|
Home
Data Recovery
By Jack Elmy
Every person who uses a personal computer will eventually face the challenge of
data recovery. Computer hardware and software can be temperamental from time to
time. Hard drives and other mechanical components of personal computers and
servers do not last forever, and when they fail recovering your data can be
difficult, time consuming and costly.
If you are working diligently away on a document or spreadsheet in Microsoft
Office and the power goes out, you may still be able to recover the documents
you were working on when the lights come back on. This type of data recovery is
relatively easy and straightforward. Software manufacturers recognize that power
outages are inevitable and unpredictable and most office applications
incorporate what is known as auto save features. At set intervals, the documents
you have open are saved to a cached file. They remain in that cached state and
should be accessible once your power is restored. Simply opening Microsoft Word
or Excel will usually bring these documents back. For instance, when you open
Word after a power failure or a software error, you will be presented with a
document followed by the word recovered in parentheses. This is the document you
were working on at the most recent auto save point. You may still lose a couple
minutes worth of work this way, but it sure beats having to go back and retype
the entire document.
If the recovered document does not appear automatically, search your hard drive
for files ending with tmp. Look for one created close to the time of the power
failure or software error and open it. This is most likely the document you had
open at the time. If this method of data recovery does not work, you may need to
follow the steps listed below.
Of course not all data recovery is so easy and so straightforward. If you delete
a file accidentally, it is a simple matter to recover it from the recycle bin.
Once you empty the recycle bin, however, things become more difficult. The
deleted file still resides on your computer somewhere, but the pointer that
tells the program where to find the file is now gone. There are various software
tools available that promise to help recover deleted files, and they all have
their strengths and weaknesses. Some of the major players are Norton, McAfee and
Computer Associates. There are a great many smaller vendors as well.
Even if all these products fail to recover your data, you may not be completely
out of luck. Data recovery services specialize in recovering data from failed
and corrupt hard drives. These data recovery services have tools and equipment
not available to the general public.
Government and law enforcement forensic teams will often make use of these
advanced data recovery techniques to investigate cases of computer crime.
Businesses also will turn to a professional data recovery service to recover
mission critical data from damaged hard drives.
It is important to choose a reputable firm any time you need to have data
recovery services performed. The firm you choose should be able to provide
references from previous clients. You should make sure to follow up with the
references they provide.
The cost for the data recovery service will vary according to the type of
equipment and the difficulty of the job. You should get several estimates to
make sure you are paying a fair price for the service you receive.
About The Author
Jack Elmy provides Business Planning information for anyone who wants to start
their own business. http://www.900-business-plans.com |
