We have just released our Anti Virus and Anti Spyware Software Product Reviews Site!
1) Anti Virus Product Reviews
Viruses are the first and last word in computer infiltration. Simple ones simply tie up your computer, whereas complex ones can do virtually anything to an unprotected computer. No one should browse the web without good antivirus software!We've tested dozens - even hundreds! - of virus removal programs. Some of them are great, most of them get the job done (more or less), and too many simply don't work. We've gathered the top contenders in the field, and reviewed them here for your convenience!
2) Anti Spyware Product Reviews
Spyware is an insidious threat. It'll watch what you read and what you do - and worst of all, it's almost impossible to remove without damaging your computer! But what one person can create, another person can remove. Anti-spyware software is a modern necessity!We've tested dozens - even hundreds! - of spyware removal programs. Some of them are great, most of them get the job done (more or less), and too many simply don't work. We've gathered the top contenders in the field, and reviewed them here for your convenience!
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
Thursday, April 26, 2007
Data Loss Site Released!
Hello All,
My data loss site has been released! If you want some great tips on dealing with data loss please visit:
www.paulkorber.com/dataloss
My data loss site has been released! If you want some great tips on dealing with data loss please visit:
www.paulkorber.com/dataloss
Coming Soon!
Hello All,
I will shortly be releasing an information website displaying the most relevant content on data loss and recovery.
Watch this space!
I will shortly be releasing an information website displaying the most relevant content on data loss and recovery.
Watch this space!
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
Hard Drive Data Recovery Doesn't Need to Be Hard
Hard drive data recovery can be a difficult topic for many new computer users. No one wants to believe that their data is lost, and most people have no idea how to get it back. Fortunately, there are data recovery services available that can help you with the overwhelming task of recovering your lost data. This article is intended to help you learn more about hard drive data recovery and how you can learn more.
A hard drive is a "non-volatile" storage space designed to hold data. The data is stored on a magnetic surface which is called a hard disk platter. There are many reasons why data can be lost from the hard drive, including the mechanics of the hard drive itself, and external problems. Most hard drives today have several moving parts which need to be carefully synchronized in order to maintain a constant spin rate, called RPM, inside your computer.
Modern hard drives have "SMART" technology, which stands for "self-monitoring, analysis, and reporting technology." All that means is that the computer will diagnose itself and be able to solve the majority of its problems, also that it corrects the motors and fans when needed, and lets you deal with using the computer instead of trying to maintain it.
In order to understand hard drive data recovery, it is essential to understand how data is lost from a hard drive. Let's define data loss as an unforeseen loss of data or information previously stored on your hard drive. Murphy's Law demonstrates only when it's too late that we should have been backing up our hard drive better. The best way to recover data is to never lose it in the first place, but that is a topic for a different article.
Data can be lost during a power failure, because there is unsaved data in the memory which is not yet been saved to the hard drive. Data can also be lost through a disk failure which can happen for a number of reasons, usually mechanical such as a crash in the hard drive machinery itself.
Software can also crash on your computer, especially if you are using Microsoft products, and could lead to a loss of data on your hard drive. Viruses or other malicious software can corrupt your data and is one of the biggest reasons for data loss. Fortunately, today's technology provides a pretty good track record on recovering data from your hard drive.
The best thing to do is to look in your phone book or on the Internet for a local hard drive data recovery specialist. These are people who have been trained or have experience in recovering lost data and can be your best friends-especially in an emergency situation. There are many who specialize in hard drive data recovery and are happy to help you with your data recovery problems. The price they charge is normally a small price to pay if the alternative is losing your data forever.
Ever had your entire hard drive crash, and you didn't know what to do about it? Learn what you can do about hard drive data recovery at http://www.datarecoverplan.com
A hard drive is a "non-volatile" storage space designed to hold data. The data is stored on a magnetic surface which is called a hard disk platter. There are many reasons why data can be lost from the hard drive, including the mechanics of the hard drive itself, and external problems. Most hard drives today have several moving parts which need to be carefully synchronized in order to maintain a constant spin rate, called RPM, inside your computer.
