Data recovery is the process of reviving data that have been lost due to physical damages like hard drive head crash, scratched, water-damaged or broken disks and tapes, and defective mechanism. Free data recovery refers to freeware or free software applications or utilities that anybody can download from the Internet for personal use.
Aside from physical causes, data could get lost when the file system is formatted; when the operating system running the machine is reinstalled; when files get deleted accidentally; when there is a virus attack; and when the system gets corrupted. These damages can happen to anyone and any computer anytime.
Most specialist would say that the best free data recovery system is to be pro-active in file management. There should always be a backup system especially for very important data. The backup will definitely make things easier and less frustrating when the unfortunate happens.
It's a good thing that there are ways to recover your lost or damaged files. If the data loss has a large impact on your business or it's a matter of national security or something, the wisest move is to go straight to the data recovery companies who have experts that can work on your problem.
But, if you think you know what you're doing and you have a technical background in computers and storage devices, then there are two options for you: purchase a data recovery software package or download a free data recovery utility online.
Obviously, there is a huge difference on the cost for each of these two. Software packages could be expensive but they could really offer a lot to the user. The freeware mostly downloadable on the Internet entails no cost although some authors ask for donations for their efforts to keep on going.
Now, let's say you accidentally formatted your drive and you have no backup. The freeware can help you recover them but you have to bear in mind a few things:
Stand up and leave that computer which uses the drive that needs the recovery system. You can't afford disk-swap activities that could damage the data even more.
Never install or download the free data recovery software from the same machine you want to recover data from. Go to another computer and save the program on a flash drive and run it directly from there.
Never save the recovered files on the same hard drive you recovered them from.
If the machine is making strange noises or is returning error messages, stop the installation. This could be a sign of hardware malfunction.
Follow the tips if you're planning to download free recovery software to address your data loss predicament. Remember to be cautious when getting freeware to avoid getting any more problems.
Be warned also about these websites that claim to give free data recovery programs, some could be deceiving. They would say the program is free but you'll soon find out that these are just demo versions and soon you will have to purchase the real thing to get the benefits or more features. The freeware that is genuinely free are those utilities you can download and really pay nothing for.
Performing data backups is a lot like buying life insurance: You hope that you never have to use it, but if disaster strikes you are so much better off because you followed through on it.
While many people find reasons not to perform backups, data backups are the center piece of a computer defense strategy, no matter if the defense is set against viruses, trojan horse programs, hackers, malicious software ("malware), or hardware failures.
A virus or Trojan Horse program trashed your machine? Restore your system from a backup and you are back in business once again.
A hacker penetrates your computer defenses and goofs with your system in such a way that you do not know what they did or what they left behind? No problem! Pull out your backup and restore your system.
Malicious software launching your web browser at random intervals and pointing it to rated X sites? If the malware proves to be resistant to your attempts to remove it using ad-ware removal software, you can always restore your system from a backup that you made.
Hard disk failure keeping you from booting your computer or accessing your data? Once again, it is the handy data backup to the rescue (once you have replaced your hard disk).
So with all of these benefits, why do people fail to make backups? Most likely because they think that backups are a real pain to make and maintain.
While keeping a recent backup of your data DOES take some effort, the fact is that there are many backup strategies available, and there is undoubtedly one that will work for you.
For example, if you want to be able to be up and running as quickly as possible after a data loss, you can make an entire image of your hard drive and store it in a safe place. If disaster strikes, you simply restore the entire hard disk image and your computer is returned to the state it was in at the point in time when the backup was made. This method is nice in that it does not take much time to restore your entire system (relatively speaking), but you do have to store the ENTIRE contents of your hard drive as part of the backup. This takes a non-trivial amount of time and also chews up a lot of storage space, especially as you make multiple backups. However, the arrival of affordable external hard drives with sizes as large as one terabyte of storage space (that is one million gigabytes!) is making this option more attractive all the time.
But for those who wish to keep backups that use less space and require less time to create, you can backup ONLY your data, rather than the entire drive. The down side to this, of course, is that in the event of a data loss, you have to manually reinstall your operating system and all of your applications before you can restore your data and resume working. You have to decide for yourself if this option works for you.
