If all else fails and you really, REALLY, have to recover the data on the crashed HD be aware that there are companies that will do a first class job, but be prepared to pay an arm and a leg for their service.  They remove the disk itself, in an ultra clean environment, and then, somehow, extract the data from the disk using techniques that I can't even imagine.

If this is of interest I can, perhaps, get the names of a few of these companies for you - as I saw it done for some sensitive material that was lost at the laboratory where I used to work.

Lewis Emerson

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