Data Recovery for the Totally Clueless

Most people like to think that they’ll never have to worry about using a data recovery service. They believe that their machines are infallible, or that no matter what they do to their computer or other data device, it will always boot back up if you turn it off and back on again. And they’re usually right. Today’s operating systems are quite good about backing up data for you so that you can usually restore your computer to an operable state with just a few steps. 

Every once in a while, though, something really bad happens to your device, and no matter what you do, you can’t find the file you lost, or get your computer to start up when you turn it on, or get it to go past the opening screen. When that happens, you may need the magic touch of a professional data recovery team like the pros at Fields Data Recovery. Before you call in the pros, though, there are a few things you can try.

If You Accidentally Deleted a File

It happens to the best of us – a little slip of the mouse and – oh, no! You’ve just deleted the paper that’s due tomorrow and that you’ve slaved over all week long. There’s no need to panic – yet. When you tell Windows to delete a file, the operating system doesn’t actually delete it immediately. Instead, it “moves” it to your Recycle Bin just in case you really didn’t mean it. If you accidentally deleted a file, or if you went to open it and it’s just not there, your first step is to check your Recycle Bin to see if it’s there. You’ll find your Recycle Bin on your Desktop. Just double-click on it to open it and check the list of files. If your file is there, right-click on it to open the context menu, and click on Restore File to put it back where it belongs.

If it’s not there – say, because you already emptied the Recycle Bin, or because you deleted it from your mailbox, which doesn’t empty to the Recycle Bin – you still don’t have to panic. Depending on how long it’s been since you deleted the file, there’s a good chance that it’s still there. When you permanently delete a file, Windows doesn’t actually delete it. Instead, it marks the first sector to let the computer know that it can reuse the segments of the disk on which the data is written. The chances of the data actually being overwritten increase with time and computer use. That’s why the first thing you need to do when you realize that your file is neither where it should be nor in the Recycle Bin is to stop using your computer.

From there, you have two choices. You can either attempt to recover your data using data recovery software, or you can call in a pro operation like Fields Data Recovery services. Because attempts to recover data from a hard drive can actually wipe out the data you’re trying to recover if you’re not careful, you should always contract with a professional data recovery service if your data is irreplaceable or vitally important.

Data Recovery – When to Call in the Pros

So you’ve suffered a data loss and you can’t get to your files. If you’re like far too many people, you probably don’t have easy access to a backup from which you can restore your files. If you don’t have backups, you’ve got two basic options to recover your lost files from your hard drive. If you can access the drive, you may be able to use data recovery software to get your files back, but it may not always be your best option.

Your other data recovery option is to call in the pros. There are many companies that specialize in recovering files from all sorts of hard drives and media devices. These data recovery services, such as Fields Data Recovery, often have a great deal of success in recovering data from even the most damaged devices. On the other hand, professional data recovery services – even at their best prices – can be expensive. How do you decide whether to call in the pros to handle your lost data woes?

Can You Access Your Hard Drive?

If your drive spins up, if your computer recognizes it and if you can access the hard drive at all, there’s a possibility that you may be able to recover your missing files yourself. There are many data rescue utilities on the market, both free and paid. But be aware that any attempt you make to access those files or restore them may make it more difficult to recover them if you end up sending your disk out to a professional service.

If you can’t access the files or if the drive doesn’t spin up at all, recovering data from it is a job for the pros. It’s practically impossible for a layman without access to special equipment to recover files from a dead hard drive. But before you simple send it out to a pro outfit, continue reading.

How Important Is Data Recovery in this Situation?

Before you make a single attempt to recover the data yourself, consider how important the missing files are to you or your company. Whether or not the disk is accessible, you need to decide how much your company is willing to lay out to restore your data.

If the drive is accessible, but the files aren’t mission-critical, you can make a copy of the data and attempt to recover your data from the copy. That way, if you later decide that those files are more valuable than you thought, you’ll have the original hard drive.

If the drive isn’t accessible at all, but the files aren’t mission critical, you may decide not to spend the money to retrieve the files. In that case, you can attempt to reconstruct the most important files from other sources, but you’ve essentially decided to do without them.

If the drive is inaccessible and the data on it is vital to your company, your only choice is to find a reliable, well-regarded data recovery service such as Fields Associates and contract with them to do the job.

Will Data Recovery Work for That?

If something goes wrong with your computer’s hard drive, chances are you know that you can use data recovery software – or in a pinch, a data recovery service – to get your files back. Hard drive data recovery works for PC drives, as well as server drives and RAID drives that power multiple networks. But what if the data loss isn’t on your computer? Would you know how to recover data if you, say… dropped your digital camera off a ledge and damaged it? How about if you accidentally washed your favorite jeans – with your pen drive still latched to the belt loop?

