1. The product suite consists of universal and specialised utilities.

   Universal utilities allow quite fast HDD diagnostics facilitating a decision about possible methods for its subsequent restoration. They support operations with ANY 3.5", 2.5", 1.8" SATA or PATA HDD or 1.0" HDD with the Compact Flash interface.

   Specialised utilities allow diagnostics and restoration in specialised FACTORY mode of hard drive operation. That mode cannot be universal; it is unique for each drive family. That's why the complex includes individual factory mode utilities for each HDD family. Specialised utilities allow deeper diagnostics of drive malfunctions and subsequent restoration of its functionality. Alternatively, if a HDD cannot be restored, they provide an opportunity to access user data.

2. Operations with HDDs are performed via PC-3000 UDMA specialised dual port tester board.

3. All specialised connectors and adapters for switching HDD into factory mode are included into the kit.

4. The complex also has the database of factory HDD resources: contents of HDD FLASH ROM, service area modules and tracks, etc. All the resources are grouped by families, models, and firmware versions. You can search the database for specific resources and add to it new objects from latest HDD models.

We often receive a question: "Will PC-3000 help if a HDD produces knocking sounds?" The question has no simple answer without preliminary analysis of malfunction causes, which result in the knocking sound. Therefore the answer may be both YES or NO depending upon the situation. However, let us consider some guidelines…

The features provided by PC-3000 for Windows (UDMA) can be conventionally subdivided into two parts according to their purpose:

1. HDD repair.
2. Restoration of user data.

We shall not go into detail analyzing possible HDD malfunctions (such analysis may take several pages) discussing instead just the features of PC-3000 suite applicable for detection of malfunctions and restoration of HDD functionality

Operations with HDD printed circuit board (PCB):

• Scanning of firmware microcode in ROM; verification of configuration data in ROM; verification of firmware version in ROM; buffer RAM test; performance of self-diagnostics.
• Reading and recording of Flash ROM containing firmware microcode and configuration data in ROM. The data for programming of Flash ROM can be copied from the resource database of the PC-3000 for Windows (UDMA) suite.

• Testing of service area for BAD sectors; scanning of service modules to detect possibly corrupted sections.
• Erasure and formatting of service area; restoration of damaged SA modules or their overwriting with standard reference data from the resource database of PC-3000 for Windows (UDMA).

• Surface testing and detection of BAD sectors; launching the internal low-level format procedure.
• Relocation of revealed surface defects updating the defect tables; launching the Self Test procedure.

• Head testing (for some drive families only).
• Isolation of malfunctioning heads. HDD capacity decreases in such cases but the drive may become completely functional.

• An opportunity to reset SMART parameters of a HDD.
• An opportunity to correct drive identificatin data (ID).
• An opportunity to unlock USER and MASTER passwords in a HDD.
• An opportunity to delete HDD data quickly without impeding its functionality.
• Read data in UDMA66 mode.

• An opportunity to read user data from a HDD that cannot operate in accordance with its logical parameters. The reading routine in that case uses physical parameters taking into account actual drive translation tables or, if they are damaged, their virtually reconstructed copies.
• An opportunity to read user data using specified heads without their sequential switching. The feature can be helpful in cases when one of magnetic heads is damaged or when the magnetic heads assembly has been replaced.
• Disabling of autorealocation modes during data recovery from damaged surfaces.

Hardware:

Functionality	PC-3000 for Windows PCI	PC-3000 for Windows (UDMA)
Tester board	PC-3000 PCI	PC-3000 UDMA
PCI mode	PCI Slave	PCI Bus Master
Data exchange with HDD	PIO	PIO, UDMA33, UDMA66
HDD data exchange rate: HDD: Seagate 7200.10; PC: i975, Core2Duo, 1Gb.	In PIO mode: Read: 7.4 Mb/s Write: 6.0 Mb/s	In UDMA66 mode: Read: 60 Mb/s Write: 59 Mb/s
Simultaneous operation of two HDD	Dependant pseudo parallel	Completely parallel and independent functioning of two channels
HDD Cable Select mode management	Manually with a jumper setting	Software
Power supply adapter	PC3K PWR, single-channel, for one HDD only	PC3K PWR2, double-channel, for two HDD
Power supply protection	No	Yes

Performance increase in the rate of data recovery from a HDD using the PC-3000 UDMA board compared with PC-3000 PCI is over 700%.

