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

In The News:

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The Data Rescue Center Expands with New Location at the Stoneridge Mall
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The Data Rescue Center offers professional data recovery service for hard drive recovery, data migration services, and professional photograph archiving. ...

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USB Pen Drive Data Retrieval Tool
MyNC.com
Pro Data Doctor Company provides Pen drive data recovery software retrieves lost, missing digital pictures, audio songs, video albums and multimedia GIF ...

Data Recovery Services Announces File Access Collaboration with CompTIA
TMCnet
Data Recovery Services has announced a strategic partnership with CompTIA (News - Alert). This deal will help grant easy access to ...

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Washington Post
Ldn FX: Euro, Aussie Gain As Strong Data Boost Risk Appetite
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Dip reversed as risk appetite got a general boost on release of strong Chinese PMI and stronger than forecast Australian GDP data. Recovery in Aussie ...
WORLD FOREX: Dollar Weakens Against Yen; Investors Eye Data, FedWall Street Journal
Growth of Forex Market Another Hurdle for Japan InterventionWall Street Journal

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dbcoretech Released Free Btrieve Recovery Tool to Extract, Recover or Restore ...
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The tool is the world's only free of charge and Open Source solution for offline data recovery and extraction to read Btrieve data without accessing the ...

BELFOR Prepared for Hurricane Earl
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... electronic restoration, water extraction, vital records recovery, equipment and machinery refurbishment and media and data recovery. ...

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Help With Lost Files - Freeware Data Recovery Tips to Restore Your Data Fast
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Whatever the causes are, you might just be able to salvage your computer data with a few hard drive data recovery tips. 1. Install a freeware data recovery ...
Data Recovery Programs Are Here to Protect Your FilesBoosh News (press release) (blog)
Deleted Data Recovery is No Longer Just a DreamBoosh News (press release) (blog)
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Data Recovery Services Post RAID Controller Failure
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However, if no backups exist, an organization should get in touch with the RAID experts by acquiring professional data recovery services. ...

Linux Data Recovery to Data Loss Due to Write-Back Caching Techniques
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These instances of data loss can be countered and the recovery of your valuable data can be done through technologies like LINUX data recovery. ...

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