www.gedency.com

Right now you probably in a lot of mental pain, and all you’re concerned about is recovering your data as quickly as possible - so we’ll refrain from comments on the wisdom of regular back ups. The time for preventative measures has gone - the issue at hand is data recovery.

First - a simple tip could save you a lot of money. Take out your rolodex and get hold of your tech-savvy friends. If you’re in luck, they’ll offer to help, and if you’re really lucky, they might even have some disk recovery software.

If you’re out of luck, then get out your wallet or purse out now… because this is going to cost you. Also, be prepared for a lot of time being wasted - data recovery can take a long time.

The first thing to establish is what exactly is wrong with your hard disk:

• Either your computer won’t boot up, or
• Your computer boots up OK but you can’t see one of your other drives.

Let’s see if we can eliminate the worst scenario. Listen closely to your hard drive - is it making any sort of weird noise, such as scratching, scraping, ticking etc?

If so, then your drive is physically damaged and the only hope that you have is to take it to a data recovery service where experts might be able to get your data off for you. These services are expensive and time consuming - so you need to make a judgement call as to the value of data on the disk:

• If it’s only your saved game data or downloaded music files you would like back, you’re probably better off kicking yourself for not backing up, and accepting the data loss.
• If, on the other hand, it’s a book or other type of information product that you’ve been working on for years, then send it to a data recovery service for an evaluation and quote - it usually costs nothing.

If your hard disk sounds OK, then you stand a decent chance of recovering data yourself.

First you’ll need to download some software to help you out.

Unfortunately, the better software utilities are not free, but the good news is that many allow you to try them out to see they can access the data. There are some freeware versions available but generally speaking these are not easy to use - no user interface / little documentation, or they are not very effective.

There’s a list of recommended software on our site - http://www.recoverdatafiles.com - compare the different options then download a few of the trial versions.

Your next steps will be based on how your hard drive/s were setup:

• If you only have a single hard drive that has not been partitioned or split into different “logical” drives, you’ll probably need to attach the hard drive to another computer
  that has enough space to store all your data. This can be quite technical so if you don’t have the skills please get a computer savvy friend to help out.

  Another option is to purchase an external USB hard drive case. You can then simply slot the hard drive into the case and plug it into another PC using a USB port.

• If you have a multiple drive setup and your computer boots up fine, then it will merely be a case of getting the downloaded software to read the files and then copy them to another drive - provided you have a drive with enough space on it. If not, you’ll need to attach the hard drive to another machine with enough spare capacity.
• The scenario where you have a multiple drive setup, where the problem drive is the one that contains your operating system files is more tricky.

  Look for a data recovery software package that has a boot disk option available. What this means is that when you start your computer with the boot disk in it, it will automatically run the data recovery program without trying to start windows. You should be able to see your files and then copy them across to another drive.

Hopefully these tips will enable you to get all your important files back.

Once you’ve had some time to recover, please take a look at the various articles on our website - our goal is to make it one of the best resources on data recovery.

For the past 20 years, Jeff Walters’ interest has been in making the most effective use of a business’s information assets. He has lead several data-to-information projects : ABC Costing, analytical CRM, datamart /data warehouse development, and Balanced Scorecard.

For help with data-related projects, contact Jeff Walters through either site: Data Recovery, or Customer Relationship Management

Share This

Software programmers recognize the importance of data files, and thankfully, they have been able to create products that demonstrate their understanding of how often people accidentally delete or lose important data. Thanks to software programmers and development companies, people have a variety of data recovery software programs available to purchase in the event they’ve lost vital data.

There are disk recovery applications that are specific to recovering files of a certain format, like graphics files as opposed to word document files, and there is software that can recover any type of lost file regardless of the format. If you’ve accidentally deleted an image on your digital camera, there is even software available to retrieve that!

It’s important to take the time to research and compare each software program before purchasing one in order to make sure that it will have the best possible chance at retrieving your lost file. Remember that there is no program on the market that can guarantee recovery of every file, as there are simply too many factors and situations that effect whether or not a file can be retrieved once deleted or lost. You can increase your chances for recovery by selecting the appropriate program for the file you are trying to save.

Do-it-yourself software is less expensive than hiring a company that specializes in data recovery and you should at least attempt to recover your data yourself with the use of this type of software program if money is of concern for you. Even if money is not a concern, your first step should be to check whether or not recovering your data is as simple as running a software program, as that will be your fastest and most convenient way.

In addition to recovering data files from accidental deletion, there is data recovery software that can recover files after you’ve formatted the drive, after a computer power failure, natural disaster, or files lost from a virus.

*****************************************
Brad Triggs provides more information on
Data Recovery at his website:
Data-Recovery-Central.com - Data Recovery Software
*****************************************

Share This

If you have ever faced the loss of data, you will know what it’s like to have anxiety over severe trouble with your server, hard disk or RAID health. This is however, a time for some caution in terms of time and money.

Data recovery can sometimes be worked out yourself, with help of software and some simple tips. This is usually the case when the drives are not physically damaged. If they are damaged however, you will need to send the drives to a specialist who will recover the data for you.

