Apple machines · bench record · ADR-2025-3691
The Machine Was Finished. The Disk Was Not.
This was a very straightforward request, and it could well be as basic as it appears. He had a 1TB WD out of my old iMac
, he believed the drive is fine
, and what he wanted done was for it to be attached to a machine and the data copied onto a USB drive
. No errors, no noise, no messages, just the final demise of a device and a disk containing everything. Before accepting that a job such as this is going to be easy, there is really only one task to do. It doesn't take long to accomplish.
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What failed, and why.
Most of the time a disk that looks okay is indeed okay, and his assessment of it would likely have been correct. The reason disks continue to be measured is that the two states cannot be distinguished from outside: a disk mid-fault acts as though it were healthy, can mount as though healthy, and will act as though healthy until someone makes a continuous pass of the entire contents. Making that continuous pass using standard equipment results in a minor fault turning into a major fault. Ten minutes with the firmware and the defect tables settles it one way or another, and the cost of obtaining those results is zero. The second issue relates to the Mac volume, which a Windows machine will happily tell you is unformatted. The Mac volume requires specialised software to access correctly; it does not require a computer sitting around with no work to do.
What the bench did with it.
The order of the job →| Equipment used | Its work on this job | The reason for it |
|---|---|---|
| ACE Lab PC-3000 Express | SMART, both defect lists, and a run of test reads, all of that prior to copying any data | This allows access to the manufacturer's service area (where normal ATA commands cannot go) |
| Atola Insight Forensic | Clone made with hardware-based write protection, while a hash was also created at the same time | Multiple images created simultaneously behind a hardware write blocker, with each step documented |
| UFS Explorer Professional Recovery | Read out of the clone: the entire contents of the Mac volume, including folders, names and dates intact | When other applications will not open it, this application will open APFS, ReFS, XFS, ZFS and Btrfs. |
What the bench did with it.
A healthy drive still gets measured
There was no caddy used on this job. Questions were asked at firmware level, where the drive has limited opportunity to embellish itself: the SMART log first, the reallocation counters next, the grown defect list after that, then test reads working from the outer tracks inwards. Answers were completely unremarkable. Timings did not fluctuate; counters were where they should have been; the mechanism was in better order than the age of the device had suggested.
Sound media is handled the same way
The write blocker went on regardless. On a disk in such condition it adds zero measurable time, and it additionally provides proof that what is sent home is what arrived, ahead of anything anybody raises later, with a log that maintains a record of it. When jobs look easy, handling does not get relaxed.
The copy is where the work happens
The first time it was opened out of the clone, the entire folder tree, file names and dates read exactly as described. All subsequent accesses were through the copy, and nobody returned to the old iMac because nothing remained on it worth wanting.
What went home.
We were able to put all of the files on his supplied USB drive as requested, and they were opened and checked here before it left. We then tested his disk after receiving it and recorded our findings. Because of his prior reasoning of the problem, he avoided a repair that he didn't have to make. As an added bonus, he now knows the disk's condition, which is a good deal more than he had before he sent it. The cost for the service was the published price for a single drive, which was £300 + VAT.
Begin here if yours is doing the same thing.
More Apple machines, written up.
Yours doing something similar? Power it down first.
Published prices are fixed. Memory cards and USB sticks are £250 + VAT. Any stand-alone drive is £300 + VAT. Drive configurations containing multiple disks (RAID, NAS or server) start at £500 + VAT. First assessments are always complimentary. Thereafter, data recovery charges are also fixed in advance and in writing, so you'll always know how much you owe before paying any money. Shut it down, get a quote first (by phone or with the form), then send it in or drop it off at our Guildford intake laboratory, Monday to Friday, 9am to 5:30pm (no appointment needed). On most jobs you only pay if we recover your data.