Forensic Hard Drive Recovery — Court-Defensible Data
Forensic-grade hard drive recovery with chain of custody documentation, write-blocking, bit-for-bit imaging, and detailed reporting for legal and investigative use. Used by attorneys, law enforcement, insurance adjusters, and corporate investigators.
Step-by-Step Guide
- Write-block the target drive — Connect the hard drive via a hardware write blocker (e.g., Tableau, WiebeTech) to prevent any writes to the evidence drive. SafeRestore's Forensic mode also mounts drives in read-only mode via software write protection.
- Create a forensic disk image — SafeRestore creates bit-for-bit E01, DD, or RAW forensic images of the drive with SHA-256 and MD5 hash verification. The image captures every sector including deleted files, slack space, and unallocated regions.
- Analyze the image — All recovery and analysis is performed on the forensic image — never on the original drive. SafeRestore's forensic scanner identifies deleted files, recovers them by file carving, and timestamps every action.
- Generate a court-ready report — SafeRestore exports a forensic report including: examiner info, case number, evidence description, acquisition hash, file listing with metadata, recovery log, and chain of custody documentation.
Frequently Asked Questions
What forensic standards does SafeRestore follow?
SafeRestore's forensic mode follows NIST SP 800-86 and ISO 27037 guidelines for digital evidence acquisition and examination. Hash verification (SHA-256 and MD5) ensures evidence integrity throughout the process.
Can SafeRestore create E01 forensic images?
Yes. SafeRestore creates Expert Witness Format (E01) images — the industry-standard forensic container used by EnCase and other forensic tools. E01 images include embedded hash verification and case metadata.
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