There are many other backup strategies that you can employ. Each one has its own strengths and weaknesses with respect to the amount of time required to create the backup, the amount of time required to restore the backup in the event of a loss, the amount of space required to hold the backup, and the amount of human intervention required to make or restore a backup. The trick then is to assess your needs and come up with a backup strategy that balances these strengths and weaknesses in a manner that makes sense for you.
It seems that in today's business environment, everything of any importance is stored and managed on the hard drive of your computer. Customer Records, Sales Records, Sales Records, Sales Records, Marketing Information, Receipts, Bank Records, and the Software to run all of those records. The list goes on and on, in fact without those records you would be out of business. There is no any way to over emphasis the need for good computer house keeping. Secure, safe and timely data backup is a necessity.
In my years in business, I have used various systems to back up my valuable files. I have used floppy discs and CDs. That made sense at the time, but what happens when someone accidentally spills the morning coffee on the top of the desk and warps the discs, or someone misplaces the data media, or even worse walks of with it.
Then, there is the tape back up that is supposed to be done in a timely manner each and every day. That for some reason seems to be one of the easiest things to forget to do, or even get neglected. We all have the best of intentions, but I have done it myself, once in awhile, it could be put off until later. I am sure that I am the only person who ever did that, right.
Then there is the employee who just hit the wrong key, or misplaced that file, and can not seem to find where it was filed. Too bad, that we had been working on the particular file for oh say, months. It seems that mistakes happen, but there are sometimes mistakes that can ruin a business. Some mistakes, it seems just can not to be recovered from. What about natural disasters like fire, flood, or an earthquake? It just does not make sense to have your valuable data stored on or near the location that it is generated in.
What I have found for my own peace of mind; is that a remote data backup site is imperative for my sanity. I have experienced various ways of loosing data, and crashing hard drives. The statement that there are those who have lost data, and those that will, is an absolute truth. This type of disaster can averted with forward thinking and proper planning.
So take the initiative, and seek a secure, reliable remote site backup, before the worst takes place, and you have a loss of data that you can not recover from.
The decision to use data recovery software versus the professional service of a data recovery company is one that should be weighed carefully. In extremely simple cases, the usage of data recovery software can be valuable. However, the use of recovery software often results in further damage to your hard-drive and permanent data loss. The software should only be used in extremely simple data recovery cases. If your drive is making any noise such as clicking or small vibrations then the case would not qualify as simple.
Most of the time a malfunctioning hard drive is the result of mechanical or electrical problems to the drive. In this case, data recovery software will do nothing but continue to spin the drive and result in further damage and possible permanent loss of data. Each hard drive contains spinning magnetic discs that hold all of your data. When software is used, the drive continues to spin, and if there is any sort of misalignment or electrical problem then the drive will simply be exposed to more forms of damage.
The best course of action to fix a damaged or malfunctioning drive is to discontinue use of the drive immediately. If the data on your computer is more valuable than the fees for a data recovery service, then it would be wise to seek expert advice. Unfortunately, many consumers are convinced to buy data recovery software simply because it is the cheapest method of attempted recovery. The software companies often do not disclose that their product often will result in further damage, and permanent loss of your valuable pictures of files. Most of the unrecoverable data problems that are sent to data recovery companies are the result of data recovery software or other utilities that have damaged the drive after a crash or malfunction.
Since a large majority of hard drive crashes are due to electrical and mechanical problems, the drive cannot be fixed with software. A data recovery company with expertly trained technicians must be used to give you the highest chance of recovering your files. Data recovery professionals charge fees that are much higher than data recovery software, but the service is also much more effective. If the data that you have lost is extremely important, it would be wise to invest in the money required to give yourself the best chance at a successful recovery.
The analogy is similar to a medical problem. The use of WebMD.com or any other medical advice website can sometimes be helpful for mild problems or symptoms. However, when you have experienced a serious medical condition you will obviously need to consult with a practicing medical doctor. It is more expensive, but the service customization and quality is at a vasty higher level. Data recovery service versus recovery software contains a very similar quality to cost ratio.
