Losing Your Mind With Data Recovery

For nearly all computer users, losing data can be a very traumatic experience. If you use your computer for a business or for other important matters, it can be very stressful and very traumatic to lose everything you have worked months, and possibly even years to build.

Even though you may back up your data on a periodic basis, you'll still need to check the backup to make sure that everything works. Nothing can be worse than backing something up, only to find months later that something went wrong.

No matter who you are, or what business you work for, data loss can happen. Computers are great, although they aren't perfect. Over time, your hard drive can crash or malfunction, which will result in the loss of everything you have stored on your computer.

Whenever this happens to you, it's always a good thing there's data recovery. Without data recovery, it wouldn't be possible to retrieve files, recover information, or simply get back to the data you spent years building.

To recover your data, you'll need to send it off to a company that specializes in data recovery. They will need to run some tests on it and see what shape it is in, how bad it is damaged, and just what needs to be done to recover your data.

This process will normally take around a week or so, all depending on the problem. It can be quite expensive as well, depending on where you send it. Keep in mind though - the more experience the data recovery technicians have, the higher the price will be.

Those that are more expensive are great if you have the money to spare, for the simple fact that they are experts and are more apt at saving your data and information. The cheaper data recovery companies are great as well, although larger companies and those with extremely important data will want to put their trust in the best that money can buy.

With most cases, companies can rebuild the hard drive, providing the drive isn't totally corrupted. In cases where the hard drive is totally gone, it will need to be rebuilt, which can take quite a bit of time. No matter what the situation may be, data recovery experts can normally find a solution to recover your data.

At some point in time, everyone will experience some type of hard drive crash or malfunction that will result in the loss of data. When this happens to you, you shouldn't get all shook up or alarmed, you should instead make sure that you are prepared to always expect the unexpected.

Even though your data can normally be recovered, you should still back up everything on a weekly basis just to be on the safe side. This way, when your hard drive is sent off to be repaired, you'll have the information you need backed up to keep on going as normal.

To be on the safe side, you should keep your most important documents and files stored on a CD, by using a CD burner and CD-R media. This is by far the cheapest and easiest way to back up your data, and it will keep you more than prepared for when your hard drive malfunctions and crashes when you least expect it.

If you prepare yourself by backing up your data, a hard drive malfunction won't be as traumatic on you. You should always be prepared, and ready just in case something happens. Computers are the wave of the future - although they aren't perfect by any means.our lost data.

You Need to Backup

It doesn't matter if you paid $500.00 or $2000.00 to purchase a new computer for your home or business; you will defiantly want to have some kind of insurance and backing up your computer is the best form of protection there is. An interesting fact is that in the business world the data your computer holds is more important than the computer itself!

When anyone buys a computer today they are most likely to be using windows, the most widely accepted operating system on the market. Windows comes with a software utility called backup that lets the user copy all their files and other data onto various media. It is recommended to backup your computer once a week, but if a lot of data is added within a couple of days or so you may consider so daily. First and foremost a backup should include your system settings and important files, and then you can pick and choose to copy e-mail, favorites, pictures, ECT; or make a full backup to cover everything.

There are problems with backups of the human sort. It pains me to say some people (even professionals) are lazy or inconsistent when it comes to backups. They either forget or simply don't bother until it's too late because the backup was not updated to include their current data; this oversight can ruin a business! Some people will also neglect to have in place having any sort of labeling system for past and current backups with dates, times or other crucial information. If you are backing up onto magnetic tapes like floppy disks (these are not practical anymore because they only hold about 1.5mb of data), you should keep them away from anything that can produce a magnate field like motors, phones and power supplies; also keep them away from excessive heat, cold and moisture.

The media used depends on factors like cost, time, type, and connivance of use. The most common type of media backup used is CD-R and CD-RW the first one is cheap but you will use a lot of them for a full backup because they hold only 650 MB of data. The second is more expensive and has the same limitations (as CD-R's), but has the ability to be written on again and again (Re- Writeable). Both of these will not be able to hold video files.

Another way to go is by using a DVD-R or DVD-RW disks that can hold around 5 GB (GigaBites) of data an can hold digital video files as well. (That's my personal favorite).
Zip drives are also a preferred storage device that can hold 750 MB and also external hard drives that up to 150 GB. There are other types of data storage media, these are just a few.

What it boils down to is everyone should use there backups correctly, use the best media for your present needs, but also try to anticipate what you might need in the future.

Tips For Data Recovery

Anytime your hard drive crashes or you lose your data, you'll need to turn to data recovery to properly restore your information. Data recovery is something most computer users are familiar with, as a majority of us have had to turn to data recovery at some point in time. Even though hard drives are becoming better and better, they are still mechanical and will always encounter problems.

The first thing to do, before any problems happen, is to always back up your data. If you create backups of your information, you'll be well prepared in the event of a disaster. This way, even if your hard drive cannot be repaired and the data is lost forever, you'll have the back ups to continue going as normal. If you didn't make back ups, you'll find the situation very traumatic when you discover that your data cannot be recovered.

Most hard drives will last for years before they start to encounter any type of malfunction or hardware problems. You can help prevent data loss by turning off your computer when it isn't in use, or shutting it down when you hear the hard drive making an odd noise. If the hard drive starts to malfunction, letting it continue to run will only do more damage. If you shut it off immediately and take it to a specialist, you'll have a much better chance of getting it repaired.

With natural disasters, hackers, viruses, or other problems, you won't have the time to react. Before you know it, your hard drive will be damaged and your data will be gone. Although this can be very frustrating, data recovery can normally bring your information back. All you need to do is take the hard drive to a local specialist, then let them work their magic and show you the power of data recovery.

There are software programs out there that claim to recover lost data, although you should avoid them at all costs. Most of time, these software programs will do your hard drive more bad than good. Even though software may cost a lot less than professional data recovery services, the professional services will guarantee their work. If you turn to software and it only makes things worse - your more or less out of luck, as the software doesn't guarantee anything.

Anytime your hard drive fails and you seem to have lost your data, you should turn to professional data recovery services immediately. They may cost you a lot of money, although they do the job right the first time. When it comes to your data, you really don't want to take any chances - especially if you had important documents and files stored on your hard drive.

Natural Disaster Causes 3% of Data Loss

Natural Disasters is the least likely cause of data loss however they can kill an entire company. The eruption of natural disasters and the complete equipment failure are rare but they do occur. Although it accounts for around 3% of all data loss but the magnitude of data loss is highest.

The disaster may strike anywhere and occurs in many shapes and sizes. Natural disasters may occur in the form of fire, flood, lightening strikes followed by power surges.

Flood:

When a single drop of water can short out your computer, what when the whole equipment is completely submerged in the river water. Calculate the extent of damage when it is sunken not only for an hour but for days. However, no matter what, your data can still be recovered if you follow the following measures.

• Make sure that you turn off the computer and do not turn it on. It is because the drive may seem dry but there is small amount of water, which may still be present on the components and can cause a short when powered on.

• You may think that drying the wet drive may be of help but it is not the case. However, dried water leaves contaminants on the drive and can cause a head crash to occur when the system is powered on. Hence, it is recommended to place the media in a plastic airtight bag instead.

