Satisfactory Hard Drives: Scan, Save or Reroll a Recipe?

Separate the crash-site lock from the research choice

A wreck and a collected Hard Drive are different states. The community Crash Site reference describes pods that may require specific parts or power; it also lists hazards around sites. Inspect the actual pod and leave if the required item, power, terrain or surrounding threat exceeds your expedition's supplies. A particular wreck location or unlock cost is not guaranteed by this guide.

For a part-locked pod, count the requested item before committing it. For a power-locked pod, compare its displayed requirement with a safe power source and connected grid. The source warns that a pod can continue drawing electricity after collection; inspect and disconnect a temporary connection when it is safe to do so.

1. Approach a visible crash site with a way back and enough health and equipment for the surrounding terrain.
2. Read the pod's actual interface: no requirement, item requirement or power requirement. Record a missing item rather than guessing a universal cost.
3. Supply the displayed requirement only when you can afford it. Open the pod, retrieve the Hard Drive and confirm it is in your inventory.
4. If temporary power was connected, check the network and disconnect that pod after recovery; keep the original factory's capacity in mind.
5. Return to an accessible MAM and check that the drive is available for the intended research action.

References: Satisfactory Wiki: Crash Site · Satisfactory Wiki: Hard Drive

Understand the MAM's scan and stored choices

The community Wiki describes one Hard Drive analysis at a time, ordinarily taking ten minutes. A 1.0-era player report says the initial choices are selected when scanning begins; another player report suggests rerolls use the progress available when rerolled. These are community observations, not a tested rule for every version. If a milestone is important, complete it before a new scan and check the installed interface rather than assuming a pending result automatically changes.

When analysis completes, the 1.0-era library normally presents two eligible choices. You can leave a completed result in the library instead of choosing immediately; the cited reference says stored offers are excluded from later scan or reroll pools while held there. This is a way to keep options open, not proof that any particular next recipe will appear. If the game reports no rewards currently available, check your unlocked milestones and MAM research rather than repeatedly starting the same scan.

References: Satisfactory Wiki: Hard Drive · Satisfactory Wiki: MAM · Satisfactory player report: initial choices and reroll · Satisfactory player discussion: later rerolls

Decide whether to select, hold or reroll

The source describes one reroll for each completed drive result. Treat that button as a decision that changes the offered pair; read the installed UI and decide whether you are willing to lose the current options before using it. A desirable recipe in a displayed pair is not guaranteed to return on this drive after rerolling.

A held result is useful when you cannot evaluate the ingredients yet or do not need either recipe immediately. If both displayed choices are relevant, selecting the one you can use now may be sensible, but do not assume the other will be offered next. Inventory expansions can also appear among rewards, so an unfamiliar offer is not automatically a recipe malfunction.

References: Satisfactory Wiki: Hard Drive · Satisfactory Wiki: MAM · Satisfactory Wiki: Picking an alternate recipe

Worked comparison: 100 Screws per minute

Consider a hypothetical need for 100 Screws/minute using ordinary 100%-clock reference rates and default Iron Rod production. The default Screw recipe consumes one Rod for four Screws, so 25 Rods/minute make 100 Screws/minute. With the default one-ingot-per-rod recipe, that requires 25 Iron Ingots/minute. At 40 Screws/minute per full-speed Screw Constructor, the screw stage represents 2.5 full-speed Constructor equivalents; the 15-rod/minute stage represents about 1.67 Constructor equivalents.

The Cast Screws alternate uses five Iron Ingots for 20 Screws, with a listed 50 Screws/minute at 100% clock. Two full-speed Cast Screws Constructors would therefore use 25 Iron Ingots/minute to produce the same nominal 100 Screws/minute. It eliminates the separate Rod stage in this comparison; it does not reduce the iron per Screw relative to the default recipes. These are recipe-derived figures, not a timed factory test.

References: Satisfactory Wiki: Screws · Satisfactory Wiki: Iron Rod

Check transport and demand before rebuilding

The fractional machine counts above are equivalent rates, not instructions to place a fraction of a building. If you use whole machines, configure clocks or accept a different rate, and verify the installed UI. Overclocking, underclocking, alternate ingot recipes and Somersloops change machine or power calculations and are not part of the 100%-clock example.