Software:

Functionality	PC-3000 for Windows PCI	PC-3000 for Windows (UDMA)
PC-3000 for Windows PCI utilities	Supported	Supported
Utilities for earlier HDD models (from PC-3000 DOS)	Not supported	Supported (all HDD > 1 Gb)
Utilities for new HDD	Not supported	Supported
Database for HDD resources	Borland Batabase Engine (Paradox 7.0)	FireBird database server
Script engine	Yes	Yes
ATA Commander	No	Yes
Software protection system	License	Activation
Reasons of requesting a new license/activation.	All changes in the hardware or software of the host PC.	Reinstallation of PC-3000 for Windows (UDMA)

License is requested each time it expires; activation is only requested once during product installation.

Testing software used at the manufacturing factories is generally very complex. It is designed for hard drive developers and not intended for HDD restoration being able instead to identify the causes of defects in the technological process or to control the whole HDD assembly cycle. However, versions of such software with limited functionality are sometimes available from HDD resellers. Here belong such well-known programs as DDD/DFT from IBM, HiTest for Hitachi, and Vtool for Samsung drives. The main problem of work with such software is not its complexity but rather lack of accompanying manuals and methods for HDD restoration, absence of resources (HDD ROM contents, various loaders, burn tests and scan test files). All those aspects make its purchase useless.

There is also free software, for example, MHDD, LHDD, Victoria, etc. It is available from the Internet and it can be downloaded at no charge. Being free is its only advantage, but there is a serious drawback, too. Developers of such software design it just for personal pleasure when they have time for it. Thus we cannot speak about technical support, scheduled releases of new versions or any serious research in the sphere of HDD repair and data recovery.

"No day without researches" - it is the motto of our developers who before setting up ACE Laboratory used to work in Rostov Scientific Research Microtechnology Institute and plunged into the heart of HDD development and manufacturing. They gained knoweledge and experience preparing to create a really powerful technology for the most efficient work in Data Recovery and HDD Repair.

PC-3000 was developed to give all data recovery professionals one single solution for many data recovery cases . In-depth diagnostics of damaged HDDs, user-friendly operation with professional result, high-quality technical support done by qualified specialists, regular updates overwhelming most modern tendencies in Data Recovery - all day-by-day research and development works are done to give you the best possible solution for your HDD repair and Data Recovery business.

PC-3000 can do what others can't do.

• work with HDD in UDMA66 mode;
• data recovery rate ~ 60 Mb/s;
• completely independent parallel operation of two UDMA66 channels;
• double-channel power supply adapter for 2 HDD;
• added HDD power supply protection.

• combined list of utilities from PC-3000 DOS and PC-3000 for Windows;
• new database management system belonging to the most reliable existing products of that class;
• ATA Commander - a new tool for HDD inspection;
• activation instead of a license - you cannot lose it any more;
• operation in tandem with Data Extractor:
  — Reading based on physical parameters, PZCHS (Maxtor, Seagate).
  — Data recovery using specified heads (heads map creation).
  — Opportunity to disable the autoreallocation mode.

For this, PC-3000 for Windows (UDMA) suite has:

Built-in script engine, which allows independent extension of utility features. Of course, the task may be daunting for novice users, but after some experience someone who has mastered the product perfectly may attempt to enhance its functionality. Open interface of the PC-3000 for Windows (UDMA) suite provides a wide range of opportunities for that purpose. Besides, users of PC-3000 for Windows (UDMA) can exchange the resources and ready scripts for new factory modes.

ATA Commander is another tool that allows inspection of new HDD modes. In fact, it offers a real research lab for users who wish to analyze HDD operation on their own. АТА Commander allows you to send to a HDD any command including factory ones. It also supports their classification, reuse and conversion to scripts, if necessary.

In addition, you can use the PC-CF adapter to connect to PC-3000 UDMA regular Flash drives with the Compact Flash interface for diagnostics or restoration.

Adapter PC-CF is intended for switching 1.0" HDD (Compact Flash)