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


AddThis Social Bookmark Button


In The News:


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


Syncsort and NetApp Unveil Integrated Backup and Recovery Solution
PR Newswire (press release)
The solution includes multiple data recovery options, including automatic virtual machine creation, to allow users to quickly respond to any data-loss ...

and more »

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 ...

and more »

Washington Post

Ldn FX: Euro, Aussie Gain As Strong Data Boost Risk Appetite
IMarketnews.com
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

all 2,336 news articles »

dbcoretech Released Free Btrieve Recovery Tool to Extract, Recover or Restore ...
ThomasNet Industrial News Room (press release)
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
PR Newswire (press release)
... electronic restoration, water extraction, vital records recovery, equipment and machinery refurbishment and media and data recovery. ...

and more »

Help With Lost Files - Freeware Data Recovery Tips to Restore Your Data Fast
Boosh News (press release) (blog)
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)
Hard Drive Recovery Service, Fast Solution to Lost DataBoosh News (press release) (blog)
Boosh News (press release) (blog) -Boosh News (press release) (blog)
all 7 news articles »

Data Recovery Services Post RAID Controller Failure
Boosh News (press release) (blog)
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
Boosh News (press release) (blog)
These instances of data loss can be countered and the recovery of your valuable data can be done through technologies like LINUX data recovery. ...

Google News

__________

Games at Buy.com

Kingston, Sandisk, Viewsonic, Canon, Toshiba

How Secure Are Online Data Backups?

Processing DATA is what all businesses do. Protecting data is what SMART businesses do. Smart businesses understand that if they lose their data they lose their business.If... Read More

Offsite Data Backup Not Just for Fortune 500 Companies Anymore

In today's high paced digital world there is a very high value placed on information. Not just the kind of information you read in the newspaper or... Read More

Online Data Backups for Newbies

How long have you been doing business online? Whether you are new or an old timer you need to understand the one important truth of the e-world.... Read More

Disaster Recovery Made Easy With Online Backups

Whenever disaster strikes the most critical asset that every company should have protected from sudden loss due to fire, flooding, or theft is their data. No matter... Read More

Big Time Disaster Recovery Solutions Available for the Little Guy

There was a time - not too long ago - that Data Disaster Recovery solutions were available only in the domain of multinational corporations and big business... Read More

Hard Drive Crash? The Essential Data Recovery Report

Your worst nightmare just became a horrifying reality. You keep hearing that little voice in your head mockingly shout "you should have backed that stuff up" The... Read More

Data Recovery - What Not to Do!

Data recovery is a tricky thing, and if you've somehow deleted or had your important files corrupted or lost due to human error, business espionage, faulty hardware... Read More

Data Recovery - You Can Get It Back!

Data recovery is a process whereby you can save data and files you accidentally deleted, had eaten by malicious software or viruses, hardware failures, corporate espionage and... Read More

Data Recovery The Easy Way

If you aren't prepared in advance, you will most likely have to use a data recovery service or data recovery software solution to help get back as... Read More

The Best Data Recovery Choice For You

The best defense against a loss of data is a really solid and faithful backup routine of important files to reliable media. It's also a good idea... Read More

Do You Have The One Key Ingredient Necessary For Disaster Recovery?

It is not rocket science, we all know that we should have a disaster recovery plan in place for our business regardless of its size. When disaster... Read More

Are The Words Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery Planning Rolling Off Your Lips?

It might be more fun to talk about those free online business cards that are saving the company money, or those nifty designer business checks that are... Read More

Want To Beat The Odds? Disaster Recovery Planning is Essential

Statistics show two out of five businesses go out of business within five years of experiencing a major disaster.These statistics are staggering. Even if the business survives... Read More

Comparing Data Recovery Software

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... Read More

Do I Really Need To Backup?

Okay, computers a machine, right? Okay, maybe not yours. You have this special relationship, but that a subject for another article. Machines break. Software gets fouled up.... Read More

Computer Data Recovery Options

Losing files on your computer can be a frightening experience if the files are of importance to you personally or professionally. Computer data recovery techniques include the... Read More

Learn How To Make Data Backup Over The Internet!

Why should you backup your data on the Internet?There are several reasons.* The backup is located at a secure place for away from your computer. * It's... Read More

Data Recovery

Every person who uses a personal computer will eventually face the challenge of data recovery. Computer hardware and software can be temperamental from time to time. Hard... Read More

Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery - Reducing Your Risk Profile

Like all plans, there is an ultimate goal to achieve. The goal in a business continuity plan is simply that: to continue your business in the face... Read More

Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery - The Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery Plan

Essentially, the plan addresses the who, what, where, why and when of recovery. Goal number one is to reduce the risk profile of the business. Goal two... Read More

Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery - Selecting A Business Continuity Strategy

The risk analysis and business impact analysis have identified risks to key business functions. Also, the potential impacts and probabilities of these risks as well as the... Read More

Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery - Business Impact Analysis

Business impact analysis is a critical part of the business continuity planning process. This step quantifies data and gets into the real world issue of potential losses... Read More

Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery - Risk Analysis and Control

In the risk evaluation phase, there are a number of key areas that must be covered. One of the most important is to understand probable threats. In... Read More

Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery - A Business Not a Technology Issue

Hackers, hurricanes, fires, flooding, power outages, denial of service attacks, application failures, employee error, sabotage and now terrorism are helping companies to focus on the necessity of... Read More

The Seven Golden Rules Of Data Backups

Backups of company data are carried out for two main reasons. The first is to cater for those times when a document is inadvertently deleted or damaged... Read More