There seems to be some sort of misunderstanding or misinformation about various theories that are supposedly ways to recover data from a broken hard drive. One of the most popular rumors is basically that freezing a hard drive that has failed will result in the drive becoming more stable and allowing you to possible run the drive. The basic theory is that an extremely cold drive will be able to run long enough to possibly allow you access to your files to retrieve them. The internet is littered with stories of people who say it works, and have tried it, and other people who have tried it with no success.
The truth of the matter is that it can possibly work, but only on very old drives, and in very specific situations. Freezing a drive, in the majority of data recovery cases, will actually result in further data loss and damage to the drive. The specific situation where freezing a drive can possibly churn some more life out of your drive is a head crash. Unfortunately for most people, there will be no way for the individual to tell if their drive has experienced a head crash with any certainty. Additionally, freezing a drive in the case of a head crash simply leads to a microscopic shrinking effect of the mechanical parts, which will un stick the platters long enough to run the drive temporarily.
The main point is that freezing your hard drive can most likely result in even worse damage and further data loss. If that data that you are trying to recover is extremely valuable, then any sort of action without the guidance of a professional is a step in the wrong direction. Even if the drive works for 30 seconds or 10 minutes, you can be further damaging the hard drive in the process and permanently losing precious data. A data recovery case that is completely recoverable can quickly turn into disaster when methods such as freezing the drive are used.
The most common problem that data recovery companies run into when trying to recover valuable data is that the user has tried the use of home methods or data recovery software. This is not to say that these methods never work, but when they don't work the drive will often be damaged beyond the point of recoverability. Every extra second that the drive runs results in a higher and higher chance of complete failure. If the drive in question contains information that is extremely valuable it is not advisable to take serious risks with the data because one wrong step can result in permanent data loss.
The issue eventually comes down to how valuable the data is that you are trying to recover from a hard drive. If the specific situation involves data that is not very valuable, there is justification to try a risky method such as freezing, even If the success rate is less than ideal. However, when the data is extremely valuable, or you are using a new age hard drive, these methods do not work reliably and professional assistance from a data recovery company should be sought.
With new regulations in play more and more companies are considering backup HIPAA data offsite solutions. In some cases it's the law and in other's our health records are one thing most of us want to keep private. The reason for this consideration involves the HIPAA legislation, its effects on the health care industry, what those effects mean for data storage, and what medical offices need to consider. By reviewing this information on backup HIPAA data offsite storage, you may be better prepared to make choices about your storage solutions.
To understand the issue, you may need background on the HIPAA legislation. HIPAA, or the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, became law in 1996. The purpose of the law was to ensure people would maintain health care coverage if they changed jobs. However, Title II of the law dealt with Administrative Simplification, specifically how to deal with electronic data about health care. Obviously, the passage of the law had a drastic effect on the health care industry. And probably more importantly paved the way for an increase in backup HIPAA data offsite providers.
Because of the Administrative Simplification portion of the law, medical facilities today must take great care when dealing with a patient's electronic files. For example, HIPAA required a hierarchical approach to data access. Physicians might be able to access patient information that would not be available to the nurse. Protecting the data from unauthorized access became crucial. As a result, the law has affected the way data storage backups are handled in the medical field. As a consequence backup HIPAA data offsite services have had to adjust there service offerings.
Today, data storage for these facilities must be carefully controlled. HIPAA requires that all of the data be backed up and that data must be secured with 100% reliability. The government wants to make sure no one gets into your personal medical records. That means, however, that backup HIPAA data offsite storage facilities must take special precautions to ensure the service they provide meets these requirements.
If you're looking for offsite-backup for HIPAA data storage, you should look for a few factors. Make sure to find out if the storage service specializes in this type of data storage. There are many that do. You should also ask about the back up process, security, and storage to make sure you are comfortable with how the data will be handled.