Here you need to decide the optimality, as the costs of data recovered needs to be balanced with the cost of data involved. If the lost data is not important, just take a lesson from this failure; replace the faulty drives, and start backing up. There should be adequate drive space and a schedule, so that you regularly create copies of your data.

There is no foolproof method where you will have 100% of your data recovered or will never have a crash. However, as they say, prevention is better than cure. Backing up is the prevention method when it comes to computer data.

Data loss

If you suspect any data corruption, drive corruption, or data loss, the possible symptoms will be:

Error messages informing you that the device is not recognized.
Previously accessible data is suddenly nowhere to be seen.
Scraping or rattling sound in the drives, especially hard disks.
Hard drive may not spin and may be still.
Computer or hard drive does not function at all, like no booting is possible.

All of these indicate that the drive is corrupted. 44% of data losses are due to drive malfunction.

Tips on how to recover data

Some quick tips that can get you out of this gruesome situation are:

1. Recovery through software: First try to locate some data recovery software from your technically inclined friends. They may have some disk recovery software that can be used to get your data back.

2. Hardware Crash: If you have detected that your hardware is at fault and has crashed, by no means try the normal shutting down procedures. Just pull out the plug, and do not wait. Never try to save or recover the data at this time, as you may lose the otherwise safe or recoverable data as well.

3. Pinpoint the trouble in the hard disk: If you are not sure of the issue, listen to your hard disk for any scratching or unusual sounds. If this is the case, you will need recovery service; something that will cost you money and will take time also.

4. Determine the health of the drive: If you have determined that the drive is healthy by the above means, you may still be able to recover the data by yourself. Try using the recovery software or using the drives as slaves etc.

5. Slave disks: Try to connect the drive as a slave to another computer. This way you might be able to recover all of the data.

6. Locate the corruption: This can easily be found by booting from the floppy drive, or using the F disk and then viewing the partitioning information.

7. Shop for recovery software: Do an online search for data recovery software and see what software is ranked best, and what suits you. This software will usually not be free, but it may access your data and recover it for you. You can also make enquiries at a PC software store in your area.

8. Server Crash: If you had been working on a server and it has crashed, never try data recovery on the same server.

9. RAID Drive Crash: Replace the RAID data drive that failed, never ever reuse it.

10. RAID Drives: Label the multiple drives in RAID array.

11. Database files: In the case of Microsoft Exchange and SQL data failure, you should never do direct operations. Keep a copy of the database files and then start the work on the copies, not on the main files.

12. Utilities: Do not try to run Volume Defragmenters and Volume Repair Utilities on the suspect drives.

13. Other utilities: Also avoid the use of Volume Repair utilities if there has been power outage, or if your file system looks corrupted. This must be done only by people who are extremely confident and are technically wise.

14. Keep information: Always keep the following information at hand:

- The size of the drive
- Operating system (i.e. Windows 98, Windows XP, etc.)
- Situation of failure (what happened just before the drive stopped working)
- Is the drive recognized by the computer or not

15. Boot drive malfunction: If the drive that has crashed also had the OS on it, things are tricky. In this case, try to get recovery software with boot functions. This way the computer will boot from the software, and then you will be able to see your data files and copy them to safe drives.

16. Avoid physical cleaning of drives: Never attempt shaking, or cleaning the data drive on your own. This may cause more physical harm.

17. Do not remove drive covers: Hard drive covers are best left to specialists. Never try taking them off yourself. This requires special equipment, and is best left to technicians in labs.

18. Dropping the hard disks: The disks should not be dropped to be unstuck. This will not help get the hard disk unstuck, and will just do more damage.

19. Exposure to water: The drive can not be dried by any dryer if it was exposed to water, so do not try that.

20. Scrutinize the workplace: Pay attention to the place where you had kept your computer or notebook, etc. Highly humid, warm places or shaky desks may also cause hardware failure.

21. Firewalls: Viruses run havoc on the drives, sometimes erasing the data. Make sure that you are well protected behind a firewall. If you have not had one until now, get one now. Protect the network as well as your servers.

22. Physically damaged drives: If the drives have been corrupted physically, they must be sent to a Class 100 clean room. This is a place where they can be opened and physically taken care of. While sending the drives to such a facility, take extra care while packaging them. If possible, try to get the original cases for packing.

If you have tried all the normal methods and you still have a problem with your data drives, it’s time to hunt for a data recovery company. There are many companies which provide such services, but you will have to be very careful whom to trust. Visit their websites and find out their level of technical expertise.

You can also call their helpline numbers by phone, and find out about their technical experts and the facility where your drive will be worked on. A reliable company will reveal everything, and will be very open to your requests. Usually, a good company can report on their preliminary findings within 24 hours of receiving the drive. They will then wait for your approval, if you will like to get your drive repaired at the estimated cost/time and risk.

Article by Paul MacIver. For more Data Recovery information visit the Data Recovery Guide - You may reprint this article as long as no changes are made, and this resource box is left intact. Read more articles at Info Hub

Share This