• Do not store your mission critical data in a flood plain.

Fire Damage:

When the fire catches your computer, it may damage the plastic encasings and components of the computer but the data present in the metal hard drive may still be recovered. There are many data recovery software & Service companies, which provide data recovery from fire damages.

When the fire strikes, you can do a bit from your end to lessen the extent of damage.

• When your computer becomes wet from fire hoses, take the wet hard drive out of the system and do not dry; instead place it in a plastic and airtight bag. It is because during a fire, with the help of small air vents, extreme pressure changes pull the contaminants and water inside the drive.

• If you notice that you are not able to pull the hard drive out of the melted computer because it is sealed, then leave it like that.

Power outage/ surge:

Power outages are known to be the most common cause of data loss than all other natural disasters.

When you notice a spark, smoke or you observe that your hard drive does not spin and if it is, you are unable to access the information, then your system might be victim of a power surge. Power problems caused by small surges, spikes, sparks and line sags in the electricity make it essential to protect servers, workstations, and networks.

When you think of preventing data loss due to power supply problems, you automatically think of connecting your system to a UPS (Uninterrupted power supply), surge protectors, isolation transformers, or a surge suppressor. However, you can follow these protective measures to prevent your computer from a disastrous effect.

• Make sure that you unplug all the power cords connected to your system in order to prevent further damage to have occurred. The cords could be a power cable, modem, printer, or network cable.

• The most severe damage to your hard drive occurs when the power supply returns. Therefore, after the power returns, wait for at least half an hour for the power to get stabilized and then you may power on the computer.

• UPS main objective is to provide continuous, sufficient-grade power to electronics possessing valuable information. So, make sure that you connect your system with a UPS or a surge protector to prevent your computer from further power attacks. It is for the reason that extreme power fluctuations can damage sensitive electronic components.

You can protect your valuable information from getting destroyed by the evil effects of a disaster by following the above-mentioned preventive measures.

Since, it is statistically unlikely for natural disasters to occur in two locations simultaneously. Hence, the perfect solution to protect your system from a natural disaster is an offsite backup i.e. you can keep your data in two different locations away from each other.

Stellar Information Systems Limited is an ISO 9001-2000 certified company specializing in data recovery software & Services, data protection software, services and solutions. Stellar offers a complete solution of file recovery software and lost data restoration programs for Windows (Windows 95, 98, ME, NT, 2000, 2003, XP), Apple Macintosh, Novell, Linux, Unix operating system and FAT, NTFS, NTFS5, HFS, HFS+, NWFS, JFS, EXT2 and EXT3 file systems.

Follow Backup Strategy to Avoid Data Loss & Data Recovery

Follow Backup Strategy to Avoid Data Loss & Data Recovery

You must have always come across the phrase "Data Backup" when you talk about data loss. It's not that we don't understand its importance completely but just that we pay little less attention to it than required. Each day, we hear about several data loss incidences seeking data recovery software or data recovery services options. If you feel that your data is valuable, then why not keep it safe? Why not have a Backup strategy?

A concrete backup strategy is important to any recovery plan. The following are the main elements to a solid backup strategy:

Define what type of data needs to be backed up.
You create a variety of documents, customer databases, financial records, or employee records. Hence, by defining the order of importance of data, you should decide on what to backup.

Decide the Backup Media
You must know the storage media for backup. You may consider backup data to be stored from a computer to a rewritable CD or DVD, a network server, a USB key, or a ZIP disk.

Define the time limit you have available for backup.
You must know of the product that is reliable enough to perform the backup at the scheduled time. If you are a traveler and usually connect to the network remotely, then you must know of a backup strategy that covers your information accurately.

Decide the level of access to the information.
You must know the security requirements and concerns, and that your backup software ensures 100% data accuracy while restoring. You must also ensure that your backup software prevents unauthorized access to the information, through a password or a variety of encryption algorithms.

Define the schedule of backups
You must set the schedule of backups i.e. the frequency of backups needs to be determined. You must ensure that all the workstations (from where you need to backup the data) are 'On' at the time of performing backups. For remote workers, you must develop standard operating procedures.

Define the backup policies
You must decide when to perform a full system backup or incremental system backup. It is recommended to store the backed up data offsite i.e. you can keep your data in two different locations away from each other.

Work on the ease to backup the data
What if you have successfully performed the data backup but it takes time while restoring it? You must work on the set up where you can backup the data with one command. Agreed that it will take little more time and work but will be very useful when the system crashes.

Perform daily backups
You must ensure that there is less time between the two subsequent backups otherwise if there is longer period between backups, you may lose quite a lot of data.

If you do not understand the way to implement a backup strategy, you might have to check with the local expert.

Stellar a data recovery Software & service company provides range of data recovery software & data protection software. Stellar has recently launched a data backup software i.e. Stellar InstaBackup is very useful software for backing up and protecting valuable data. This software simplifies the process of data backup and is a powerful solution for both business and personal needs. It can also be used both in a networking environment and on a single machine. Although the software is easy to use, a number of advanced options such as Full / Incremental backups, strong File Encryption, and Zip Compression are also available. The software has a simple graphical user interface, requires no prior knowledge of data backup, and is a comprehensive data protection solution for all indows File Systems.

New USB Storage & Data Backups - Prevent the Need for USB Flash Drive Repair & USB Drive Recovery

Pexagon Store-It 1.8"
A USB Hard Drive is a razor-thin light-weight portable USB hard drive featuring a built in one button data backup. A new USB storage device from the "Store-It" series. 30% smaller in size and a 40% weight decrease compared to the 2.5" "Store-It" USB Drives; it uses a Hitachi Travelstar hard disk drive.

The included software, a one touch backup program, uses the Retrospect backup software supporting numerous sources. This new technology allows for you to back up more than one drive. The cool new Progressive Backup system only backs up new or changed data after the first backup is made. This is a great new feature, the USB storage device allows you to encrypt, password protect, and proof/verify your backups with ease. This USB storage drive is exceptional for adding storage to or backing up any USB enabled desktop or laptop computer. Smaller than your hand, this features a rugged aluminum enclosure to safely protect your data and prevent USB Drive Recovery.

TravelDrive ID - Memorex TravelDrive ID USB Flash Drive with Display
Can you remember what's on your personal USB thumb drive? Want to avoid plugging it into your notebook or desktop to remember which files are stored there? Why should you do that! This Memorex TravelDrive ID, can allow you to scroll through the drives LCD display clearly showing you a breakdown on all the files stored on your device. If you have many devices and hate plugging them in then get a few of these as it will allow you to decide on which drive to bring and which one to leave behind on the go.

Kind of reminds you of a popular song (Should I stay or should I go now?) by the Clash. The only drawback is price - $80 for 512MB up to $200 for 2GB, almost double the price of a few competing USB products. For those who are a bit slow and have needed USB Drive Recovery services before, we recommend this device to prevent the need for data loss and USB flash drive repair. The more you move your storage around the better the chance for data loss and damage; ease your mind just get one of these and prevent USB Flash Drive Repair issues.

