resources necessary salvage the data that others consider unrecoverable.

There are many different ways to damage a tape. Aging can induce effects such as flaking of the oxide layer. To overcome this situation, SalvageData offers a stabilization service that will allow a deteriorated tape to be replayed a limited number of times, enough for it to be transcribed to different media.
Physical damage, such as media recovered from aircraft “black boxes,” can often be reconstituted to a level that will allow replay. SalvageData provides expertise and facilities in this specialty, and has been called upon to do so on many occasions.

Tape data recovery is the successful retrieval and copying of data from tape cartridges that have been damaged due to any of the following:

Common Failure Types for Recovery:

Heat, Fire, Sunlight, and Smoke Damage	Damage as a Result of Aging (Past Warranty)
Water and Humidity Damage	Damage from Extreme Temperatures or Humidity
Impact Damage/Broken Cartridge	Internal Cartridge Mechanism Failing
Overwriting	Permanent Errors Residing Mid File
Damage from the Tape Drive

As in all data recovery operations, recovering data from tapes is very focused and encompasses essentially two recovery types - Physical and Logical.

Physical Data Recovery is necessary when there is a physical problem with the iron oxides or plastic polymers which prevents the data from being read normally. This type of recovery may include dealing with issues such as decomposing magnetic coatings, cracked or broken reels/cartridges, broken/stretched/creased/twisted/folded tape, etc. While these physical issues are challenging to deal with, recovery from these types can usually be achieved in nearly 100% of all cases.

Logical Data Recovery is more challenging, therefore more costly. Recovering files logically includes recovering the data portion of a tape that was successfully recorded, but for now cannot be read. The recovery of these files often requires multiple passes using proprietary software to restore the file. The file fragments are pieced back together and the logically recreated file is written on the appropriate output tape.

Other forms of logical data recovery include tapes that were written with misaligned heads, and tapes that were mistakenly reinitialized. Each can be recovered, at least partially, using our exclusive software and procedures. With data recovery, you often only get one chance to do it right – so give it your best shot: Our in-house recovery service necessitates the shipping of your non-functioning tapes to our location in order for our techs and engineers to assess what steps need to be taken to recover the data. Once we have determined what is recoverable and obtained your OK, the restoration begins.

After the process is complete, we ship your data via your choice of media (i.e. External USB Hard drive, CD, DVD, or via a secure FTP connection of up to 2GB).

Data Recovery Tip

#19: Always carelully unplug the power to the computer before removing or handling the drive as to avoid physical jarring or jolts.