Modern hard drives have "SMART" technology, which stands for "self-monitoring, analysis, and reporting technology." All that means is that the computer will diagnose itself and be able to solve the majority of its problems, also that it corrects the motors and fans when needed, and lets you deal with using the computer instead of trying to maintain it.
In order to understand hard drive data recovery, it is essential to understand how data is lost from a hard drive. Let's define data loss as an unforeseen loss of data or information previously stored on your hard drive. Murphy's Law demonstrates only when it's too late that we should have been backing up our hard drive better. The best way to recover data is to never lose it in the first place, but that is a topic for a different article.
Data can be lost during a power failure, because there is unsaved data in the memory which is not yet been saved to the hard drive. Data can also be lost through a disk failure which can happen for a number of reasons, usually mechanical such as a crash in the hard drive machinery itself.
Software can also crash on your computer, especially if you are using Microsoft products, and could lead to a loss of data on your hard drive. Viruses or other malicious software can corrupt your data and is one of the biggest reasons for data loss. Fortunately, today's technology provides a pretty good track record on recovering data from your hard drive.
The best thing to do is to look in your phone book or on the Internet for a local hard drive data recovery specialist. These are people who have been trained or have experience in recovering lost data and can be your best friends-especially in an emergency situation. There are many who specialize in hard drive data recovery and are happy to help you with your data recovery problems. The price they charge is normally a small price to pay if the alternative is losing your data forever.
Ever had your entire hard drive crash, and you didn't know what to do about it? Learn what you can do about hard drive data recovery at http://www.datarecoverplan.com
Saturday, March 3, 2007
Understanding, Diagnosing, Recovering and Preventing Data Loss
Data loss is a serious issue, which most businesses and individuals will encounter at some point in their digital lives. It can cripple businesses, ruin careers and generally cause a great deal of unnecessary stress. This article will attempt to generalize a strategy for dealing with such scenarios.
Understanding Data Loss:
Generally data loss can result from any of the following:
Hardware and system failure, human error, software corruptions, power disruptions, computer viruses, Natural diasters and intentional human malicious damage. Almost all of these situations can be avoided, or at least the risk of them occurring be reduced.
The good news is that in most cases some if not all the data is recoverable. Think of it this way, when data loss occurs the information appears to be "lost" to the computer. This requires guidance from either data recovery software or a data recovery specialist to help "find" the data again.
Diagnosing Data Loss:
It is essential to write down the steps, which led to the data loss event. This is the simplest and most crucial action anyone can take when experiencing data loss. It is interesting to note that it is often the immediate actions taken after the data loss event, which determines the ability for the information to be recovered. So no matter how embarrassing the circumstances are note everything down!
But how will you know when data loss is going to strike? Common symptoms are a sluggishly running system, constant freezing or hanging, unusual noises (clicking or grinding sounds) coming from the hard drive or system and unusual error messages relating to software and/or drives being used.
Recovering Data Loss:
Essentially there are two methods to recovering data- via data recovery software or via a data recovery specialist. In general it is always best to first consult a data recovery specialist, however this is dependent on the value of the data which has been threatened,
Data recovery software essentially analyzes, repairs and recovers corrupted and/or lost data and assists in re-linking the information, which has caused the data to become lost. Free evaluation versions are freely available on the web and are often a good way to test the capability of a product, if you are satisfied with the job performed by the product you can purchase it and recover your data thereafter.Professional Data recovery specialist will analyse and repair your system in a Class 100 clean room equipped with all essential technologies to ensure a stringent and controlled environment resulting in the greatest chance of full data recovery.
Preventing Data Loss:
Computer viruses are often the immediate cause of a data loss event. It is quintessential to have a trusted virus scanner and firewall operational on your system. A common misnomer is that if one does not view inappropriate sites one will not come across any problems. This is false; if your computer has a connection to the Internet there is a threat.
Backup your work! This is the simplest and tried and tested measure to ensure you never lose your data. Generally it is best to have a dedicated backup hard drive in which an exact copy of your system and data can be stored. Further to this it is also recommended that highly valued data be backed up to CD or DVD. The reason is that hard drives can fail, and it is rare to have problems with a physical medium such as CD or DVD. Finally it is important to have a form of off-site backup for in the event of a natural diaster. An easy way is to simply have another backup hard drive or DVD’s stored at home.