Flash Drives for Dummies
USB flash drives are easy to use & compact usb storage devices that are similar in use to your computer hard disk. USB flash drives are small enough to slip into your pocket, conveniently wearable around your neck or can be attached to your key chain for amazing portable storage possibilities and uses. USB flash storage drives fulfill the promise of the digital age: freedom and mobility at its best. eProvided writes these stories to help end users avoid USB Flash Drive Repair issues by recommending the use of brand name devices from smart choice manufacturers. Some manufacturers use very cheap parts (Crystals, chips, capacitors) when building products, use the larger names. USB Drive Recovery is available at eProvided.com's website but prevent improper use today, get new devices and back your stuff up folks!

How to recover deleted files and folders?

Lets start with some basic i.e. what do we mean by Deletion?

"Deletion means the removal of an item of data from a file or to remove a file from the disk". Deletion are of two types:-

1> Temporary Deletion
In this file is moved to the recycle bin. This operation is performed by simply pressing Delete button on the keyword, or by selecting the property of file or folder and deleting it.

2> Permanent Deletion
In this file is not saved in recycle bin i.e. they are removed permanently. This operation is performed by pressing using Shift + Delete together.

Here we would be taking care of files which has been permanently deleted through Shift + Delete operation through keyboard.

Let's see the other side of coin i.e. inside our hard drive and find out the answers of following question.
1. How data is saved in our computer system?
2. How is this data being managed by operating system?
3. What happens when data is deleted?

Our storage device i.e. hard drive is logically divided into two parts by the operating system. In one part data is stored and in the other part its address is stored. When we delete the data then operating system updates a flag in the address part of the hard drive which makes the operating system recognize that the following file is deleted. Now the truth, that data is still there in the hard drive.

By now we know that data is there in the system, we have to find the means to access this data.

For accessing this deleted data we have to use some data recovery software. You can choose your own data recovery software however I would recommend you to go for Stellar Phoenix Deleted file recovery.

Download the software from: here

Note: Do not install Stellar Phoenix Deleted File Recovery to the partition from which you are trying to recover data. This may result in your lost data getting overwritten and could also cause permanent damage.

Run the Program from the Program Group menu option, for Stellar Phoenix Deleted file recovery.

Select the option logical drive from the 'Drive' menu option or select "Ctrl+O" from keyboard, a window as shown below would appear.

Select the logical drive from which you need to locate the deleted files, and press "Ok" the software would start scanning the logical drive.

And you can see the tree being created at the left side of the window, once the scanning is over it is recommended to use the option "Hide empty folders" to view only those folders which are having deleted files.

Once the scanning is over, you would see the tree.

This is the last but most important process in recovering your lost data. After you have found the files that need to be recovered you need to transfer them to another media. You can recover data on to another logical drive of the same disk or another working hard disk or a network drive.

You can recover data to -

a) Another hard disk in the same machine
b) A mapped logical drive on the network, with write access.

c) A USB drive attached to the system
d) A ZIP drive attached to the system

All the storage devices where your Operating System can save data can be used to store the recovered data.

Recovering All Files in Drive
Use the option "Recover All" to recover ALL (including deleted, lost and numbered files and folders) the files and folders from the inaccessible drive. Select 'Recover All ' option 'Files' menu. Alternatively you can also click on the 'Recover All' icon on the Toolbar to start the process.

A dialog box pops up listing you the drives and folders. Select a destination folder; you're ready to begin moving data. Afterwards click Ok to begin.

Recovering Selected Files
Use this option to perform selective file or folder recovery. Select the files and/or folder by clicking on the check box displayed next to them. When you have completed files/folders selection choose "Recover Selected Files" option in File Menu. Alternatively you can also click on the Recover Selected Files icon on the Toolbar to start this process.

A dialog box pops up prompting you to select the destination path. Select the destination folder; you are ready to begin recovering data. Click Ok to begin.

When this process ends you can see all your deleted files & folders. There are many cases of data loss in my next article I would be discussing the process of recovering data from the formatted hard drive.

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.

Recovering Your Lost Or Deleted Files: How I Entered The Data Recovery World

Recently faced one of my worst computer nightmares. I accidentally deleted a folder stuffed with really important files and then I immediately cleaned the contents of my recycle bin. Minutes later I discovered the bitter truth. My precious files where lost. This sad and frustrating incident got me involved in the data recovery world.

Many people may not even know the existence of the data recovery industry. Did you know that it is actually a multi-million dollar industry? Businesses all over the globe worry so much about data loss and data recovery that they spend millions on research, prevention and data restoration methods.

Anyway, back to my story. I wanted to know if my files could be restored somehow. So I first learned that all my data can be recovered even though they seemed lost. I learned that although I have the impression that a file no longer exists, my hard drive always keeps a record of all the data that's been stored/written inside it. Even if you format and reformat the hard drive, there's still a chance to recover lost or deleted files.

Then I wanted to find a way to restore lost data/files on demand. I discovered hundreds of data recovery software offers. So I decided to research the web and learn everything about data recovery before I buy any software.

And here's what I found:

- 50% of all data loss is caused by human error. People are accidentally deleting files all the time. Then they shred the contents of their recycle bin. These "lost" files are actually -hiding- inside the hard disk and they are 100% recoverable. They can be restored.
- 30% of all data loss is caused by hard drive failure (physical damage). People do not follow proper shut down procedures or the hard drives may suffer from all kinds of mechanical/hardware issues.
- 20% of all data loss is caused by viruses, worms and other types of malicious threats. People forget to frequently update their anti-virus database (some of them do not even have anti-virus software). These days not too much people know what Internet security is.
- 10% of all data loss is caused by several other reasons.

It's time you start worrying about data loss and data recovery too, especially if you have critical files stored on your hard disks. Before you even think of buying data recovery software to restore your lost data, it would be a good idea to implement a data loss prevention routine:

1. Always store your important/critical files in a separate folder. Always back up your data. Either on CD-ROMs or external drives, it doesn't matter.
2. Always follow proper shut down methods. Do not just power off your PC by unplugging the power cable. Your system needs to do a little write/delete maintenance to your files before it shuts down. Also, never kick or punch your computer.
3. Protect yourself and your privacy online. Use anti-virus/anti-spyware software and keep updating it often since new malicious threats arise all the time.
4. Be optimistic. Never think that you might lose an important file. This actually helps a lot. The idea is to create a mindset of invincibility for your data.
5. Be prepared to act if something goes wrong (e.g. you lose an excell files with your clients list). In most cases lost data is recoverable.

Now you know it's possible to restore almost every type of lost or deleted file, it's time to learn how to do it. How about this highly recommended Data Recovery Software that will restore all your lost data quickly and easily? There's a free trial version waiting for you to download. Give it a try.

Data Recovery How-To Guide by the Experts

We've moved from an age where our most important documents are no longer stored on the hand written or even the computer printed page. Now they are stored digitally on our computer's memory or hard drive. This ends a paper trail but brings a new problem to the fore. Losing our data files!

Things can happen. Computers can crash, hard drives fry, the power goes out for a moment, we accidentally hit the "close" button on our word processor, the delete button and the list goes on. Knowing how to handle these situations can save us a big headache.

The first solution is prevention. Do you make backups of your important files? This can be done with a zip drive, CD, DVD or networked computer station. Taking just a few moments to backup those key files can be the easiest protection for data recovery. Make sure you keep those backed up files in a safe place.

