Protecting one’s data is important for anyone, whether we’re talking about businesses protecting their client and proprietary data, or just someone at home protecting their spreadsheets and media files. Many people, however, don’t back up or protect their data, and if something happens, such as their hard drive failing or data becoming corrupt, their only option is to look into data recovery services.
So what is data recovery?
Data recovery refers to accessing data from hard drives or other storage media that has failed and is not otherwise readable. The data is then copied to a working storage device where the user can access it.
There are a few different situations that call for data recovery:
Recovering deleted files – When files are deleted, they are not usually immediately deleted. Rather, they are given permission to be overwritten in the future since they are no longer needed. Because of this, there are various “undelete” programs that can be used.
Recovering from physical hard drive failure – Sometimes hard drives can fail. In some cases it may be a physical component that failed and the data on the drive itself is still there, the hard drive just isn’t working mechanically (for example, the power source has failed) so it can’t be accessed. In these cases, physical repair of the drive will solve the problem.
Physical damage to the media, such as a scratch to a CD, can cause the disc to be unreadable by computers but can still be recovered in some situations by using special software.
In other cases the drive may actually be physically damaged and may be unable to be repaired, such as if the drive has been exposed to fire or has been drilled through and has physical holes in it.
It is important to remember that just because you cannot access your data does not mean all is lost. Sometimes people worry that their data is lost forever and they will have to “start over” with their business or personal activities. There are different types of software that can be purchased to recover data as well as professional shops and technicians that can be consulted who may be able to help you recover your data.
Many people also take warning from a hard drive failure and begin backing up their data for the future. If your data is regularly backed up then a loss of data on your main hard drive is more of an inconvenience than a big issue.
