Port Aransas Law Firm Recovers Deleted Evidence From a Hard Drive Without Changing the Original
A law firm in a legal dispute needed to know what a single hard drive held and how it had been used. Opening the files would have altered the evidence. We cloned the drive, examined eight analysis categories on the copy, recovered deleted data and rebuilt a full activity timeline while the original stayed untouched.
The Challenge
The firm had the drive in hand, and on the surface the job looked simple: plug it in and look through the folders. That is exactly what could not happen. Every file opened on the original drive changes timestamps and metadata, and those changes would have given the other side grounds to challenge the evidence.
The firm was involved in a legal dispute, so the drive had to be handled as evidence from the start. That meant a documented chain of custody, a method that could be explained step by step, and an original that stayed exactly as it arrived.
The firm needed two answers: what the drive held and how it had been used. Those answers might not be in the visible folders at all. They could sit in deleted space, in files embedded inside other documents, or in the system's own activity records.
Opening Files Alters Evidence
Any direct look at the original would change timestamps and metadata and invite a challenge to the evidence.
Answers Hidden Below the Surface
Key data could be deleted, embedded inside other documents, or recorded only in system activity logs.
Chain of Custody Required
With a legal dispute underway, every step from intake onward had to be documented and repeatable.
What We Did
We treated the drive as evidence from the first minute. The work followed three stages: preserve it, recover what it held, and reconstruct how it was used.
1. Preserved It
We created a forensic clone of the drive, and every step of the examination ran on that copy. The original drive was never changed. Chain of custody was documented from intake onward.
2. Recovered It
Using forensic tools, we examined eight analysis categories on the clone. Deleted data was recovered. The documents central to the matter were located, and the files embedded inside them were extracted and preserved separately.
See our digital forensics service for how we handle evidence.
3. Reconstructed It
We built a timeline of when files were opened and which programs ran. It was drawn from the system's own records, not from file timestamps that are easy to change.
The Decisive Evidence Is Rarely in the Obvious Folder
What mattered on this drive was not limited to the files anyone could see by browsing. It was also in deleted space, in files embedded inside other documents, and in the activity records the system keeps on its own.
A casual look would have missed all of that. Worse, it would have altered the drive while doing it, changing the very timestamps and metadata the firm needed to rely on.
The lesson applies to any organization facing a question about what a device holds: treat the drive as evidence from the first minute. Clone it before anyone opens it, and document every step.
Results
All numbers come from the forensic examination output.
From email artifacts and carved deleted files to program-execution records and mobile device artifacts.
Every step ran on a forensic clone. The original stayed exactly as it arrived.
The examination reached the disk itself, virtual machine disks and mobile device artifacts.
When files were opened and which programs ran, rebuilt from the system's own records.
How the Engagement Ran
From intake to a documented forensic record, without ever changing the original drive.
Preserve the Drive
We took custody of the drive, created a forensic clone and began the chain of custody record.
Eight Categories Examined
All eight analysis categories were worked on the clone, and deleted data was recovered.
Timeline Built
We built the activity timeline and tied the central documents to the drive's own activity records.
Documented Findings Delivered
The firm received the findings with the method and sources for each one recorded.
Preserved for Re-examination
The clone and the documented method mean the findings can be re-checked if questions come up later.
Services Applied in This Engagement
This engagement drew on our digital forensics practice and our experience protecting law firms.
Digital Forensics & Breach Investigation
Forensic cloning, deleted data recovery and activity timelines with chain of custody documented.
Learn moreLegal Industry Cybersecurity
Security and evidence handling built around the confidentiality law firms owe their clients.
Learn moreBefore Anyone Opens the Drive, Call Us
A free consultation on how to preserve a device before its evidence is changed.
Request a free consultationIs Your Evidence Already Being Altered?
Every time someone opens a file on a drive in dispute, timestamps and metadata change. A forensic clone made before that happens keeps the original intact and the record clean.
We work with law firms and organizations facing a dispute over what a device holds, across Texas. Start with a free consultation.