If you are concerned about power outages you can always invest in a small UPS battery backup. Just plug your computer into it. It will save you from those flickers in the power grid that cause you to lose your work.

Solutions for data recovery can also come in the form of software. Some of Microsoft's office applications have built-in data recovery tools. These are easy to use and automated. By simply restarting the application you were using it will sense that the computer has data files that were not saved properly. Those tools have saved me in quick pinches.

Why You Shouldn't Try Data Recovery Yourself

In the world of computers, data recovery is something we all know and rely on to recover lost of missing data. The process of data recovery is very complicated, one that you should never attempt to do yourself. Hard drives especially, are very fragile and need extra special care when they are worked on. You have to be careful with the small components inside of them, which is why only a trained specialist should be attempting data recovery.

When you first take your hard drive to a specialist, they will perform an evaluation then get back to you and tell you the problem, as well as the cost. When most people get their price quote, they immediately think the price is too high. As this happens, the individual will decide to try their own data recovery. This isn't the smartest idea, as it normally results in your data being lost forever. In most cases, where individuals attempt data recovery themselves, the data is so far gone that even the best data recovery specialist can't bring it back.

When the hard drive crashes and data cannot be accessed, most people will think about using a disk repair utility. This isn't a good idea, as the software will normally write to the disk, causing the data that is currently stored to be overwritten. These types of software programs can be very complex, and in most cases, won't fix the problem. They should be avoided at all costs, for the simple fact that they won't bring back your data - they will only make things worse.

Another common mistake people make, that should never be attempted, is to open up the hard drive and try to rebuilt it. Hard drives are full of very delicate components, many of which are very small, and very fragile. The platters are the most sensitive inside of the hard drive, as they are small and contain a layer of magnetized material. This material is very fragile, and sensitive to debris, dust, and especially your fingerprints.

If you don't know how to handle the platters, you can easily scratch their surface, which could indeed damage them forever. There is a spindle inside of the drive, which constantly moves the platters. A motor is there as well, which determines the speed that the platters revolve. The platters store data for the entire drive, which is accessed by an actuator arm. When the hard drive is in operation, the platters and the actuator arm move at very fast speeds, which is why everything has to be perfect.

If you go to tamper with the drive and attempt to rebuild it yourself, you'll more than likely damage something. The technicians that work with data recovery on a daily basis are experts with hard drives, and know exactly how to handle the devices. They know how to handle the platters, the actuator arm, and how to put everything back in a complete working fashion.

Some people out there have been told that hitting or even dropping a hard drive can fix common hardware problems. This is not the case, as hard drives can easily break if they physically abused in any way. The interior components are very fragile and do not react well at all to any type of abuse or physical mistreating.

Whenever something happens to your hard drive and you lose your data, you should always leave it to the data recovery experts. Companies who specialize in data recovery can recover your data, and do it the right way - which can save you time and money in the long run.

How to Check Hard Drive Health?

As told by every one that, we never know that when would our hard drive fail! However this is not true, we actually do not know this because we don't want to know it! We have taken our hard drive as taken for granted. Today there are many tools present in the market which can easily act as shield for your drive and provide early information about the hidden problem of your hard drive.

Let me ask you some basic question:

Which processor you are using?
Which is the speed of the processor?
What is the size of the RAM?

I am sure most of you would have answered them, lets me ask some other question.

What is your hard Drive Version?
What is the ideal temperature of your hard drive?
How many Bad Sectors are there in your hard drive?

So, how many questions are answered? You must be thinking that there is no need to know all these, I would say that you are right, till your hard drive doesn't crash. It's better to start taking care of our Hard Drive Health. From my past experience I would suggest Stellar Smart is a very good Hard Drive Monitor Tool.

You can download the demo version from here http://www.stellarinfo.com/hard-drive-monitor.htm. You can also try other software present in the market. As I have used the above mentioned software, I would be using this software to make you know how to become the doctor of your hard drive. Now let's give little time to our hard drive as this little time can save us from losing all our critical data.

Stellar Smart gives you the basic information about your hard drive, like
• Hard Drive Version
• SMART Feature (Self-Monitoring Analysis and Reporting Technology)
• Model Number
• Serial Number
• Firmware Revision

Other Advanced nformation about your hard drive:
• Total Sectors
• Number of Cylinders
• Number of heads
• Total Sector per Track
• Disk Size
• Physical Buffer Size

These information are basic information of your hard drive which you normally do not require it however, sometimes knowing this information can help you in solving other issues related to your hard drive.

Bad Sectors in your hard Drive
Knowing the bad sector in your hard drive is very important is really important, by checking the amount of Bad sector you can conclude how much vulnerable your drive is..

Stellar Smart: Scan Hard disk
This feature helps you to know the number of bad sectors in your hard drive, if you find lots of Bad sector, then better take the backup and change your hard drive.

Monitor your hard drive temperature
High temperature can harm your hard drive so you should always monitor your
hard drive temperature, or you can set some temperature such that you're your hard temp goes above it, you receive an alarm for that. Some times dust enters the hard drive motor and hinders the motor to run smoothly and the temperature rises and this can lead to hard drive failure. However if you are using some temperature alert then you can save yourself from losing data.

Stellar Smart provide an option to monitor the hard drive temperature.

You can set the warning temperature & shut down temperature. If the temperature of your hard drive reaches the preset warning temperature value then the software will give you the alert messages. And if it attains the shut down temperature then system will automatically shut down.
According to me this is very important tool, because you come to know about the temperature of your drive. Usually temperature doesn't go above a limit, however if it goes that means that there is some problem with your drive and you better start taking backups of your important file Or get you drive properly diagnosis.

Some common hard disk attributes which Stellar Smart makes you aware with are:

Raw Read Error Rate
Indicates the rate at which read retries is requested. Lower values indicate that there is a problem with either the disk surface or the read/write heads.

Spin Up Time
Describes the amount of time it takes to spin the disk platters up to their rated rotation speed (usually 5400 or 7200 Revolutions per minute). Values above 80 should be considered good. Values between 70 and 80 are acceptable.

Start/Stop Count
Indicates the total number of drive start/stop cycles (including both power on/off switching and suspend/wakeup switching).

Reallocated Sectors Count:
Indicates the amount of the spare sector pool that is available. Spare sectors are used to replace sectors that become bad for some reason. A value of 100 means that no sectors have been replaced so far and a value of 1 means that spare sectors have been exhausted due to many replacements.

Power On Hours Count:
Indicates how long the disk was working (powered on).

Spin Retry Count:
Indicates the number of times the disk was unable to spin its platters up on the first attempt (lower values mean more retries).

Temperature:
Indicates the temperature of disks equipped with thermal sensors.

Ultra ATA CRC Error Count:
The UDMA controller performs error checking on the data it receives from the Hard Disk, ensuring that the data was not damaged while being transmitted over the cable. Each time an error is detected, the controller requests a retransmission, thus slowing down the overall transfer speed. Lower values of 'Ultra ATA CRC Error Count' correspond to a higher number of errors, usually indicating a cabling problem

Write Error Count:
Indicates the rate at which write retries are requested. Lower values indicate that there is a problem with either the disk surface or the read/write heads.

