The Four Phases Of Data Recovery

tekRESCUE

Information is the life blood of our digital existence. Our data, however, can sometimes be subject to corruption. They can find themselves stranded and damaged on an external or internal hard drive, a flash drive, or even on a CD or DVD. The circumstances that lead to a need to recover data can range from deleting or downloading something you shouldn’t have to dropping your drink onto your device. Even though the type of corruption can vary, there are usually just four phases to data recovery: repair the hard drive, image the drive to a new drive, recover file system structures and files, and finally repair damaged files.

Repair the Hard Drive

There is good news and bad news when experiencing hard drive damage. The bad news is that most end users cannot make these repairs due to minor considerations like dust in the environment and major considerations like lack of expertise. The good news is that often times the data on the structurally challenged hard drive can be completely recovered when placed in the hands of a professional in a clean, dust-free environment.

Image the Drive to a New Drive

After a hard drive disk failure, getting the data off the drive is of critical importance. Some drives can be accessed by using a DOS boot disk. This can allow you to boot your computer and access files with a corrupted operating system. If this is unsuccessful, the next step is to try transferring the drive to another computer. This may allow file structures to be looked through using Windows Explorer.

Note on Data Recovery Software

Typical data recovery software will run under different operating systems and be useful in recovering files. Be sure to install this software on a drive other than the one from which you are attempting to recover files because the disk space that contains lost files often looks as if it is available to be written on.

Recover File System Structures and Files

Once the file structures can be accessed, software damage typically referred to as “logical damage” can be searched for. Sometimes specific recovery software can be remotely accessed via the internet but only in situations where there is no physical damage to the hard drive. Some free data recovery software is available online, but it’s a good idea to contact a professional IT technician before using one.

Repair Damaged Files

Once your files have been recovered, the data can be manually reconstructed in a non-damaged sector. This is accomplished by first selecting the partition which was used to store the files you want to recover. It is then possible to cut and paste the desired files to the new sector. A professional may also be able to use a hex editor to manually reconstruct some data.

The best way to protect against data loss is to back up files on a regular basis. Once they are damaged, if the files are valuable to you, call an expert in data recovery in San Marcos. For more information about data recovery, contact tekRESCUE, located in San Marcos, TX.

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