Data Recovery Information

Data Recovery: Beginners Tips


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


MORE RESOURCES:

Kernel Panic in Linux
American Chronicle, CA - 9 hours ago
Data recovery Linux in any of the case, either from the failed or the formatted hard drive requires a prominent way out. Data worth and any risk imply that ...
Getting Hard Disk Recovery is Easy American Chronicle
all 2 news articles


The weirdest computing disasters of 2008
ZDNet - 12 hours ago
The top 10 data blunders of 2008, compiled by data recovery firm Kroll Ontrack, have seen people across the world falling victim to acts of great stupidity ...


Lenovo Introduces Protection and Data Recovery Services
NetworkWorld.com, MA - Nov 14, 2008
Data Recovery Service is offers a new hard disk immediately, while attempting to rescue the data from the faulty/ crashed hard disk. ...


eNewsChannels

Journal Linux Data Recovery Fails on Mounted Root File Systems
American Chronicle, CA - Nov 19, 2008
The full journal data recovery Linux can easily be performed on the un-mounted file system, but not on the root file system. The Reiser FSCK tool does not ...
HTFS Recovery in SCO Open Server American Chronicle
all 3 news articles


Helios Data Forensics President Chris Hallgren Attains EnCase ...
MarketWatch - Nov 12, 2008
PHOENIX, AZ, Nov 12, 2008 (MARKET WIRE via COMTEX) -- Chris Hallgren, president of Helios Data Forensics, is one of Greater Phoenix's most highly trained ...


A Guide to Simple Do It Yourself Data Recovery
American Chronicle, CA - Nov 17, 2008
Your system has got logically crashed, leaving you with two options: attempt restoration from backup or use Do It Yourself data recovery. ...
Essential Information about Novell Data Recovery American Chronicle
all 2 news articles


New Diskeeper 2009 Defrag: A New Standard In Performance and ...
eCoustics.com (press release) - 4 hours ago
Diskeeper Corporation further provides real-time data protection and real-time data recovery™ with Undelete® data recovery software (www.undelete.com).


PR Web (press release)

ACS Data Recovery and Fix That Mac of Berkeley, California Work To ...
PR Web (press release), WA - Nov 10, 2008
Students who have lost valuable data due to a hard drive failure can now get special pricing on data recovery services. Temple, TX (PRWEB) November 10, ...


Send2Press (press release)

Easeus Announces New Free Data Recovery
Send2Press (press release), CA - Nov 18, 2008
18 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) -- EASEUS Software, the innovative, dedicated data recovery software provider, today announced that the company is addressing the ...
Mac Unbootable: Permissions Changed American Chronicle
all 8 news articles


Riverbed 'cuts data recovery time'
Zycko, UK - Nov 28, 2008
A subsidiary of a concessions and construction group has cut its data recovery time by two-thirds by using Riverbed's Steelhead appliances. ...

Data-Recovery - Google News

home | site map
© 2006