Recalibration Retries:
Indicates the number of times recalibration was requested. A low value (multiple recalibrations) usually indicates some head positioning problem.

How To Recover Lost or Deleted Data Files: Data Recovery Software Information

Have you heard of data/file recovery? The definition of the term Data Recovery is "..Making previously lost or damaged data available again.." A data recovery software or method can help us recover destroyed data e.g. an accidentally deleted file. It happens all the time. You delete an important file on your PC and send it to your recycle bin by mistake. You realize what you've done only after you've cleaned the contents of the recycle bin.

What do you do now?
That file you deleted was so important. Fortunately there are lots of methods (Data Recovery Methods) and software (Data Recovery Software) available to help you get your lost files back.

Let's start by mentioning some possible reasons for the loss of data:

* You accidentally delete an important file. Then you immediately shred the contents of your recycle bin
* During today's system crash some files just disappeared and cannot be located or accessed
* You format your hard drive but then you remember those important .zip files previously stored in the newly formatted empty medium.
* A power outage prevented some files from being written to the hard disk.
* Data loss can also occur due to physical damage of the storage media. For example the surface of your CD-ROM may be scratched off or your hard disk may suffer from all kinds of possible mechanical failures.

..and the list goes on.

Is Data Recovery Important?
Data recovery is a very misunderstood concept. A lot of people may not even be aware of the existence and the importance of data recovery. Maybe they think of it on a personal level. The truth is, lost data causes financial disasters to companies all over the world. The cost associated with computer downtime and lost data is enormous (several million dollars) for businesses.

How to deal with data loss?
Losing files is easy but recovering them can be difficult. If the loss was due to physical damage then you need someone with experience, a hardware technician or something. It wouldn't be wise to try to overcome hardware failures alone unless you are a professional.

Now, if the loss of data was due to logical failure or human error then the solution is data recovery software. The data recovery software should be able to:

- Undelete files even after you've shred the contents of your recycle bin
- Recover files after you've been infected from a malicious threat (trojan, worm or other virus)
- Recover files from reformatted hard disks or after your system crashes or your hard disk fails
- Recover all types of files (all kinds of documents, images, music, videos, email messages, zipped files etc)
- Recover data from all types of storage mediums (hard disks, external drives, CD-ROM, usb drives, floppy disks etc)
- Recover files easily and successfully. Should be user-friendly allowing someone with no data recovery skills to use it
- Take/create backups of critical system files or files you choose

The best way to avoid data loss is to start taking backups of your important storage mediums. Either create backups of data on CD-ROMS or use an external drive or zip drive to back up your critical files. If you want to go further look for software that automates the process of backing up and storing your data. These programs are kind of "set and forget". You set it up to take backups every hour or every day or month etc. and let the software do the rest.

Data Recovery - Next Step to Safeguarding Data

The realization about the need to prepare for safeguarding crucial data on your hard disk may come a little too late when the computer or the hard disk has crashed. Data loss could mean, for a small business, going out of business unfortunately, sometimes permanently. Rebuilding years of data is out of question. It is pertinent to know the whys and how of data loss in order to understand data recovery better.

Important Causes of Data Loss
What you hoped will not occur, perhaps because of no reason, could always hit you hardest unless you are safeguarded against them. Computer running slowly could be because of spy ware scrupulously installed could be working behind screens to destroy or transmit data to their masters eventually causing hard disk to crash. Others like electric storms, power surges, mechanical failures, fires & floods and user errors (sometimes in disregard of warnings) could affect your computer without any or sufficient warning.

You could also loose data because of sudden but unintended deleting of files or programs. Accidental disk format, virus attack, partition loss are some more causes for data loss.

Data Protection
Data protection is the best policy than ruing over the loss. You can make use of trusted data backup software which automatically backup your data regularly, if you can't do it yourself manually. Keeping backup of backups will safeguard you against the worst eventualities, too. Turn off your computer immediately as you hear strange noises like creaking run of hard disk. It is also wise to unplug power cords, modem and telephone cables when you are going out of home or office for a long time.

Data Recovery
The first thing you need to understand when dealing with data recovery is not loosing cool. Never act in haste and don't attempt data recovery yourself unless you are an old hat at that. Call data recovery professional for help.

Data recovery software does a neat job in most of the cases. Stellar's Data Recovery Solutions encompasses a wide range of software for almost any data loss situation ranging from accidental formats to virus attacks to software malfunctions. Most major Operating Systems are supported including Windows, Macintosh, UNIX, Linux, and Novell. Additional data recovery solutions include recovery from CD-ROM's, Digital Media Recovery (such as digital pictures or music files), and E-mail recovery. Stellar also provides data protection, data backup, and data eraser software.

An average company in US alone spends anywhere between $100,000 and $1 million in total for desktop-oriented disasters. This should more than emphasize the need for data safety and disk recovery.

User Guide for Data Recovery – Through Data Recovery Software

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

What is Clean Room?

A Data Recovery clean room is an environmentally controlled space, which is free of contaminants, such as dust or bacteria. The high-tech hardware, such as ICs and hard drives are manufactured or can be opened for internal servicing in the clean room.
Data Recovery Clean Room Technology

A Clean room is an environment, which is maintained at the controlled temperature and humidity (70F, 45% RH) to ensure that sensitive equipment is at no risk of contamination. The lab is maintained with high-performance air filters, with the help of which, the airborne particulates, contaminants and pollutants are controlled. This high efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filtering system helps in minimizing the activities that are responsible for generating dust particles. The walls and ceilings are made of plastic; external source of lightning and proper ventilation is ensured to permit clean and dust-free air such that no hindrance is caused during the data recovery.

Fundamental rules

a) Contaminants from the environment outside the clean room must not be introduced into the controlled area.
b) The equipments within the controlled environment must not give birth to contaminants.
c) Accumulation of contaminants in the controlled environment must not be allowed.
d) Already existing contaminants must be eliminated to the maximum extent and quickly.

Clean room technicians, before entering the controlled environment, must wear gloves, masks, head covering, overshoes and special "bunny" suits to prevent contamination. Clean room operators, sometimes, also pass through the an air blast upon entering to ensure minimum contamination.

Stellar Information Systems Ltd., a company with over a decade of experience in data recovery software & services, has an ultra-modern Class-100 clean room facility in Gurgaon. Stellar's Data Recovery Services (DRS) division operates from this environmentally controlled dust-free area to ensure safe and effective recovery from damaged hard disks.

Data Recovery Clean room standards

Clean room specifications are defined according to the particle diameter and number of particles per unit volume, which comes under maximum allowable limit. Cleanliness class is a standard used to determine the level of cleanliness in the air of the controlled environment. Federal Standard 209 E form is established, which figures out the airborne particulate cleanliness classes. Six different classes are defined to determine clean room cleanliness i.e Class 1 (ISO3), Class 10 (ISO4), Class 100 (ISO 5), Class 1,000 (ISO 6), Class 10,000 (ISO 7), and Class 100,000 (ISO 8). A class 100 clean room maintains less than one hundred particles per cubic foot, of size larger than half (0.5) micron.