Conclusion:
Data loss is a frightening concept and a real threat to businesses and individuals who rely on their computer systems for success. The risks however can be managed through developing a detailed strategy to deal with each possibility and mishap along the way.
Pkorbs writes on data loss and recovery. You can learn more by visiting my blog Restoring you PC Data
http://restoringyourpcdata.blogspot.com/
Understanding Data Loss:
Generally data loss can result from any of the following:
Hardware and system failure, human error, software corruptions, power disruptions, computer viruses, Natural diasters and intentional human malicious damage. Almost all of these situations can be avoided, or at least the risk of them occurring be reduced.
The good news is that in most cases some if not all the data is recoverable. Think of it this way, when data loss occurs the information appears to be "lost" to the computer. This requires guidance from either data recovery software or a data recovery specialist to help "find" the data again.
Diagnosing Data Loss:
It is essential to write down the steps, which led to the data loss event. This is the simplest and most crucial action anyone can take when experiencing data loss. It is interesting to note that it is often the immediate actions taken after the data loss event, which determines the ability for the information to be recovered. So no matter how embarrassing the circumstances are note everything down!
But how will you know when data loss is going to strike? Common symptoms are a sluggishly running system, constant freezing or hanging, unusual noises (clicking or grinding sounds) coming from the hard drive or system and unusual error messages relating to software and/or drives being used.
Recovering Data Loss:
Essentially there are two methods to recovering data- via data recovery software or via a data recovery specialist. In general it is always best to first consult a data recovery specialist, however this is dependent on the value of the data which has been threatened,
Data recovery software essentially analyzes, repairs and recovers corrupted and/or lost data and assists in re-linking the information, which has caused the data to become lost. Free evaluation versions are freely available on the web and are often a good way to test the capability of a product, if you are satisfied with the job performed by the product you can purchase it and recover your data thereafter.Professional Data recovery specialist will analyse and repair your system in a Class 100 clean room equipped with all essential technologies to ensure a stringent and controlled environment resulting in the greatest chance of full data recovery.
Preventing Data Loss:
Computer viruses are often the immediate cause of a data loss event. It is quintessential to have a trusted virus scanner and firewall operational on your system. A common misnomer is that if one does not view inappropriate sites one will not come across any problems. This is false; if your computer has a connection to the Internet there is a threat.
Backup your work! This is the simplest and tried and tested measure to ensure you never lose your data. Generally it is best to have a dedicated backup hard drive in which an exact copy of your system and data can be stored. Further to this it is also recommended that highly valued data be backed up to CD or DVD. The reason is that hard drives can fail, and it is rare to have problems with a physical medium such as CD or DVD. Finally it is important to have a form of off-site backup for in the event of a natural diaster. An easy way is to simply have another backup hard drive or DVD’s stored at home.
Conclusion:
Data loss is a frightening concept and a real threat to businesses and individuals who rely on their computer systems for success. The risks however can be managed through developing a detailed strategy to deal with each possibility and mishap along the way.
Pkorbs writes on data loss and recovery. You can learn more by visiting my blog Restoring you PC Data
http://restoringyourpcdata.blogspot.com/
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
User Guide for Data Recovery-Through Data Recovery Software
A disk drive can be damaged due to a number of causes such as virus attack, voltage glitches, software malfunction, hard disk format, accidental file/directory deletion, human error or even sabotage. Such events cause corruption or damage to the disk drive, and make the data completely inaccessible to the user.
Data Recovery comes into play when your storage stops responding to your request. This is the most critical time for your data and the impending problem with the hard drive. A wrong step can make your hard drive & data inaccessible for ever. First and foremost thing is Don’t Panic!
Now check whether you have a physical failure or logical one. Normally in 80% of cases there is a logical failure. To know the type of failure you have hear whether any ticking sound is coming from the hard drive or not? If not that means that it is a logical failure and you can recover your data through data recovery software.
