Topic: Stuck in Safe Mode, need to install 11.02. Is non PS+ data for sure gone?

The research I've done points to these games saves being gone and I've accepted that as my baseline at this point. But I've also read that using HD recovery software is an option in some scenarios. I've read that the drive contents are encrypted to my console's ID. Does that mean that I cannot copy the contents using recovery software and then move it back to the original HD after the update has been installed and the the system boots normally? Encryption, I assume, means that data wouldn't be readable, but does it also mean it's not copyable? Thanks.