The Evaluation Process Of Data Recovery

As most people already know, almost all hard drives fail due to normal use and conditions. Although it can happen at anytime, hard drive failure normally takes several years to occur, due to normal wear and tear. No matter what the case may be, you should always be fully aware of the options that are available to you, and what you should do if your hard drive fails.

Data recovery is the most useful and by far the best way to retrieve data that has been lost or deleted from a hard drive. Hard drive recovery can restore files that have been lost, no matter what the cause may be. From viruses to crashes, data recovery can restore the files on your hard drive by rebuilding the platters and the structure of the drive. Most experienced computer technicians can restore your hard drive in just a couple of days.

Before you hard drive can be rebuilt, it must be evaluated. The evaluation process will give the technician a chance to go through your hard drive, determine what caused the failure, and what they need to do to restore your data. This is a very extensive process that involving a series of steps performed by the technician.

First things first, the technician must determine if the problem is logical, physical, or possibly a combination of both. Physical failures result in hardware malfunctions, while the logical problems lie in the software. Once the technician has found the problem and the cause, he can plan out the repair process and what he needs to do to recover the information.

If the technician is able to gain access into the hard drive, he or she will then create a mirrored image of the drive and continue the process. The data structure will come next, where the technician will determine just how much of the data can be saved. This step in the evaluation can be the most time consuming, as the technician or technicians will have to go through each sector step by step and located what data can be retrieved and what data cannot be retrieved.

Once the evaluation process has been completed, the results will be given to you. The technician will normally go over everything with you, and explain the options you have available. This is where they will discuss pricing, as well as how long it will take. They will also let you know how much data can be retrieved, and what they think caused the problem. You can always get a second opinion if you choose, or go ahead and use the technician. In the rare event that no data can be retrieved, the technician will tell you that nothing can be done for your hard drive. Keep in mind that before they do anything to retrieve data, they will always contact you first to find out what you want to do.

Normally, most data can be retrieved in as little as 48 hours. The evaluation process may take a few days, as it is more time consuming and planned out than the actual data recovery process. The evaluation process can take longer depending on the parts that are needed, or if other technicians need to be involved with the process. If the technician has all of the necessary parts on hand and the experience, it normally doesn't take long. On the other hand, if the hard drive has a lot of hardware and mechanical problems - it can take a few weeks before you find out anything.

Compact Flash Memory and Data Recovery ( Part1)

Flash memory gets its name due to its microchip arrangement in such a way, that its section of memory cells gets erased in a single action or "Flash".

Both NOR and NAND Flash memory were invented by Dr. Fujio Masuoka from Toshiba in 1984.The name 'Flash' was suggested because the erasure process of the memory contents reminds a flash of a camera, and it's name was coined to express how much faster it could be erased "in a flash". Dr. Masuoka presented the invention at the International Electron Devices Meeting (IEDM) held in San Jose, California in1984 and Intel recognizes the potentiality of the invention and introduced the first commercial NOR type flash chip in 1988, with long erase and write times.

Flash memory is a form of non-volatile memory that can be electrically erased and rewrite, which means that it does not need power to maintain the data stored in the chip. In addition, flash memory offers fast read access times and better shock resistance than hard disks. These characteristics explain the popularity of flash memory for applications such as storage on battery-powered devices.

Flash memory is advance from of EEPROM (Electrically-Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory)that allows multiple memory locations to be erased or written in one programming operation. Unlike an EPROM (Electrically Programmable Read-Only Memory) an EEPROM can be programmed and erased multiple times electrically.

Normal EEPROM only allows one location at a time to be erased or written, meaning that flash can operate at higher effective speeds when the systems using; it read and write to different locations at the same time.

Referring to the type of logic gate used in each storage cell, Flash memory is built in two varieties and named as, NOR flash and NAND flash.

Flash memory stores one bit of information in an array of transistors, called "cells", however recent flash memory devices referred as multi-level cell devices, can store more than 1 bit per cell depending on amount of electrons placed on the Floating Gate of a cell. NOR flash cell looks similar to semiconductor device like transistors, but it has two gates. First one is the control gate (CG) and the second one is a floating gate (FG) that is shield or insulated all around by an oxide layer. Because the FG is secluded by its shield oxide layer, electrons placed on it get trapped and data is stored within. On the other hand NAND Flash uses tunnel injection for writing and tunnel release for erasing.

Natural Disasters Raise Data Recovery Awareness

Technology v Nature. The fight still continues without any clear winners. Nature's fury occasionally reminds us of how easily it can overwhelm all that modern technology has to offer, but indomitable man just goes back to the drawing board to come up with an improved solution.

The tremendous advances in data storage technology have been taken for granted by most users for whom the phenomenal growth in storage capacity can hardly keep pace with their appetite for more and more data. At the same time, the high-tech world of computers gives the users a false feeling of invincibility. While data storage devices have become more robust than in the past, the sheer numbers have made data disasters more common than ever before. There are many reasons why hard disk drives and other data storage devices can – and do – fail.

When Mother Nature strikes, as with the recent tsunami that ravaged half the earth or the winter storms that gripped much of North America, it is big news. While loss of life is truly irreplaceable, these disasters affect many other aspects of life. At times like these, there is a heightened awareness about data loss and data recovery. "But the single biggest culprit in data loss is human error," claims Allison Beckley, VP (Customer Service) at Disk Doctor Labs, Inc., one of the pioneers of data recovery. "And a close second is the inherent limitations of the data storage technology itself," adds Tariq Aslam, the CEO of Disk Doctors. It can happen anytime, anywhere, and to anybody. If you deal with data extensively, the odds are you will suffer data loss sooner or later. The important thing is being able to cope with it. And different types of users need to have different strategies for safeguarding their data. A high school student who uses his PC for gaming and the occasional term project cannot be expected to have UPS, tape back-ups and RAID systems. On the other hand, a bank cannot feel complacent that it has protected its database by installing the latest anti-virus software and anything else is overkill. The user profile, the data criticality, available budget and resources all impact the data protection strategy. However, these are some general tips Disk Doctors has for avoiding and surviving data loss:

- Make a regular back-up of all your important data (including laptop drives)
- Test your back-ups regularly (especially if it is a tape back-up)
- Carry laptops in padded cases
- If it is mission critical business data, store it on RAID systems
- Use power surge protectors, and UPS systems for critical data
- Use regularly updated anti-virus software
- Restrict unauthorized access
- If you experience problems with your drive, move the data to another drive; don't take any chances unless your data is worth less than the cost of a new drive
- If you still lose the data, do not panic; seek professional advice
- Data recovery is a specialized field, and not every computer technician can retrieve data
- If the data is critical, or if the drive makes unusual noises do not try DIY solutions
- When you shop around for a data recovery company, don't consider the recovery charges only
- Look at the company experience, expertise, locations, facilities, testimonials, etc.
- You should not have to pay an up-front diagnostic fee, or pay for any hidden extras over the quoted price, or pay for the 'effort' if you did not get your data

For more information on the data recovery please visit http://www.diskdoctors.com/

File Recovery - Basic Backup Guidelines

You can skip these backup guidelines and do not backup if you have never:

misedited a file and saved

deleted a file by mistake

had to recover from a hard disk crash, a virus, a computer theft or other similar computer disaster.

Why backup?