A single Mk.1 conveyor has a listed 60-items/minute ceiling, so a single segment cannot carry the whole 100-Screw/minute output. Separate or faster routes may be appropriate if unlocked, but direct routing, manifold balancing and the consuming building's actual rate must be checked in the save. A simpler recipe cannot compensate for a blocked belt, insufficient ingots or a full output.

1. Record the consumer's actual Screws/minute and both recipe cards in the installed build.
2. Calculate ingot input and nominal output for the chosen recipe; account for any alternate upstream recipe separately.
3. Check every conveyor segment that carries combined output, not just the belt leaving one Constructor.
4. Confirm power, selected recipes, input supply and unblocked output before comparing observed output with the ideal rate.
5. If the consumer is still starved, change one connection or rate and observe the same input buffer again.

References: Satisfactory Wiki: Screws · Satisfactory Wiki: Iron Rod · Satisfactory Wiki: Conveyor Belts

Record the decision, not a fabricated test

For a reproducible comparison, record platform, installed build, mods, the MAM choice pair and prerequisites, then list the actual machine clocks, input and output belts, inventory change and elapsed game time. Theoretical machines do not prove delivered production. If the source and the interface disagree, preserve a screenshot or written reading from the actual save before changing the design.

This example is a planning comparison; GamerWin has not scanned a drive, timed these machines or observed a crash-site recovery. Consider this guide a starting decision framework, not a promise that a reroll produces Cast Screws.

Platform / installed build / mods:
Crash pod requirement / drive actually collected:
MAM prerequisites at scan start / choices / reroll status:
Chosen recipe / machine clocks / power / belts:
Consumer demand / observed inventory before and after:
One change / observed result:

References: Satisfactory Wiki: MAM · Satisfactory Wiki: Hard Drive

Before you play

• Read the actual crash-site requirement and collect the drive before leaving.
• Check prerequisites before starting a scan; only one analysis runs at a time.
• Distinguish a held library offer from an unlocked recipe and an available reroll.
• Compare the chosen recipe's ingredients, machinery and transport against a specific consumer.
• Record actual game results separately from the 100-Screw theoretical comparison.

Frequently asked questions

Sources & revision notes

Editorial revision: October 29, 2026; not a gameplay test date. The reference notes identify source limits and version differences.

1. Coffee Stain: Satisfactory support and release information (Official)

   Developer support page consulted October 29, 2026; confirms 1.0 release context and distinguishes Experimental from the main branch. Does not certify the player's current patch or these mechanics.

2. Satisfactory Wiki: Crash Site (Community)

   Publisher-hosted, community-edited Wiki indexed extract consulted October 29, 2026 for pod item/power requirements, retrieval and hazards. Direct full-page retrieval was restricted; individual sites and costs vary.

3. Satisfactory Wiki: Hard Drive (Community)

   Community-maintained Wiki indexed extract consulted October 29, 2026 for 1.0 library, one reroll, scan timing, prerequisites and stored choice pool. Direct retrieval was restricted; the installed MAM takes precedence.

4. Satisfactory Wiki: MAM (Community)

   Community-maintained Wiki indexed extract consulted October 29, 2026 for shared MAM research and held offers. Direct retrieval was restricted; no research run was observed.

5. Satisfactory Wiki: Picking an alternate recipe (Community)

   Community tutorial indexed extract consulted October 29, 2026 for the choice between holding or selecting offers. Marked unfinished; used as a perspective, not a guarantee of RNG results.

6. Satisfactory player report: initial choices and reroll (Community)

   Player's 2024 report read October 29, 2026 for the reported initial-scan timing. It is not an official specification or a GamerWin test; no save reloading is recommended here.

7. Satisfactory player discussion: later rerolls (Community)

   Player discussion read October 29, 2026 suggests later progress may affect a reroll. This is unverified community evidence, not a guarantee for every build.

8. Satisfactory Wiki: Screws (Community)

   Community recipe table indexed extract consulted October 29, 2026 for 1 Rod → 4 Screws at 40/min and 5 Iron Ingots → 20 Cast Screws at 50/min. Direct retrieval was restricted; compare the installed recipe cards.

9. Satisfactory Wiki: Iron Rod (Community)

   Community recipe table indexed extract consulted October 29, 2026 for the default 1 Iron Ingot → 1 Iron Rod, 15/min Constructor recipe. Direct retrieval was restricted.

10. Satisfactory Wiki: Conveyor Belts (Community)

    Community reference indexed extract consulted October 29, 2026 for the Mk.1 60-items/minute limit. Distribution and actual transport were not measured.