You can choose the data recovery software by searching on Google with keywords like data recovery software, hard drive recovery etc. While scanning different software product consider these factors:
See to this whether the software supports your systems hardware like RAM (Random Access Memory), Operating Systems (particular Window flavors, Unix, Linux, Solaris etc). You must check your RAM before installing the data recovery software, as these software uses recursive search operation which requires lots of virtual memory. For a fast recovery you have large size of virtual memory. I would recommend 256 MB or 1 GB would be best.
After selecting the software it’s the turn of software Installation.
NEVER means NEVER install the software on the same physical drive from where you have lost your data. As it may get over written and you will lose it for ever.
Always use a working computer with a drive having enough free space to store your recovered data.
Verify that the drive in the PC is connected on the Primary Channel as Master.You can connect the drive as:
• Slave on the primary channel OR AS
• Master or Slave on the secondary channel
Note: You can take help of support executive in your office or your maintenance engineer if you are not comfortable in connecting the drives.
Attaching the Drive in to slave has three simple steps:
• Set the jumpers on the hard drive or CD ROM
• Plug and screw the drive in
• Boot the computer up and make sure the drive is detected
Let’s take the example of Stellar Phoenix Data Recovery Software Run setup.exe from Stellar Phoenix software CDROM or diskette. If you have downloaded Stellar Phoenix from www.stellarinfo.com or a download engine, run the application setup.exe file from windows explorer to begin the installation process.
Note: Make sure you are logged in as administrator before initializing setup, as the software installation requires admin rights in Windows NT/2000/XP.
Setup starts to install the software, creates a desktop shortcut and creates an entry in program groups menu. The default path where software is installed is C:Program FilesStellar Phoenix FAT & NTFS 2.0 Software creates an entry in Add Remove program group for uninstalling the software.
Here we came to the end of installation. Now you can perform the desired activity like recovering the complete partition, deleted files or repair the corrupted files.
In my next article I will guide you in recovering the Deleted files & folders by using Stellar Phoenix Fat & FTFS – Data Recovery Software.
Data Recovery comes into play when your storage stops responding to your request. This is the most critical time for your data and the impending problem with the hard drive. A wrong step can make your hard drive & data inaccessible for ever. First and foremost thing is Don’t Panic!
Now check whether you have a physical failure or logical one. Normally in 80% of cases there is a logical failure. To know the type of failure you have hear whether any ticking sound is coming from the hard drive or not? If not that means that it is a logical failure and you can recover your data through data recovery software.
You can choose the data recovery software by searching on Google with keywords like data recovery software, hard drive recovery etc. While scanning different software product consider these factors:
See to this whether the software supports your systems hardware like RAM (Random Access Memory), Operating Systems (particular Window flavors, Unix, Linux, Solaris etc). You must check your RAM before installing the data recovery software, as these software uses recursive search operation which requires lots of virtual memory. For a fast recovery you have large size of virtual memory. I would recommend 256 MB or 1 GB would be best.
After selecting the software it’s the turn of software Installation.
NEVER means NEVER install the software on the same physical drive from where you have lost your data. As it may get over written and you will lose it for ever.
Always use a working computer with a drive having enough free space to store your recovered data.
Verify that the drive in the PC is connected on the Primary Channel as Master.You can connect the drive as:
• Slave on the primary channel OR AS
• Master or Slave on the secondary channel
Note: You can take help of support executive in your office or your maintenance engineer if you are not comfortable in connecting the drives.
Attaching the Drive in to slave has three simple steps:
• Set the jumpers on the hard drive or CD ROM
• Plug and screw the drive in
• Boot the computer up and make sure the drive is detected
Let’s take the example of Stellar Phoenix Data Recovery Software Run setup.exe from Stellar Phoenix software CDROM or diskette. If you have downloaded Stellar Phoenix from www.stellarinfo.com or a download engine, run the application setup.exe file from windows explorer to begin the installation process.
Note: Make sure you are logged in as administrator before initializing setup, as the software installation requires admin rights in Windows NT/2000/XP.
Setup starts to install the software, creates a desktop shortcut and creates an entry in program groups menu. The default path where software is installed is C:Program FilesStellar Phoenix FAT & NTFS 2.0 Software creates an entry in Add Remove program group for uninstalling the software.
