Data rescue specialist Retrodata has announced what it claims is the first device for recovering damaged hard disk platters that can be used on-site by any company.

Called the System P. EX, the device uses laser-guided positioning to help it accurately extract platters from any 3.5 inch hard drive with minimal user intervention. While such devices normally require highly skilled operators, the System P. EX can be used by a relative novice, TechWorld.com reported.

The Company said that it would work on any drive with up to five platters, possibly more. It would also accommodate drives with internal shock-absorption damping of a type that might physically defeat rival systems. "Only the largest of data recovery companies have tools available that even allow this process to take place," said Retrodata's Duncan Clarke, who also invented the machine.

The System P. EX is slated for release next month. This includes a 10-year warranty excluding the cost of occasionally replacing precision components within the machine. Asked whether hard disk recovery was really as critical as it once was, Clarke responded that the "age of ubiquitous backup" was a myth.

"Let me assure you that even multinational corporates are capable of either forgetting to back up, or their backups are corrupt. There would be no such thing as data recovery if everyone backed up," he said.

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