The good news is that there’s a good chance your files can be recovered no matter the media they’re stored on. The bad news is that you might have to resort to a professional data recovery company like Fields Data Recovery to get the job done. A great deal depends on the file system and whether or not you can actually access the drive at all. If you’re unsure about whether a data recovery program or Fields Associates data recovery services can get your files back, here are some more specifics about various types of file storage media and devices.

Data Recovery from a Laptop Hard Drive

As long as the hard drive is a standard SATA drive, recovering data is no more complicated than it is to recover files from a desktop PC. Solid state drives, on the other hand, are becoming more popular. Recovering files from a solid state drive is more difficult and should be left to professionals.

If you choose to attempt to restore the files yourself, be sure that you copy the entire drive first, then work from the copy instead of the original drive. That way, if your attempts are unsuccessful, you can still ship the original drive to a service that specializes in data recovery.

Recovering Data from a Memory Card

If you can access the card with a card reader, it may be possible to recover the lost files yourself. It’s simply a matter of using data recovery software to pull the files from the damaged card and restore them to your hard drive. But just because you can’t access the files, that doesn’t mean they’re completely lost. Often, a professional will still be able to access and restore your files.

The same applies for digital camera hard drives, your iPod or other MP3 player – even damaged CDs and DVDs. In fact, if you happen upon an old 5.25-inch floppy – the old cardboard and film ones – there’s an excellent chance that a professional data recovery service can pull the data from it.

If you’ve lost data from any type of storage media, you can attempt to restore it using a third-party data recovery utility. If all else fails, though, a data recovery professional is your best hope to get your files back.

Data Recovery from SQL Databases

Once upon a time, businesses kept track of orders, customers and other data by entering them into ledger books in longhand. Computers have changed all that. Today, there’s a very good chance that your company tracks its data in a relational database using some flavor of SQL. If the hard drive holding your SQL databases and tables is damaged, data recovery can be considerably trickier than trying to recover lost text or spreadsheet files. If your SQL databases are important to your company and can’t be restored from a backup, it’s vital that you call in a professional database recovery company like Fields Data Recovery for the best chance at restoring your databases intact.

Why Database Servers Fail

Your database server is no different than any other hard drive. No matter how well you’ve configured your SQL database, your system can fail for many reasons, including a corrupted database, deleted data, an I/O error in your SQL server, a deleted or corrupted log file or a page detection error. Like any other hard drive, your SQL server hard drive may fail because of physical damage to the hard drive, or you may be unable to restore your database from a corrupted backup file.

Database Data Recovery

If your failed hard drive holds database files, simple data recovery tools aren’t enough to restore your database to usability. Often, those tools can access and recover the data, but not the underlying logical attachments that make your data usable. Essentially, data recovery for a database is a two part process – first accessing and finding the data, then reassembling the database.

What Will Fields Data Recovery Need from Me to Recover My Data?

First, it’s important that you don’t attempt to recover the files yourself with a third party data recovery utility. Those programs often cause further damage and make it impossible for your database to be restored. Usually, the data recovery company will need the original media, which includes your hard drive, tape backup or whatever media you’ve stored it on. If the issue isn’t file system corruption or hard drive failure, they may be able to work from a copy of your drive. It may also be helpful if you include an empty database with the appropriate structure to assist the data recovery folks in finding and restoring your data in the correct format and structure.

What Are the Chances for Success?

Most database failures are recoverable as long as you are careful not to damage the files further by attempting a DIY data recovery solution. Depending on the extent of the work required, many data recovery companies will have your database pieced back together and back in your hands within 2 to 5 business days.

What To Do Before You Contact a Data Recovery Company

With computers – from desktops to laptops to tablets and even cell phones – becoming more and more important in our lives, data loss – and data recovery – takes on a whole new significance. For many people, when your computer crashes and won’t come back up, it’s more than a mere inconvenience. The files on your hard drive, laptop hard drive, flash drive or data card could include vital telephone numbers, your landlord’s address, your tax files, your business records or any combination of personal and business files whose loss can make your entire life miserable. If you power up your computer device and it doesn’t deliver the files you need, a data recovery company can often recover your files and information, but it’s important for you to know what to do to preserve the data that’s on your hard drive.

First, immediately turn off your laptop, cell phone or other computer device and don’t turn it back on. Using your computer once it’s showing signs of data loss can make the situation worse.

If you’ve spilled water or another liquid on your laptop, netbook, cell phone or tablet, immediately unplug it from its power source and remove the battery. This will hopefully prevent further damage due to electrical shorts.

If you are unable to access files located on removable media such as a CD, DVD or flash drive, remove it from your computer. You can attempt to access it on another system if there’s a possibility that the problem is with the media reader rather than with the disk itself. If you can’t access it on more than one system, though, chances are that you’ll need a data recovery company to access the files stored on it.

