HELP!
I'VE LOST MY DATA! |
Or have you?
|
Most
of us have probably heard about hard drive failures and
some of us have experienced it. But it's not just a failing
hard drive that can cause us to lose our data, there are
many variables that could be just as disastrous . Some of
these include; software bugs, poor software design, memory
errors, resource conflicts, power loss, faulty power supplies
or irregular power sources, file system corruption, viruses,
malware. And these are by no means the only causes. You've
no doubt got the idea now of how easy it is to lose your
data.
"That's all well
and good you say, but I've already lost my data, so what
can I do about it?" That's the key question isn't it?
just what can be done about it?
Well, first let
me say, BACKUP! BACKUP! BACKUP!
Data Recovery
OK, you haven't backed up,
we know you've been meaning to do something about, but...
Don't despair though, all may not be lost! Unless your hard
drive is completely missing, i.e. stolen, then there is
all likelihood that you can get your data back.
There are several methods for
doing so and these will range in the level of corruption
to your data.
For example, does your computer
seem to be working normally yet Windows says it is corrupt?
Has there been a nasty electrical
storm and your computer has been fried?
Has everything been destroyed
by a malicous virus?
Or you turn you computer on
one day and all you hear is an annoying clicking sound coming
from your computer that won't boot up? |
| Or
what if this happened to your computer?.. |
 |
That picture is the hard drive from the
Space Shuttle Coumbia from back in 2003 after it was destroyed
on re-entry, an unfortunate and unnecessary tragedy nontheless,
but would you believe that the data from this drive was
still managed to be recovered? Well, I hope you do, because
it was, at least 99% of it was. The data on the drive
contained information about an experiment that was the
result of a painstaking 20 year research project.
You can imagine the feelings of the researchers
when seeing this after spending gazillions on a research
project and having it all go up in smoke in an instant.
One thing this does highlight is the importance
of backup. Although in this case it may not have made
any difference considering it was orbiting in space at
about 25,000 km/h.
This is certainly an extreme example,
but don't make the mistake of thinking that your data
is 100% secure.
Remember
this... It's not a matter of IF, but a matter
of WHEN!
|
You've experienced the WHEN,
so what are your options?
Depending on the level of damage
or corruption it may be a relatively simple process or it may
be a very complex process.
There are several levels of data
corruption that can occur, such as...
Software Corruption...
If your hard drive still has power and is spinning up then it
is in all likelihood that your data has suffered from a software
corruption, i.e. a virus, power issues, inadvertant deletion.
This type of corruption has the best chance of data recovery
using the simplest solution.
Pending Hard Drive Failure...
If you turn your computer on and you hear an unusual ticking
or clicking noise, it could be your hard drive about ready to
give up the ghost. If it's intermittent then there's still a
good chance of a relatively simple data recovery solution. If
it is a constant clicking, then this may require a more extensive
treatment.
Complete Hard Drive Failure...
If your hard drive has no power whatsoever and is completely
dead, then this will most likely need to be referred to our
data recovery lab. This is where the recovery process becomes
much more complex and of course more expensive. The data from
your hard drive in this condition is most likely still fully
or mostly recoverable.
Catastrophic Failure...
This is as it sounds, catastrophic!
This could be a fire, a flood or even physical tampering. If
your hard drive is in this condition then it definitely requires
work to be carried out by a recovery engineer in our lab.
The list above is by no means exhaustive,
but gives you the general idea of what may happen. From top
to bottom is relative in terms of expense to recover your data
as well. Naturally the more damaged the hard drive the more
difficult it is to recover your data.
If it's for any reason
you need to backup it's because of this! It is much
cheaper for you to setup a backup policy before things go wrong
than it is to simply "not get around to it".
I'll say it again...
BACKUP!
BACKUP! BACKUP!
Don't leave it to chance
and don't become complacent, because we all know what happens
then don't we? it is precisely when we put things off that disaster
strikes! And you will kick yourself for not taking care of it
when you knew very well that you should have.
If it is too late for
you and your backside is sore from being kicked then don't delay
(you've done that once already), contact
us NOW to get
your important data back.