Here we came to the end of installation. Now you can perform the desired activity like recovering the complete partition, deleted files or repair the corrupted files.
In my next article I will guide you in recovering the Deleted files & folders by using Stellar Phoenix Fat & FTFS – Data Recovery Software.
Truths About Data Recovery Software
There may have been instances in your life or career where your day starts with a hard disk crash or a physical memory dump. If it hasn’t happened to you yet, it can happen anytime and catch you completely unawares. It can be very frustrating to loose all the important data, those great presentations, client briefs, portfolio, 3 years of research etc. If you install data recovery software on your PC, then you can retrieve all the lost data. A computer is not a perfect machine and the fear of data loss is real. Hence, we are going to share some tips and useful information on data recovery software with you.
Why is Data Recovery Software important?
Data recovery is important because most of the data on your PC or Laptop is valuable. But what is data recovery? It is retrieval of almost all the data that has been accidentally deleted from your computer or has been erased due to a hard disk error, virus attack, or bad script. You can use DOS commands to retrieve data but it will be partial recovery only. So the best solution is to have data recovery software that can retrieve the full data or undo the loss.
Most of the data recovery software available in the market can recover data from corrupted file systems like Windows (FAT16, FAT32, NTFS, NTFS5), Unix (UFS, EAFS, HTFS, VxFS, FFS), Linux (Ext2, Ext3, JFS, ReiserFS), Apple Macintosh (HFS, HFS+) and Novell Netware (NWFS, Net386, NSS). The data recovery software can also recover data from corrupt access databases, corrupt zip files, word documents and excel files.
Which data recovery software should I use and why?
There are many firms who sell data recovery services, but there are many brands who sell data recovery software. At times, it can be difficult to decide, which product will satisfy your need or requirements completely. One such data recovery software is The Undelete 3.1.1. The salient points of the software are that it is easy-to-use and it can provide a powerful backup program for Windows 95/98ME/NT/2000/XP. This data recovery software can work with FTP, local networks and even CD-R/W. It is useful data recovery software that applies powerful algorithms and methods and it can recover files that have been damaged, lost or deleted due to a power supply failure, program bugs or virus attacks. The Undelete 3.1.1 data recovery software can recover files with extensions like DOC, PDF, RTF, XLS, MDB, PPT, Visio, CSV, HTML, TXT, CPP, PAS, EML, and INI. It can also recover audio and video files with extension MP3, WAV, AVI, WMA, MPG, MOV, and ASF.
There are also data recovery software’s, which have specific use based on platforms, files and functions. You will find data recovery software that offers a range of file system utilities as well as data recovery service. These services enhance recovery of lost data due logical hard drive failures.
What should I look for in Data recovery software?
When you go out in the market to search for data recovery software, you should be able to compare various products based on five important features. These are:
Feature Set? Ease of Use/Installation? Recovery Effectiveness? Search Capabilities? Help/Documentation
The bottom line is that basic data recovery software should be able to recover Compressed Files, and Encrypted Files, should provide email recovery, network recovery and create image files. It should be able to recover from the recycle bin, damaged files, power failure, Format Disk, changed, or deleted partition, disks with bad sectors etc. It should support file systems like NTFS5, NTFS, FAT32, FAT16, and FAT12 as well.
Parthajit Dasgupta. the author has 10+ years of experience in delivering relevant & innovative content and conceptualizing copy for storyboards, advertisements and other marketing vehicles. He is also a travel journalist and the creative head for Red Juice and can be contacted at redjuicefactor@gmail.com.
Five Steps to Assuring Successful Recovery of Data
According to the National Archives & Records Administration in Washington, D.C., 93% of companies that lost their data center for 10 or more days due to a disaster filed for bankruptcy within one year.
Whether your business data is in the form of a customer electronic database, office documents or e-mail content, this statistic illustrates the importance of data in any business. Typically, without data, there is no business.
When this vital data is suddenly not available, the business suffers. Data can become corrupted because of various reasons, including:
* Hardware & system failure
* Human error (accidental deletion & overwrites)
* Software corruption (upgrades & installations)
* Electrical damage (power surges, outages)
* Natural disasters (floods, fires, earthquakes)
* Computer viruses
* Malicious behavior (disgruntled employees)
* Backup tools and techniques are not implemented
The good news is that your data, whether it's housed on a single hard drive, multi-drive RAID arrays, external hard drives or some other media, is likely not gone forever. But, in order to get your vital data back, you must first take action.
