ElJayBronx

Understood. What's frustrating is OBVIOUSLY - and according to the recovery company - the data resides on the chips. It's a question of getting at it. And while I agree Samsung doesn't warrant the drive to the extent of taking responsibility for user's data, if it's on them that one drive type is recoverable and another (cheaper) is not then shame on them. I have about 40TB of drive space. I can't AFFORD to back it all up. That said, I will change my practice going forward with regard to this type of data. It's video files ergo write once and read many. I need to physically place it in at least two different drives, rather than incremental backup.

Hey, folks...first time posting (long time viewer of LTT and its sister sites on YouTube)... I just experienced a failure on my three-year-old drive. This drive just stopped working "out of the blue" and I need to recover the data on it. I sent it to $300 Data Recovery in California, and they indicated that if it were a PRO they have tools to recover; there's a YouTube clip of someone doing data recovery from the PRO model, but the EVO model is at the moment not recoverable. In the same breath they tell me that the problem is not with Samsung but with their provider of data recovery tools; they have been waiting for an upgrade to the firmware for some time and have offered to hold on to my drive(s, including the recovery drive I sent them). The failure was cited as follows (and is why I'm writing here...): "The problem with your drive appears to be a firmware issue. This is a known issue for which there is no current solution (given your model)." They further write "Would you like us to hold onto your drive until an update is released? Note: we've been waiting for years for this update. So far, I don't think a solution is even on the horizon. Still, we have about half a dozen 850 EVO drives like yours here now, waiting for the day it finally comes (someone has to figure out how to break the samsung encryption for this model). In response to the email I sent them incensed at Samsung over this, they replied: "It's not Samsung, it's the developers of our data recovery tools." Is there any reality in which Samsung is NOT the villain of this piece? I find NOWHERE that I'm on notice that spending the extra $$$ for the Pro version of this drive would make it recoverable where the EVO version is seen to recovery tools as so much soup. And where would the "developers of <their> data recovery tools" NOT have to rely on Samsung for technical specs for the update they need to make the drives recoverable? I'm poisonously angry at Samsung right now, and somewhat at MYSELF for not covering my flank. I had used this drive as a repository for video files I'm immediately editing and working on, then to go to slower storage after the video is realized. Many of the files that were here ONLY resided here. I know now that this was careless practice but still find the facts herein extremely frustrating. I'd love any thoughts the brains our here might have for me, with many thanks. If someone knows of a different provider with more likelihood of success than $300 Data Recovery (I've worked with them before and they've been reliable) please let me know. I can't go crazy with recovery cost but these files are important to maintain goodwill with a client. Thanks to all. Jay from the Bronx, NY