Data Recovery

Most people have lost data from their hard drive at some point or other – either because of an accidental deletion, data corruption, or because the hard drive itself failed. But did you know that the best way to protect your data and improve its chances of being recovered is to actually plan ahead?

If you’d like to improve your chances of data recovery, there are a few tips in particular that could make a world of difference:

• Build up a recovery toolkit in advance

Rather than waiting until you’ve lost data to look for recovery tools that you can use to restore it – you should build up a toolkit in advance. The reason for this is mainly because the last thing that you want to do once you’ve lost any data is to install new software that could potentially write over it and make the data loss permanent.

In short you should shop around and find a good recovery software and install it as soon as possible. That way if and when you lose any data you will be able to just run the recovery software and search for the data that you need without running the risk of writing over it.

• Backup important files in various locations

The best way to make sure that you’re able to recover data that you’ve lost is if you have a backup that you can use to restore it at any point in time. While backing up your entire hard drive may not be feasible, at very least you should make it a point to back up important files in various locations.

Try getting into the habit of backing up any important files to several locations – such as a USB drive, or by uploading them onto the cloud. That way if they are ever lost or corrupted you just need to restore them from where they’re stored.

• Make sure you have a bootable USB or CD

If your hard drive fails or its data is corrupted you may not be able to boot up your operating system in order to try to restore the data that is on it. That is why you should always make sure that you have a bootable USB or CD that you can use in such situations.

Ideally the bootable USB or CD should contain recovery tools as well, so that you can run a search for the data that you may have lost.

As you can see each one of these tips can help you to improve your chances of recovering data from your hard drive before it disappears forever. That being said in some cases running recovery software may not suffice, and you may need professional assistance to restore the lost data – unless you have a backup that you can use to restore it from. All said and done prevention is better than cure, but it helps to be prepared and plan ahead – just in case.

Once you’ve lost your data, it is much too late to worry about what you should have done. The only thing you can do is protect what you have before it is lost. The real secret to data loss recovery is backup. If you always have easy access to a backup of everything on your system you care about, you can never be said to have lost anything.

But if it was truly that easy, no one would ever lose anything. And that is clearly not the case. People lose data all the time without fully understanding what went wrong in the first place. If you can wrap your head around what causes data loss, you can be more focused on preventing it.

Data Recovery Strategies When All Else Fails

When you lose important data, there are only three things you can do to recover it. And one of those is out of reach for the average person. Here they are from easiest to hardest:

• Call an expert – Food Channel devotees are familiar with the phrase, Put it down and walk away. This is also excellent advice for when the computer starts making sickly noises and presenting the blue screen of death. There is data recovery software available to professionals who make a living recovering lost data. You can also purchase this software and do the process yourself. It is important to note that professionals have access to a lot more sophisticated tools. But using data recovery software will do the job much of the time.

• Grab as much data as you can – There is a point in a house fire when you realize that there is nothing you can do but run. At that point, you grab as much as you can on your way out the door. You grab the laptop, the dog (not necessarily in that order), the kids (definitely not in that order), and everything else you can hold. When it is clear your computer will have to go to the shop, you turn it on one last time, and start copying everything to a flash drive before it dies. Like a game show shopping spree, you only have limited time and limited space. Grab what you can while you can.

• Try to fix your damaged hard drive yourself – This is the one not accessible to most people. Don’t try this unless you know what you’re doing. However, if you do know what you’re doing, and have the necessary tools, hard drives are mechanical objects that can be restored to some semblance of health. Even so, once you get it working again, buy a new one, and transfer all your data as quickly as possible.

These tactics can help in a crisis. But the best thing is to avoid the crisis altogether.

Backup Strategies

You can purchase external hard drives for backup. But in the event of that fire we discussed, all is still lost. Offsite backup has become extremely popular. So it is important to review the best online backup solutions as well. The online backup solutions work well and keep you from ever losing anything again. But they have the following drawbacks:

• You pay a monthly fee

• You have to trust all your data to a third-party

• It takes a long time for initial upload and restoration.

• It can be a strain on your limited data cap

Most experts recommend a combination of onsite and offsite backup solutions.

Preventing Data Loss

There are three main drivers of data loss: hard drive failure, software corruption, and malicious software and exploits. The latter can be partially addressed by good internet security software. Always keep your operating system up to date. And if you keep your computer for more than four years, you should replace the hard drive periodically at the very least. You get very little warning before hard drives die.

You don’t want to be in a situation where you have to try to recover lost data. This is one of those times when an ounce of prevention is worth it’s weight in gold.

Data recovery is a very crucial process that needs to be taken care of in a very sensitive and delicate matter. Doing it yourself can lead to data loss forever, and whatever little chance of recovering data was present would also vanish. However, a professional data recovery Atlanta specialist would know how to deal with such situations because of their experience and expertise. They would be able to assist in recovering data in a very systematic manner, which would save you a lot of time as well as money that you would have lost if the data couldn’t have been recovered.

However, you cannot and should not hire just about any data recover company that you come across. There is a proper evaluation process that you must follow, because the kind of company you hire will make all the difference in the kind of service you get. And, disregarding this might lead to loss of data forever. Here are the few factors you need to consider if you are looking to hire professional data recovery company for the retrieval of the lost data.

Experience

No matter which data recovery specialist or company you choose, make sure that the company or the professional has the necessary experience to deal with the data loss situation at hand. Without the experience, the specialist won’t be able to handle the job delicately, and may not recover the data as well.

Reputation

The market credibility and the reputation of the data recovery Atlanta company you are considering hiring should be good. It shows as to how good and experienced the company is. These days, checking the reviews online and seeing what other previous customers have to say about the experience and the services of the company is more than enough to be able to make a decision.

Data Recovery Process

Different types of data recovery processes are used. Check out the processes and the systems used by the company in their endeavour to recover the data. Some of the processes are destructive, while others are time-taking yet reliable and safe. Depending upon the type of data loss and the drive that is damaged, the correct data recovery process should be used that is considered safe.

Cost

Compare the cost charged by different companies. The data recovery process can be expensive, and different companies and professionals charge different as per their market reputation, experience and other similar factors. However, don’t go with just any company that charges less as the quality of services shouldn’t be compromised merely by the cost factor.

License And Registration

Always check whether the company you are hiring is licensed and registered or not. This would help you trust the company with eyes closed, and would also ensure that you be able to trust the company with your confidential business and personal data.

Confidentiality

As the data recovery is a sensitive issue and the data that is to be recovered may contain confidential and secret business or personal information, check out the privacy policy followed by the company. It would help you understand which company to trust, and which to avoid.

So, here are the few factors that you must consider before you hire any professional data recovery company. These factors would help you understand which company is good and has the necessary skills and experience to provide you with value for money services. For a great data Recovery Company in Atlanta please visit Cherry Systems.