Before you can get your data back, it's vital that you follow these five data recovery tips:
STEP ONE: Determine the value of the data. Before you try to recover the data from your computer, you should first determine what the value of the data is to your company. If the data is not essential to your operation and has no potential future ramifications then you could attempt to recover the data yourself.
In the real world, however, most data is crucial in day-to-day business. In fact, U.S. businesses lose on average $12 billion per year because of data loss. In an Ontrack report entitled 2001 Cost of Downtime Survey Results, 28% of respondents said that data loss would cost them between $51,000 and $250,000 per hour and 25% said it would cost them more than $251,000 per hour.
You actually need to be evaluating the cost of your data on an hourly basis. Twenty-one percent of respondents in the same Ontrack survey said that their company would be in serious risk if they lost their data for 48 hours. Twenty-four percent said that their business is at risk in less than a day of data loss.
So if you're experiencing a hard drive crash, server problems or another crisis where data loss could be imminent, ask yourself:
* How will it affect me and my company if I lose this data?
* What will it cost me in dollars and down-time to re-enter this data?
* Can I recreate this data if I need to?
If you conclude your data is essential, stop what you're doing and turn off the system and follow the remaining steps.
STEP TWO: Don't listen to anyone but a data recovery specialist. Data recovery is a highly specialized task that only experts should perform. Your corporate IT folks may think they know what they're doing, but they don't. Not even the system manufacturers are able tell you the right steps to take to recover your data.
Do not listen to anybody, including the manufacturers that tell you to rebuild the array, re-stripe it or reconfigure it. The difference between a RAID and a single drive is the complexity in the way it writes to these drives. If you do the wrong thing, it completely wipes it out and reduces any chance of recovering data.
STEP THREE: Gather information about what happened. When you realize your hard drive is having a problem, the first thing you must do is turn off your system. If your hard drive is clicking, for example, continued use may damage the platters and make your data unrecoverable.
Next, write down the symptoms, which could include:
* Hard drive clicking
* RAID drives in degraded mode
* RAID controller failure
* Empty containers
* Volume not mounting or recognized a BIOS error
Then make a note of exactly what was happening before you discovered the problem:
* Write down what error messages you received
* What the screen condition is
* How many drives are affected
* The position of the array
* The block and stripe size%u2014both forward and backward.
It's essential you gather as much information as possible and be honest about what is happening.
The reason this information gathering step is so important is that many employees or IT professionals fear they'll get reprimanded or lose their jobs if it is discovered that human error caused the server crash. Therefore, they often don't disclose all of the necessary information.
Since human error accounts for 11% of all data loss, it would save you a lot of valuable time, if the data recovery company who you are working with had all of the information up front. Even information that may be embarrassing or not seem relevant is important to share.
STEP FOUR: Never restore or rebuild the hard drive and use it again as if nothing happened. If your server has failed, you should not attempt to manually rebuild the array. If you do, you'll overwrite the original structure, stripping and destroying the data that you need to recover.
Many IT professionals think the solution to the problem is to backup data onto the array that is damaged. If the backup array is faulty, the IT professional just restored garbage on top of good data.
Furthermore, if the hard drive becomes inaccessible or fails, many IT professionals will run a fresh installation of the operating systems. But if they've reformatted the hard drive, they've just eliminated any data that was there.
If you have to install software, do not do it on the same drive from which you're trying to recover data, because the more you write on a drive the more you run the risk of overwriting the sector your data's on.
Instead of fixing the problem yourself, turn the PC, server or laptop over to a professional data recovery expert to avoid permanent consequences of data loss on your hard drive.
STEP FIVE: Call an expert! Essentially, most data is recoverable. You can even find professionals who will recovery your data in emergency situations where time is of the essence. The best thing to do is to follow the steps above and call a data recovery specialist. You'll eliminate the guess work and be assured you're doing all of the right things to recover your data.
