Recovery tips on how to prevent data loss

Most computer users at one time or another, do encounter hard disk crash.

The hard disk crash is a terrible event in which your hard disk is, to put it bluntly, rendered useless. When situation of such arises, be calm and do not feel panicky as the next steps you are going to take is critical : the action you take will decide whether you get back your lost data or lose it permanently.

To avoid permanent data loss, follow these important guidelines:

• If you hear any strange clicking, grinding or whirring sounds, power down your computer immediately. These sounds could be result of read/write heads hitting or scraping the platters. Severe or complete data loss could result.
  
  
• Remove or unplug the power to the computer before removing the hard drive and handle the drive carefully. Hard drives are extremely sensitive to static electricity and physical jarring or jolts.
  
  
• Do not attempt to do recovery yourself by attaching to another PC or open up the casing of the hard disk as it could only be opened under clean room condition. We would strongly advice user not to try anything at this stage as doing so might further damage the hard disk making recovery task more complicated and increase your recovery cost.
  
  
• If your data is critical, make sure you choose a trustworthy and reputable data recovery company that can properly recover data from physically damaged drives. Even the simplest recovery attempts on a physically damaged drive could render your data unrecoverable which is otherwise recoverable. Remember, the first recovery attempt is always the best recovery attempt. Never risk your critical data by handing your damaged hard disk to a doubious data recovery company.

At ADRC our recovery experts use the safest and well-tested methodology available, ensuring your data is not lost from even repeated recovery attempts.

Always remember, never attempt to do your own recovery particularly if the hard disk failure is hardware related. On that note, user also is refrained from performing any logical recovery unless you know what you are doing. A general census concluded damaged or failed hard disks are unrecoverable as users had meddled with them when they initially failed. Prior the media reached the recovery companies, permanent damage had already been inflicted.

When disaster strikes: Do’s and Don’t

Do’s

• Be calm
  
  
• If possible, back up the data immediately (but in most instances, this might no longer be possible )
  
  
• Search for a reputable and experienced data recovery service company
  
  
• If you’ve lost critical data, ADRC is your best and safest option

Don’t

• Do not use utility software if the drive makes scraping, tapping, clicking or humming sounds
  
  
• Do not power up a device that has obvious physical damage or is making unusual sounds
  
  
• Shut down the computer to avoid further damage to the drive and its data
  
  
• Do not attempt recovery yourself on severely traumatized drives (i.e., turning the computer off and on, using over-the-counter diagnostic tools). This may cause further damage or permanent data loss
  
  
• Never assume data is unrecoverable
  
  
• ADRC has successfully recovered data from thousands of drives with extreme physical and logical damage

Preventing data loss and Best practices:

Everyone should adopt strategies to ensure critical information is protected from corruption and loss. However, with a few pointers, you can almost effectively prevent data loss from happening to you. Read on!

• Never upgrade any system without a verified backup
  
  
• Use up-to-date hardware and software utilities for data security, such as firewalls and virus protection
  
  
• Scan all incoming data for viruses, including packaged software
  
  
• Use ventilation, fans and/or air conditioning to keep servers at the proper operating temperature
  
  
• Do not place a computer on unstable or moveable objects . During operation, computer hard drives can be damaged by any abrupt or sudden movement, especially laptop's. It's important to find a stable area where there is not a lot of activity. This is good practice to exercise as it protects the hard drive from any sudden jolts
  
  
• Backup important data, files , documents and programes regularly. You should backup important data, files, documents and programs regularly. Backups are an integral part of data loss prevention as it provides an exact copy of the data. It is the fastest way and also the easiest way of recovering from data loss if you suffer from data loss. However, backups are useless if that redundant copy of data cannot be used. Checks should be conducted from time to time to ensure the backup is up to date and is free from virus and corruption so that it will actually come in handy when disaster strikes.
  
  
• Connect systems to an uninterruptible power supply (UPS) to protect against power surges
  
• Power down and take extreme caution when moving computers
  
  
• Avoid static discharge when touching or handling the media, especially in excessively dry environments
  
  
• If you accidentally delete or data just went missing for no apparent reasons, do not create new files, move files around, or save any old files. By doing so, you could make the recovery of lost data impossible as any of such activity might overwrite the missing data making these data permanently erased from your hard disk. In fact all activity should be stopped immediately to avoid further data loss. Although we recommend that you don't, if you should decide to use a recovery utility program, please do not install it on the same hard drive where you lost the data.