Probably, you may even think that you do not need to backup. And you may be right, if you are so lucky. If you are not so lucky or wish to further improve your security, you can check this article as an online backup tutorial.

So what is the solution to prevent data loss?

The answer is simple: backup.

What to backup?

Once you backup all your important files, be it documents, Outlook or Outlook Express mail files, images, video or music files, etc., you will be able to recover your files easily no matter what happened to them.

Where to backup?

If you backup to an external backup medium (like CD, DVD, an external hard disk or a flash USB drive), you can move the medium anywhere for it to be safe and recover your files pretty easily. Also, you can use an extra backup medium to move the files from on computer to another for various reasons: to keep them safe, to work with files or to hand them over to a friend for collaboration.

If you backup to a remote location (an FTP or WebDAV server), you can access your files from anyplace on the planet with the Internet access. Basically this means if you are using a laptop and backed up to a remote FTP server, you can recover your files wherever you are, provided you are connected to the Internet.

If the importance of backup and easy file recovery has not yet become obvious, you may well consider ways to prevent the need to backup by increasing your file security by excellent proficiency. However, if you are unsure, whether you will succeed in this, feel free to backup.

By Yuri Filimonov

Data recovery from laptops

A lot of important data is being stored on laptops today. Laptop use has increased significantly in recent years. Increased demands for portability and convenience have been envisioned in this mobile technology.

Demand for laptops has gone up in part due to the spread of telecommuting in businesses today. Businesses often allow employees to work on laptops at home and bring them to work.

Data loss in a laptop can end up costing the company a lot of employee hours worked. Even people who use their laptops for personal use are not pleased if they lose any important data. Carrying around a laptop all day can cause stress on the machine and increase the chances of data loss.

There are many companies that can help you with the laptop data recovery process. After you contact a company, first you will likely go through an evaluation process to evaluate the extent of damage done.

A lot of companies will offer a free evaluation and a quote if they feel they can successfully perform recovery operations. It may be a good idea to shop around for services to make sure you are getting the best deal. Each company may offer a different price. Some companies even have fixed pricing.

If you are panicking over a blank laptop screen or a hard drive crash, you will be happy to learn that a high percentage of the requests data recovery companies get are successful completed. However you still need to be prepared that some of the data may never be recovered. The only way to find out is get proactive and contact representatives from data recovery firms.

Several data recovery companies have specialized departments for performing data recovery operations on laptops. You can get a lot of your data recovered and receive it in a readable format, even from badly damaged storage devices.

Laptop systems are more fragile and therefore highly susceptible to damage to their hard drives.

There are many companies online that can offer you internet-based laptop data recovery. This allows you to ship of your laptop to company headquarters and have it shipped back to you after the data has been recovered.

Some problems you may experience with your laptop is a dead screen, hard drive crash, etc. There are different types of laptop data recovery operations you can perform. Laptop data recovery can allow you to recover files after such events and after technical malfunctions. You may also be able to recover MS Word, Excel or Power Point files that you may have accidentally deleted.

Laptops can receive a lot of abuse and their hard drives can get damaged. You may need laptop data recovery support if:

- You dropped your notebook and it no longer turns on.
- An unsolicited e-mail has downloaded a Trojan or virus on your laptop.
- The laptop's hard drive crashes.
- You accidentally deleted some important company files and you want them retrieved in a hurry before your boss finds out.

If you have lost important company data and your boss just says to go and recover it, rapid data recovery can be a solution. Often companies can perform emergency operations to recover lost data and get you on your way in only 24-48 hours. However be prepared to pay up for these services. The services will be worthwhile depending on how important the lost data is to you or your business.

If you are involved in the management of a company, you may want to keep the contact information of a reliable data recovery specialist near your desk. You never know when you may need one.

By Jakob Jelling

Disaster and Recovery

Read following statistics.

1. The average company will lose 3 % of its gross sales within a week of sustained outage.
2. The average company that experiences a computer outage lasting longer than 10 days will never fully recover. 50 % will be out of business within 5 years.
3. The chances of surviving a disaster affecting the corporate data processing center are less than 7 in 100. The chances of experiencing a disaster are 1 in 100.

- Jon Toigo (On Disaster Recovery Planning)

What If? – Scenario is key word for disaster recovery plan. Take a pen and paper. Start with "Fish bone" diagram. List down all effects that may happen to your organization if causes are related to disaster. List down all disaster. Once you are ready with diagram, try to find out best solutions available to you. Now you are having list of alternatives with you. Select best or suitable alternative to avoid disaster.

If you are looking for creating standard disaster recovery plan, following aspects may help you.

Disaster Recovery Plan

Disaster

Fires, floods, earthquakes, and bombings are examples of disaster events. Other then natural disaster - power "brownout," a computer virus, inclement weather, flu epidemic, sabotage, negligence, disk drive failure, local telephone service failure, or software failure are also considered as problems.

Problems often take the form of unforeseen events that cause damage or lengthy disruption or threaten to do so. One can often more readily recognize the situation is a disaster with these types of occurrences. Such kind of disasters may evolve from problems that disrupt normal operations and then worsen or continue so long the disruption becomes critical.

Your plan includes –

1. List down all possible operational, legal, and financial impact from a disruption or disaster
2. List down threats that could turn your IT infrastructure and services down that cause business interruption

3. Identify probability of occurrence of each identified threat
4. Estimate the loss potential of a service area (quantitative or qualitative)

Recovery

Define your recovery strategy: The recovery strategy is an overview of the recovery process that the organization will follow if affected by a disaster.

The strategy should speak to:

1. Recovery requirements for critical business operations.
2. Provisions for off-site storage of critical data.
3. Alternative processing strategies and facilities such as.
4. Procedures for obtaining resources during both the recovery phase and the restoration phase.

Disaster recovery plans should address specific procedures for both situations.

Emergency & Escalation steps

Emergency procedures direct the response to disaster events. Escalation procedures direct the response to problems. Both sets of procedures may result in the declaration of a disaster and activation of the recovery plan.

Emergency Response

1. Life protection & Safety
2. Immediate emergency help from fire, police, and hospitals
3. Reduce loss of IT services or assets
4. Set up a crucial point coordinating the recovery plan

Problem Escalation: The purpose of problem escalation procedures is to define the steps and time intervals leading up to the declaration of a disaster.

Recovery Operations

1. Recovery flow: Define outlines and steps to follow in case of disaster situation

2. Build recovery team organization: Assign staff and management responsibilities for putting the recovery plan into effect. Include team or individual assignments of responsibility by area of expertise such as:

3. Site restoration or relocation

4. Verification and Plan maintenance

Standard recovery plan includes following details

1. Agency staff to be called in the event of a disaster:
2. Disaster Recovery Team
3. Building Maintenance
4. Building Security
5. Legal Advisor
6. Emergency services to be called (if needed) in event of a disaster: Ambulance, data processing backup, Firemen, Experts, Police, and Electricians, etc.
7. Locations of in-house emergency equipment and supplies: Electricity, Gas, Water, Ladder, IT support
8. Sources of off-site equipment and supplies
9. Salvage Priority List

Attach a copy of the records retention schedule identifying all vital/essential records series. The location and record medium of the preservation duplicate for each vital records series should be noted.