Jason Perry
ADR Data Recovery is available to evaluate the damage and potentially recover your lost data. For more information on ADR Data Recovery's service, visit http://www.adrdatarecovery.com
Whether your business data is in the form of a customer electronic database, office documents or e-mail content, this statistic illustrates the importance of data in any business. Typically, without data, there is no business.
When this vital data is suddenly not available, the business suffers. Data can become corrupted because of various reasons, including:
* Hardware & system failure
* Human error (accidental deletion & overwrites)
* Software corruption (upgrades & installations)
* Electrical damage (power surges, outages)
* Natural disasters (floods, fires, earthquakes)
* Computer viruses
* Malicious behavior (disgruntled employees)
* Backup tools and techniques are not implemented
The good news is that your data, whether it's housed on a single hard drive, multi-drive RAID arrays, external hard drives or some other media, is likely not gone forever. But, in order to get your vital data back, you must first take action.
Before you can get your data back, it's vital that you follow these five data recovery tips:
STEP ONE: Determine the value of the data. Before you try to recover the data from your computer, you should first determine what the value of the data is to your company. If the data is not essential to your operation and has no potential future ramifications then you could attempt to recover the data yourself.
In the real world, however, most data is crucial in day-to-day business. In fact, U.S. businesses lose on average $12 billion per year because of data loss. In an Ontrack report entitled 2001 Cost of Downtime Survey Results, 28% of respondents said that data loss would cost them between $51,000 and $250,000 per hour and 25% said it would cost them more than $251,000 per hour.
You actually need to be evaluating the cost of your data on an hourly basis. Twenty-one percent of respondents in the same Ontrack survey said that their company would be in serious risk if they lost their data for 48 hours. Twenty-four percent said that their business is at risk in less than a day of data loss.
So if you're experiencing a hard drive crash, server problems or another crisis where data loss could be imminent, ask yourself:
* How will it affect me and my company if I lose this data?
* What will it cost me in dollars and down-time to re-enter this data?
* Can I recreate this data if I need to?
If you conclude your data is essential, stop what you're doing and turn off the system and follow the remaining steps.
STEP TWO: Don't listen to anyone but a data recovery specialist. Data recovery is a highly specialized task that only experts should perform. Your corporate IT folks may think they know what they're doing, but they don't. Not even the system manufacturers are able tell you the right steps to take to recover your data.
Do not listen to anybody, including the manufacturers that tell you to rebuild the array, re-stripe it or reconfigure it. The difference between a RAID and a single drive is the complexity in the way it writes to these drives. If you do the wrong thing, it completely wipes it out and reduces any chance of recovering data.
STEP THREE: Gather information about what happened. When you realize your hard drive is having a problem, the first thing you must do is turn off your system. If your hard drive is clicking, for example, continued use may damage the platters and make your data unrecoverable.
Next, write down the symptoms, which could include:
* Hard drive clicking
* RAID drives in degraded mode
* RAID controller failure
* Empty containers
* Volume not mounting or recognized a BIOS error
Then make a note of exactly what was happening before you discovered the problem:
* Write down what error messages you received
* What the screen condition is
* How many drives are affected
* The position of the array
* The block and stripe size%u2014both forward and backward.
It's essential you gather as much information as possible and be honest about what is happening.
The reason this information gathering step is so important is that many employees or IT professionals fear they'll get reprimanded or lose their jobs if it is discovered that human error caused the server crash. Therefore, they often don't disclose all of the necessary information.
Since human error accounts for 11% of all data loss, it would save you a lot of valuable time, if the data recovery company who you are working with had all of the information up front. Even information that may be embarrassing or not seem relevant is important to share.
STEP FOUR: Never restore or rebuild the hard drive and use it again as if nothing happened. If your server has failed, you should not attempt to manually rebuild the array. If you do, you'll overwrite the original structure, stripping and destroying the data that you need to recover.
Many IT professionals think the solution to the problem is to backup data onto the array that is damaged. If the backup array is faulty, the IT professional just restored garbage on top of good data.
Furthermore, if the hard drive becomes inaccessible or fails, many IT professionals will run a fresh installation of the operating systems. But if they've reformatted the hard drive, they've just eliminated any data that was there.
