CMR, or Conventional Magnetic Recording, involves writing data in a way that the track for writing is the same width as the track for reading. On the other hand, SMR or Shingled Magnetic Recording has a wider write track than the read track, allowing for overlapping of tracks during the writing process. The difference between CMR and SMR becomes apparent under high disk load, where an SMR disk can significantly slow down due to internal data organization processes. Data recovery from a disk with shingled recording is usually more complicated, not just in cases of mechanical damage. Even simple data deletion from an SMR disk can be problematic. SMR conducts its own internal data management, and deleted data, although possibly still stored on the disk at that moment, may appear unrecoverable to the user. If your hard drive data is inaccessible, take advantage of our free diagnosis.