Alright! We have already discussed the best PC configuration for your data recovery lab and the essential tools to get your work on HDD and SSD restoration started. Now is the time to talk about some of the many consumables you will definitely need (and where to get them).

Donor parts

PC-3000 solutions help you with retrieving all of the important info about your broken device: Preamp Type, Preamp Version, MicroJogs, ROM version, NN-RAM Version, etc. Using that you can easily find a donor device to match yours on www.donordrives.com.

Electronic parts

Price-wise it’s almost always better to buy a donor and replace the whole PCB. Though for old devices you might not be able to find an appropriate one even on www.donordrives.com. If you have the skills in PCB repair and soldering, detect the broken component and replace it. Try the Octopart search engine to get the best offers on connectors, conductors and all the other electronic parts.

PTFE copper mounting wires

Copper wires are used for soldering power & GND cables (e.g when converting USB PCB to SATA and when working with monoliths on Spider Board Adapter.

It’s also a good idea to have PPTE wire – a flexible wire made of copper with polytetrafluoroethylene isolation. Since it has a very small diameter (0.02 mm) it’s perfect for soldering SATA differential pairs

Solder wire

A special alloy for mounting of components and electronic parts. We recommend one with low melting temperatures (around 200C/392F). The best alloy is 60% Stannum (tin) and 40% Plumbum (lead).

Liquid flux

When you solder, the parts get oxidized because of heat. To wet it down and to get rid of the oxide film we recommend to use dielectric rosin-based flux with a brush.

Solid pine rosin

To clean the tip of your soldering iron.

Isopropyl alcohol

Useful for any cleaning job – of PCBs and HDD platters. Remember! When you work with ultrasonic cleaner you need the 99% proof alcohol! AND KEEP IN MIND: it is very toxic!

Rubber eraser

Rubber eraser – to clean HSA contacts on HDD PCBs

Ear sticks

These are very good for precise cleaning after you are done with a rubber eraser.

Paper napkins

To speed up the drying process and to clean up your workspace after you’ve finished the work.

That’s all for today. If you think we forgot something, or you have something interesting to say about HDD, RAID, SSD & Flash data recovery in general – welcome to the comments section. In our next articles, we will discuss the special tools for HDD and Flash.