If you have to install software, do not do it on the same drive from which you're trying to recover data, because the more you write on a drive the more you run the risk of overwriting the sector your data's on.
Instead of fixing the problem yourself, turn the PC, server or laptop over to a professional data recovery expert to avoid permanent consequences of data loss on your hard drive.
STEP FIVE: Call an expert! Essentially, most data is recoverable. You can even find professionals who will recovery your data in emergency situations where time is of the essence. The best thing to do is to follow the steps above and call a data recovery specialist. You'll eliminate the guess work and be assured you're doing all of the right things to recover your data.
Jason Perry
ADR Data Recovery is available to evaluate the damage and potentially recover your lost data. For more information on ADR Data Recovery's service, visit http://www.adrdatarecovery.com
Creating a Complete Data Protection and Restoration Strategy
Backing up your data is the best way to prevent losing it. This method comes into play when you’ve suffered a system failure or hardware corruption. Your IT folks simply—or not so simply, depending on the method you used for backup—restore your data from the backed up files.
No matter what you do, data backup is the most essential part of a data protection plan. But is there something you can do to potentially prevent you from losing your data at all?
There are other steps you can take, in concert with data backup, to help protect your data. The best data protection strategy is to create a holistic plan that incorporates both prevention and restoration.
With data backup as the cornerstone of your plan, there are about a half a dozen other actions you can incorporate across the board at your company.
Run an anti-virus program to prevent and eliminate viruses that could take advantage of security flaws and compromise your data. Use power surge protectors everywhere to prevent power surges from causing hard-drive failure and potentially damaging your data. Always quit your programs and shut down your computer properly to eliminate the risk of losing any unsaved data. Quitting programs and shutting down properly allows the system to save vital data before exiting a program. You should neither disassemble your hard drive nor shake nor remove the covers on hard drives or tapes, because data will likely become unrecoverable once you have tried to perform a task with which you are not familiar. Checking the health of your computer with diagnostics programs is a good idea, allowing such programs to repair any issues they find can make it more difficult to recover data if you lose it. Assure your computers and laptops are in safe locations where they won’t be knocked over, stepped on, sat on, dropped or spilled on. Avoid moving your computer, especially when it’s in operation. Above all, never attempt any operation such as installations or repairs with which you have no experience. Leave the diagnostics to a data recovery specialist who has experience with all types of hard drives and knows how to perform successful data recovery.
Jason Perry
ADR Data Recovery is available to evaluate the damage and potentially recover your lost data. For more information on ADR Data Recovery's service, visit http://www.adrdatarecovery.com.
No matter what you do, data backup is the most essential part of a data protection plan. But is there something you can do to potentially prevent you from losing your data at all?
There are other steps you can take, in concert with data backup, to help protect your data. The best data protection strategy is to create a holistic plan that incorporates both prevention and restoration.
With data backup as the cornerstone of your plan, there are about a half a dozen other actions you can incorporate across the board at your company.
Run an anti-virus program to prevent and eliminate viruses that could take advantage of security flaws and compromise your data. Use power surge protectors everywhere to prevent power surges from causing hard-drive failure and potentially damaging your data. Always quit your programs and shut down your computer properly to eliminate the risk of losing any unsaved data. Quitting programs and shutting down properly allows the system to save vital data before exiting a program. You should neither disassemble your hard drive nor shake nor remove the covers on hard drives or tapes, because data will likely become unrecoverable once you have tried to perform a task with which you are not familiar. Checking the health of your computer with diagnostics programs is a good idea, allowing such programs to repair any issues they find can make it more difficult to recover data if you lose it. Assure your computers and laptops are in safe locations where they won’t be knocked over, stepped on, sat on, dropped or spilled on. Avoid moving your computer, especially when it’s in operation. Above all, never attempt any operation such as installations or repairs with which you have no experience. Leave the diagnostics to a data recovery specialist who has experience with all types of hard drives and knows how to perform successful data recovery.
Jason Perry
ADR Data Recovery is available to evaluate the damage and potentially recover your lost data. For more information on ADR Data Recovery's service, visit http://www.adrdatarecovery.com.
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