Do not attempt to do DIY data recovery on your laptop, netbook or other computer hard drive yourself. Even the best data recovery software poses the risk of further data loss. Do not attempt to disassemble the hard drive yourself to try to access the data or repair the disk. Data recovery companies maintain specially outfitted rooms called “clean rooms” in which they open and work on hard drives. A single speck of dust inside your hard drive can wipe out hundreds of files and make data recovery impossible.

If you find that you can’t access data on your computer, you should contact a professional data recovery firm as soon as possible after you realize the data loss to increase the chances of a successful data recovery. When all conditions are optimal, data recovery services, such as Fields Data Recovery, are successful in recovering up to 99% of the data on your compromised drive.

How to Avoid the Need for Data Recovery

As one of the top data recovery specialists in the country, Fields Data Recovery would greatly prefer that you never need to use their services. While there are some data emergencies that are completely unavoidable, that’s rarely the case. In fact, most data recovery emergencies can be completely avoided by taking some basic common-sense precautions. If you want to avoid the need for the services offered by Fields Data Recovery and other businesses like them, these tips will help.

Proper Care and Maintenance

Among the most common causes of lost files, ruined hard drives and inaccessible flash drives and SD cards is spilled food and drink. Make it a rule that no food or drink is allowed near your computer to avoid spills that can damage your computer or your drives.

Remove SD cards from your camera or laptop when they are not in use. Always store them in their protective sleeves when they’re not actually in a device. That will greatly reduce the chance that your SD card will be damaged by a spilled drink or being dropped into a puddle, or worse, the loo.

Likewise, store flash drives in a safe place rather than leaving them lying about loose on the desk or tabletop. This is especially important if you’ve backed up files from your main drive to them for data security purposes.

Don’t smoke around your computer or disk drives. Cigarette smoke is one of the few things that can penetrate the case of a hard drive or auxiliary drive. The film it leaves on your physical drive can make them difficult to read.

Store CDs and DVDs in protective sleeves and cases to avoid scratches that might destroy data stored on them.

Carry your laptop or netbook in a protective sleeve to avoid jars and jolts that can damage the drive and destroy data.

Backup and Storage

Back up your data regularly. The more important the information you store on your computer, the more vital it is to back up your files on a regular basis. For the best data security, subscribe to a daily backup service that will automatically copy your drive to an offsite server where it can’t be damaged by physical disasters, such as fires or floods that might destroy your computer. Subscribing to a backup service means that you don’t have to worry about remembering to do the backups yourself, making it more likely that your data will always be available to you if something should happen to the primary source.

Data Recovery

If the unthinkable happens and your drive becomes inaccessible, or your files go missing, don’t attempt to recover the data yourself. Any attempts you make may cause further data loss. Instead, contact Fields Data Recovery to discuss your data recovery options.

How to Choose Between Data Recovery Options

The best data recovery plan is not to need a data recovery service, of course. If you back up regularly and follow all the rules, you should never have to worry about a need to recover lost data. Unfortunately, if you’ve managed to pancake your hard drive or flash drive and haven’t been keeping up on your regular data backups, you’re already stuck with plan B. Since accidents happen, understanding your options for data recovery can help you avoid panic when your drive is suddenly inaccessible.

The Two Options: Data Recovery Services and Data Recovery Software

Your options for recovering data on an inaccessible hard drive are fairly limited. You can attempt to recover the data from the hard drive yourself using data recovery software, or you can outsource the job to experts, such as those at Fields Data Recovery. There are advantages and disadvantages to each option.

Hard Drive Data Recovery Software

Many companies offer DIY hard drive data recovery using free or commercial software. The major advantage to attempting to recover the lost data yourself using software is expense – the DIY option is certainly far less expensive than outsourcing your hard drive recovery to the experts. If it works, it’s also quicker. If you need immediate access to your files, it’s worth a try. However, there are some cautions and warnings about trying to recover lost data using this kind of software.

You’ll need access to a different computer, or at least a different drive than the one on which your lost data resides. If you attempt to install or run the data recovery software on the damaged drive, you risk overwriting the files you want to recover and making it more difficult for professionals to get at them.

If your hard drive is inoperable – not just inaccessible, but inoperable – recovering the data from it is not a DIY job. You’ll need the help of pros with access to special software and equipment to get the data off your damaged disk.

Data Recovery Services

There are dozens of companies, both online and local, that specialize in recovering data from inaccessible and inoperable hard drives. Shop around before deciding which data recovery service you want to use. Make sure that you check the company’s reputation, and compare prices to find the best deal. An expert data recovery service may be able to recover all of the data stored on your hard drive, even if it doesn’t spin up and is completely inoperable.

If you’re facing a data loss emergency, you may be able recover the data yourself. If you can’t, shop carefully to find the best data recovery service for your needs.