Is PyWallet by Jack-Jack the best way to scan old hard drives to recover lost/ deleted bitcoin wallets Without using a recovery service?
If you know how to use it yes possible it can help recover your lost/deleted Bitcoin wallets without any party.
any easier windows-based alternatives?
It works on Windows since it only requires Python 2.7 on your PC.
anyone has/ willing to make a detailed operation tutorial including step by step installing and using Python, Py wallet, dependencies, paths, commands for finding, extracting, dumping wallets & prvkeys.......?
JackJack already has a detailed guide on his signature check them here
https://www.devtome.com/doku.php?id=pywallet