ACE Lab· Hardware + software
PC-3000 Express
A PCI Express card with its own software that turns a lab PC into a hard disk repair station: it reaches the drive's firmware, repairs it and then gets the data off.
- Price
- Not published (quotation from ACE Lab)
- Used for
- Hard disk tools
- Facts checked
- 24 October 2026
- Fits in PCI Express slot of a lab PC
- Ports 4 SATA + 2 PATA
- Drives at once Up to 4
- Licence Paid (quotation)
What it does
PC-3000 is the best-known tool for hard disks that fail because of their firmware rather than their files. It talks to a drive in the maker's factory mode, below the level that Windows or recovery software can reach.
- Checks the drive's service area (the hidden firmware zone on the platters) and repairs or rewrites damaged firmware modules
- Reads and writes the firmware chip (ROM) on the drive's board and loads a service loader into the drive's memory
- Shows the defect lists and can rebuild the translator, the table that maps sectors to the platters
- Can switch off a damaged head so the remaining heads can still be read
- Resets passwords, S.M.A.R.T. and logs, and edits the drive's ID
- Works with ACE Lab's Data Extractor software to image the repaired drive and recover files
What it supports
- Ports
-
- 4 SATA
- 2 PATA
- Drives at once
- Up to 4 (4 SATA, or 2 SATA + 2 PATA)
- Drive brands
-
- Seagate
- Western Digital
- Hitachi / HGST / IBM
- Toshiba
- Samsung
- Maxtor
- Fujitsu
- Quantum
- Utilities
- 16 brand- and family-specific utilities
- Works with
- Data Extractor Express (data recovery)
Editions and prices
-
PC-3000 Express
Price on quotation from ACE Lab
-
Express System kit
PC-3000 Express together with Data Extractor Express for recovering the data
From the maker's website on 24 October 2026. Prices change; confirm with the maker.
Sources: the maker's official pages
Checked on 24 October 2026.
Before you buy
- Check the maker's supported list for your exact drives or chips.
- Prices and features change; ask the maker or its official reseller.
- Never use cracked copies: they break drives and carry malware.
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