Saturday, December 5, 2009

Hard drive crash? The Essential Data Recovery Report

My worst nightmare was just a horrible reality. You always hear that little voice in your head mockingly write "you should have backed up the stuff the voice" keeps echo in your head when you perform a quick inventory of all important information that you just lost ... .. Your customer database, one years worth of e-mails, your entire inventory database, even your family photos.

Even worse, you have a deposition in two weeks and key information is needed, has to win to help theCase were also lost. Call a service technician quickly and they come through the computer check-out, just to hear the worst news of all .... Your data is lost. If one disk fails, it's too late to worry about what you can do "that too."

Today data recovery is a multi-million dollar industry. The number of data recovery companies out there, the number seems to exceed the fast food restaurants for the entire planet. These companies are in helping their clients retrieveData on everything from hard drives, flash-ROM. In the following report we will discuss what data recovery is really that different types, costs, and what can we realistically expect when it comes to your data.

What to do in the event of data loss?

Approximately 44% of all data loss from hardware failure causes. It is important to ensure that your system immediately shut down, if you suspect that your hard drive has crashed. Do not even try to go through theShutdown procedure, you remove the plug from the wall. Do not try to run off the shelf data recovery software or drive utilities. Many times these applications assumes the drive is working properly, increasing the risk of permanent data loss.

Types Of Hard Drive Failure

When we discuss data recovery in this report, we will focus primarily on questions relating to hard disk errors, as these types of errors are most common. There are really two primary forms ofFailure in a hard drive, logical and physical. Logic errors are usually due to file system corruption. This may be due to a virus, accidental deletion of important files or registry components, and in some cases even electro-static discharge. In most cases, have occurred in which a logic error is detected the drive or by the system BIOS, but it will not boot. In most cases, you should put your data still intact on the hard disk, even though it may seem, can be accessed.

WhenSystem BIOS, not the presence of the hard drive, then chances of a physical failure has occurred. Physical errors may result from a variety of causes. There are actually two sub-categories for physical disk failure, mechanical or electronic. Mechanical failures usually by a failure of the spindle motor. Spindle motor failure can result from excessive heat by a bearing failure. The increasing heat, will be extended from the bearing failurethe drive shaft and thus take advantage of the spindle motor. Suddenly, the drive is invalid. Occasionally you get a warning that something bad will happen. You hear a loud whining, a grinding, screaming and high notes. If something starts to come back up your data immediately.

Another problem that sometimes arises physical its ugly head is an electronic failure. If you are a hard drive you will find a board reserved on the bottom.This board is basically the brains of the drive, and it is where the computer interfaces to the hard drive. An electrical failure can occur unexpectedly at any time. Even new hard drives are not completely immune to electrical interference. Sometimes it's just a faulty component, sometimes it's improper installation (ie electro-static discharge, grounding out to damage the circuit board) during the installation. It is important that whatever your system clean and well ventilated, asExcessive heat can the electrical components on the disk. If you have a system that is in an area have contained something that you can add an additional 80mm fan to cool the internal components of the system, especially the hard disk. No other component of a computer working as much as the hard disk, and therefore it is extremely important not to overlook when cooling issues arise.

How will my data be restored?

One of the most frequently asked questions that customers ask "howAgain my data? "Well, it's really not black magic or witchcraft. It's just a matter of having the right tools and the knowledge they need to know what to do, like a surgeon to perform heart bypass surgery. Many prominent data recovery facilities have a wide range of hardware, software and tools for recovering data.

Generally speaking, if a disk is received by a data recovery company, the first thing they evaluate it and determine what recovery solution willbe required. If the drive is damaged a logical question, as already mentioned, is a scan of the drive is performed to try to repair the file system damage. Sometimes a partition can be repaired and the drive to the state is restored, that it failed before. If this is not possible, then a very low-level scan will be performed that essentially searches every sector of the disk for files. Once the files are, they can then be copied to the media of choice, ie aCD-ROM, DVD-ROM or another hard disk. Logical recoveries years can have a huge amount of time, especially if the drive is on the verge of physical failure. It is not uncommon for one day of scanning and allow a day for the restoration of the found files.