The following questions can be helpful in determining priorities:

1. Can the records be replaced? At what cost?
2. Would the cost of replacement be less or more than restoration of the records?
3. How important are the records to the agency?
4. Are the records duplicated elsewhere?

Agency Disaster Recovery Procedures: Attach a list of specific procedures to be followed in the event of a disaster in you agency, including responsibilities of in-house recovery team members.

Follow-up Assessment:

A written report, including photographs, should be prepared after recovery and attached to a copy of the disaster plan. The report should note the effectiveness of the plan, and should include an evaluation of the sources of supplies and equipment, and of any off-site facilities used.

That's what about planning. But more than plan, tackling situation in live is different. Struggling and being with actual disaster is different. William said, "Once you fully apprehend the vacuity of a life without struggle, you are equipped with the basic means of salvation". Avoiding disaster in advance is what manager taught in advance. But managing actual disaster in real life is what manager learns only when he or she actually struggles with it.

Further Readings & Source

Information Technology Disaster Recovery and Business Resumption Planning Standards Basic Guidelines for Disaster Planning

By Jay C

Okay, computers a machine, right? Okay, maybe not yours. You

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 or software or any other reason; the good news is that your lost data is probably recoverable. This article will show you a few things NOT to do when an event such as this occurs.

Don't run the drive anymore, or use the device. (MP3, portable storage, camera card, whatever) If you think it won't hurt to even just poke around the internet for a solution to this mess you've made/found, you're wrong! Don't install or run anything on the drive you hope to recover data from. Only access this drive again from a healthy PC with the software solution you're going to use. Since files are overwritten in the order they've been deleted, the last files that have been excised from your drive will be the first to be lost permanently. Even just surfing, with all the cookies and temporary internet files that are always being generated will often doom the process without you even knowing about it.

Don't use tools that may reside on your computer, such as Scandisk, or a boot record utility, as these will probably overwrite exactly the files you're seeking to get back.

In short, be careful! Your data may very well be recoverable, as long as you don't do something to erase it forever! Find a good data recovery software solution, and then follow the instructions to the letter, and you'll more than likely live to see your lost data return!

Keith Thompson is the webmaster at Data Recovery Service where you can find solutions to your data recovery needs!

User Guide for Data Recovery – Through Data Recovery Software ( part2)

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

User Guide for Data Recovery – Through Data Recovery Software ( part1)

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.

contd...

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More on data recovery

You can either hire professional service to help you solve your problem or attempt a recovery on your own.

You can carry out data recovery operations on your own computer if you know what you are doing. There is data recovery software widely available that can assist you in the process.

Data recovery can become complicated if you overwrite on the storage device that has the lost data. Therefore if you do not know what you are doing, it is advisable to contact a professional service firm.

Data recovery professionals are experts in recovering data from all sorts of media and from a variety of damages done. There are many specialists out there who have years of experience in the IT field. The kind of data recovery operation to use will depend a great deal on the storage device and other variables such as the amount of damage done or the operation system used such as Macintosh, Windows or Linux.

There are some cases where it may be impossible to recover any data. However do not fret as the odds lie in your favor since a high percentage of data recovery operations are successful.

Preventing data loss

Of course the best way is to prevent data loss in the first place.

Data backup allows for restoring data if data loss occurs. Even ordinary pc users can set up their computer to carry out regularly scheduled backup operations. In the event of a hard drive crash or an unwise change in settings by an uninformed user, the restore tool can be used to retrieve deleted data or to restore the computer's settings from an earlier time.

For the back up process to be useful it should involve several reliable backup systems and performing drills to make sure the data is being stored correctly. Additional protection methods from data loss include making sure that the hard drive is protected from damages from the external environment. This includes protection from sunlight and temperature extremes.

Also plugging in your pc into a surge protector rather than an ordinary outlet can give your computer a protection layer from electricity fluctuations. Keep your virus protection up to date. Also remember to keep your backup data separate from your computer.

Nevertheless a lot of companies will go through a disaster and experience data loss. The best thing to do is not to panic and also not to ignore the situation. The quicker you rectify the situation the better. Counting on data loss will help you be prepared for any such event.

By Jakob Jelling
Published: 2/13/2005

What is data recovery?

Data recovery is the retrieval of inaccessible or contaminated data from media that has been damaged in some way. Data recovery is being increasingly used and is an important process nowadays.

There has been a lot of progress in increasing the memory capacity of data storage devices. Therefore data loss from any one incident also tends to be very high. The relevance of lost data can vary greatly. Maybe you have had the experience of storing a homework assignment on a floppy disk only to have it missing on the day the assignment in due.

Consider the fact that a large amount of businesses nowadays have vital organizational related data stored on machines. Also hospitals store data on patients on computers. Large amounts of websites nowadays use databases technology to enhance their websites and make them more dynamic. Php and MySql use has been on the rise on the Internet. Database failure is not uncommon and so it is not a fail proof method of storing information.

Companies have high reliance on computer technology to write and store data relevant to their business operations. Thus the data being stored can have a great deal of impact on personal lives and operations of companies.

There can be several causes of data loss.

Data loss can occur from unexpected incidences including national tragedies such as floods and earthquakes.

Often power failure can cause loss of data from hard drives. Sudden power surges can also cause a lot of damage to a computer's hard drive.

Accidentally deleting a file or formatting a hard drive or floppy disk is a common reason for data loss.

If you have accidentally lost any important documents there are several steps you can take. Remember that if you have accidentally erased a file, it may not have vanished from your computer. It may have left an imprint in a different format on the computer's hard drive or other storage devices. Recovering the data involves locating it and transforming it into human readable form.

Not all data may be recoverable. cotd..

Urgent Data Recovery

If you find yourself in the unfortunate and sometimes awkward position of having lost some important data and need data recovery urgently, find a professional data recovery company to retrieve your lost data.

For urgent recovery of your lost data, you can usually rely on the expert services of data recovery professionals. With a good data recovery expert you can expect a free delivery and collection of the problem memory storage device, along with a free evaluation. Choose a data recovery company which offers a no recovery – no charge policy, although with most good data recovery experts you can expect a recovery success rate of over 90%.

So, if you hear unusual noises from you machine or media device, or if the system is not booting-up, or perhaps the drive cannot be found on your system or you have accidentally deleted important files then a data recovery expert is the answer for you.

Whatever the reason for the data loss, most professional data recovery companies will endeavor to retrieve the data. Data recovery companies will be able to recover lost data in most circumstances – such as password loss, virus corruption, system sabotage and more. A professional data recovery company will be able to conduct and urgent data recovery on almost all operating systems and media, such as CD and DVD’s, backup tapes, damaged disks and more. Whatever the memory storage device, from cameras to computers – your chosen data recovery expert should be able to recover urgent lost data.

Data recovery companies employ teams of experienced and qualified technicians who can solve most data loss problems. So, if the data was accidentally deleted or you have experienced some electromechanical failure or virus infection, call in the professional to retrieve your lost data.
If you require an urgent data restore for a criminal case, get a professional data recovery company to expertly extract and recovery electronic evidence.

We will discuss more on this forth coming posts....

datarecovery tips

Datarecovery tips