Maximize Your Chances of a Successful Data Recovery
Warning! If you are experiencing data loss, read this article entirely to avoid converting a case of potential hard drive data loss into a permanent one.
- As soon as you notice any missing files, folders or partitions stop using your computer and turn it off.
- Do not save any new data onto the failed hard drive. Your operating system creates temporary files as part of the computer's normal operation. These temporary files may overwrite the area where the lost data is located and cause permanent data loss.
- Do not install new programs (see previous tip). Not even data recovery programs as they may also overwrite the area where the lost data is found, thus causing permanent data loss. Data recovery professionals never try to recover data directly from a failed hard drive, what they do instead is make a clone of your hard drive and they attempt to recover your data using the cloned drive. This leaves the data intact in the failed hard drive and the damaged hard drive may be cloned again if necessary for additional data recovery attempts.
- Do not try to recover data yourself (unless you know what you're doing!). Many botched data rescue attempts by inexperienced persons actually decrease the chances of later successful retrieval.
- Do not have a computer repair technician try to recover your data. Computer repair shops usually lack the training, tools, software and clean room to perform data recovery and may inadvertently cause additional damage.
The previous tips apply to most data recovery cases, but they apply even more to cases where there is physical damage to your hard drive.
Check this article to get a more detailed overview of how data recovery is performed.
A telltale sign of hardware damage is when a hard drive starts making clicking, hissing, and other strange noises. The longer you use a drive in this condition, the more it can get damaged. This may cause irreversible data loss especially when the read/write hard drive head is crashing on the platters where the data is located. A damaged hard drive must first be repaired in a sanitized clean room before any data recovery attempt can even be started.
At My Data Is Back we have the best hard drive data recovery specialists working to rescue your important information.