If the drive is suffering from a physical disorder, then the recovery procedure is a bit more difficult. As already mentioned, there are actually two sub-categories of physical failure, mechanical or electronic. An important element inRecovering data from a physical disorder is in the possession of the necessary parts to get the drive working again. Unfortunately with hard drives if you have a Maxtor 20GB hard drive, for example, then you are another identical 20GB Maxtor Hard Drive for salvaging parts need. In cases where the electronic board on disk has not, then you have to have exactly the same circuit board on hand to retrieve the necessary circuit components for replacement. Often you can not evenReplacement board for board. These repairs generally require soldering skills and a thorough knowledge of electronics will be successfully completed. You will probably hear "class100 Clean Room" thrown around a lot when talking to data recovery professionals. Simply put, a clean room class100 holds exceptional purity of the air and contains less than 100 dust particles larger than 0.5 microns in each cubic meter of air. This is reflected in the importance of protecting sensitive internal componentshard disks. Anytime a hard drive is an invasive procedure is performed on them with, is a class100 clean room or better is required.

The time frame for recovery is generally 5-10 business days for physical issues and 2-4 days for logical issues. Sometimes if components are not immediately available, then it can take weeks to complete the restoration. Some firms offer expedite service and you definitely pay for this extra attention.

What About Data Recovery Software

This is an area whereYou really do get what you pay for. Try to stay away from software in the $ 20 - $ 60 range, since these programs are generally very limited in what they can do. Also make sure that you never, and only emphasize never, ever get data recovery software that writes anything at all to the damaged disk. You run the risk of overwriting data that may otherwise have been recoverable, but they are lost forever. If you are fairly computer savvy, then there are a few good data recovery software solutionsavailable.

What to Look For when shopping for Data Recovery

There's an old adage: "You get what you pay for." In most cases this is true. However, just because a company with a fancy website quotes you $ 3500 for data recovery, does not mean that they are better than a company that quotes you $ 1,500. Try to stay well away from companies that want up to $ 50 - $ 300 charge for the assessment of your hard drive. There is a movement to restore the data from the industry over the last few yearsoffer a range of free services. Most reputable data recovery companies will evaluate standard IDE drives free of charge, so do not let the word "free" this or "free", you stop. The data recovery will be quickly saturated the market, and a company does not necessarily cheapen itself or lack of know-how by free evaluations.

You will notice as you look around for data recovery that prices vary greatly. You get deals from $ 300 to $ 5000 for the standard hard diskRecoveries. It is not uncommon, quoted verbatim, which is at least one $ 1,500 /-spread deep. We shopped one prominent data recovery company where we gave them specific indicators of a physical disk failure. Finally, we were quoted a price range of $ 600 to $ 2900 for the recovery. Often this is a bait and switch type tactic. You get into the drive with the low-end price-$ 600 to send, then let them know it is up to $ 2100 for the recovery costs. It ends with the fact that even$ 2900 under the high-end price would be, but also over what other reputable companies charge. Since most people do not go through the pain, the drive back, only to then send them to another company, this bait and switch companies end up making huge profits from unsuspecting customers.

Try a company that you an up front cost for either a logical or physical recovery. Most companies in a position to tell you within a few hundred dollars the cost ofrecovery. But do not misunderstand a company that gives you a price for two different procedures. For example, some companies will give you a price, if the error is logical and a price if the problem ends up being physical. We called a company and was told that if the drive had a logical failure the price would be $ 400 and if it terminates this is a physical problem, the price would be $ 1,600. This is not a high / low spread as in the earlier example, this is simply stating a price forTwo different types of recoveries.

On average you can expect to pay anywhere from $ 400 to $ 600 for logical recoveries, and $ 1,200 to $ 2,000 for physical inputs on standard IDE hard drives. If you can drive, SCSI, etc. depending on the configuration of the prices as high as $ 15,000 RAID. Remember, backup backup backup backup backup!

Can I restore my data to?

In most cases, the answer to that question is yes. On average, the success rate for data recovery professionalsapproximately 75-85%. However, there are times when the data is just lost, either by extensive damage to the platter or unavailability of spare parts.

How do I start?

If you have a hard drive crash which has the most important thing you can do is contact a data recovery professional immediately. Make sure you are not charged an evaluation fee is if you have a standard IDE hard drive. Most companies only charge evaluation fees for complex RAID and network serverDrives.

It is important that you do your homework, call and speak to do with the company. If you find one that you feel comfortable with, give them a chance. Your hardest job, possibly, data recovery company, which are actually someone to answer the phones. Ask questions and be sure to have the following information available:

Size of the plate

Operating system (eg Windows 98, Windows XP, etc.)

Situation of failure (what happened before the drive is no longerworking)

If the drive is not recognized by the computer or

Good luck with the re-registration of your data, and make sure you always have a backup of your important data on a daily basis.

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