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Data recovery and conversion of tapes
For data rescue from tapes Attingo cooperates closely with a European partner company, which is specialised in tape data rescue.
DIAGNOSIS REQUEST

Tape Data recovery and Conversion

Data recovery from backup tapes is more than just physically recovering data from a tape. Tape recovery requires detailed knowledge of the backup format and the ability to extract files from the archive. Regardless of whether you have a Backup Exec or an ARCserve backup of a standalone Windows system, a Tivoli archive or a NetWorker archive with multiple platforms, we can restore your data using our specially developed procedures and tools.

Tape formats

LTO Ultrium (LTO-1, LTO-2, LTO-3, LTO-4, LTO-5, LTO6, LTO7)
DLT, SDLT
AIT, S-AIT
4mm DAT (DDS1 - DAT72)
3570, 3590, 3592
9840, 9940, T10000
Exabyte, VXA
QIC, SLR
9-Track 1/2" Open Reel

Archiving format

Symantec BackupExec
NovaBACKUP
TAR
Windows NTBackup
Windows Wbadmin
VERITAS NetBackup
IBM AS/400
CA ARCserve
Retrospect
TapeWare
EMC Legato Networker
IBM Tivoli TSM
COMMVAULT
AVAMAR
HP DATA Protector

Physical problems

Since tapes get highly stressed during the reading process, even the smallest defects or misaligned heads can lead to data loss. Common errors:

  • Improper storage (temperature, humidity)
  • (Material) wear and tear
  • Mechanical damages of the drive
  • Environmental influences (fire, water)
  • Bonding of the tape (often in the case of incorrect storage)
  • Ripped tapes
  • False adjustment of the read/write heads

Logical problems

The organization of the data is operated via backup applications (for example UNIX tar or under Windows BackupExec). Even if there is a logical problem or the tape has been incorrectly reinitialized and the EOD (End of Data) or EOM (End of Media) is right at the beginning, most of the data can be reconstructed and restored by our specialists. Tapes can also be formatted or erased.

Conversion of backup tapes

In addition to logical and physical damage, there is another problem that is also often neglected: The timely availability and accessibility of data from the tape backups for internal use or examinations by government authorities. Attingo Datenrettung regularly receives inquiries from companies that are unable to access tapes that are actually functional. The most common reasons:

  • The backup software is not supported by any current system
  • The original hardware is no longer available or defective
  • Current employees lack the necessary knowledge and know-how
  • No existing support contract for the application

In these cases, we can simulate your prior environment to offer you as our customer the conversion of older generations of tapes to easier accessible media, either to newer generation of tapes or to hard drives.

 

Spring 2019 tape data recovery case study

Source code restore of several DLT IV data cartridge tapes

The restoration was carried out as part of our business services - the successful processing and solution of the first test tape took place within four working days

Initial situation:

We received the request to restore four DLTape IV data cartridges of an well-known company from the gaming industry. The tape drives contained, among other things, source codes of old game classics, which had been archived under Windows NT 4.0 with Backup Exec 8.0. 15 years later, due to read errors, the tapes could no longer be read out, making it impossible to access the databases. The tapes were first kept in a safe for about 8 years before spending the rest of the time in regular office boxes.

Diagnosis:

Apart from read errors, no further defects could be diagnosed in the course of our analysis

Data recovery:

With the help of special hardware, our engineers, who specialize in tape data recovery, were able to restore the archived data and convert all the restored data from the four tapes to a NTFS file system on a hard disk ready for delivery.

 

Do you need our support or would you like more information?

We not only help you with immediate restoration, but also with advice for the future, so that your data remains secure. We can be reached by phone or email, in urgent cases even 24x7 around the clock. You can also fill out our contact form without obligation. We make sure that we contact you as soon as possible so that your data is quickly available again.

 
Experience with Attingo Tape Data recovery and Conversion
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Kompetente Beratung
2010-01-29: , ST39173WC 9J4008-037 und DDS-3 aus HP9000 Server | RAID1 | Unix | HP-UX

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Attingo Team
Dipl. Ing. Nicolas Ehrschwendner
CEO
Peter Franck
CTO
DI (FH) Markus Häfele
COO
Robbert Brans
CEO BeNeLux
Ing. Özgür Göksu
Technician
Maximilian Maurer
Spare Part Manager
Sebastian Evers
Customer support
Boris Hakaso
Technician
Paul Carlson
Technician
>98%
success rate
25 years
of experience
44.461
rescue success