Exabyte is the original brand in high capacity 8mm magnetic tape storage technology. Exabyte Corporation introduced helical scan recording technology in the late 1980s and was widely recognised at the time as a reliable, cost effective format which offered high speed read/write capabilities and a wide range of native capacities and formats. The Exabyte 8mm data storage tape was the first time that helical scan technology had been used for data storage, and was mechanically identical to the widely used 8mm video format technology found in the Professional Media and broadcasting market. Due to its heritage with Sony, Exabyte 8mm technology shares similar mechanical components found in home video systems but on a slightly smaller scale.
Helical scan is an older style method of recording data onto a slow moving magnetic tape which uses a rapidly rotating read/write head. The data is recorded onto diagonal tracks, which are at an angle to the edge of the tape. After loading into a drive, the tape is pulled from the cartridge and wrapped around the read/write head, which rotates at around 30 metres per second. While the Sony AIT family also uses the same 8mm technology as the Exabyte range, they are not compatible with one another.
In its hey-day the helical scan 8mm technology was for a time at the forefront of this sector in the market due to data transfer rates of around 240KB per second and initial storage capacity of 2.4GB. It has however, since been surpassed by linear recording technology. The newer linear recording technology allows for faster reads and writes, lower search latency, and is the technology that has been widely adopted across all sectors of data storage.
What is Linear Recording?
Linear (or longitudinal) recording is a method of recording data whereby tape is passed by a non-moving recording head. The tracks are recorded parallel to the tape edge.
Why migrate from Exabyte 8mm Technology
Exabyte 8mm data storage technology has now reached EOL (end of life). Although designed primarily for a domestic camcorder market and not for the commercial data storage market, the Exabyte format became incredibly popular in the commercial sector during the 1980s and 1990s because of its relatively low-cost drives and tape media. As a result of this popularity, a broader, more comprehensive adoption of the technology occurred than perhaps strategically suited the technology. It is only in recent years as the technology was nearing retirement (EOL), that many clients have discovered that the economic advantages of the technology heralded in the early days was now showing signs of decreased reliability also and therefore resulting in data loss.
This type of aging 8mm is now becoming the new "9 track" legacy migration requirement. Unfortunately it also comes with new issues and problems which can make it very difficult or impossible to recover data from. Traditionally, 9 track tapes have presented problems for data migration, but with the implementation of binder hardening processes, specialist software and multiple reads of exercised tapes, the data in 99% of cases can be recovered.
Data stored on 8mm technology may not be so lucky. Why? From our experience we believe there are many factors which place data stored on this technology at risk. These are as follows:
Tape Width
With the exception of 4mm DAT tapes, Exabyte 8mm tape technology is the narrowest commercial data storage tape introduced to the market. In comparison, most of the tape in today's cartridges are 25mm wide. The narrowness of the tape equates to a weaker, less robust tape that results in stress and damage more readily, particularly over time and number of physical tape loads.
Dual Reel Architecture
The dual-reel cartridge architecture of the 8mm Exabyte technology is not the most ideal form. The complexity of the configuration makes it much more susceptible to physical defects and problems such as looping within the tape spools. This inturn causes inconsistencies in the tension of the media, resulting in damage to the tape media in the form of creases, nicks, folds, crushed, stretched and snapped media. Obviously not ideal!! Closed cartridges in this format result in a "if you can't see it, you can't fix it" scenario. The now more commonly implemented open reel architecture used with LTO and 3590 media overcomes the difficulties that are encountered with forms such as Exabyte.
Limited Head Adjustments
The tape drives are limited to the number of head adjustments which can be made while reading data. If there was a skew of any kind on the original drive which wrote the data, and that skew cannot be replicated by a head adjustment on the new drive, then it is unlikely it can be recovered. In addition, the multiple reading of the tape at different head settings and the constant stopping and starting can cause stress on the tape and result in snapping or damage.
Internal Drive Settings
Certain types of 8mm Exabyte drives allowed the creation of different partitions within a tape cartridge, through the use of internal drive settings. Often these were specific to certain organisations or departments only and this information is not easily obtained or second guessed during a recovery or migration process.
No Longer Supported By Manufacturer
As a data storage technology which has reached EOL, this means that it is no longer supported by the manufacturer. In fact the original drive and media manufacturer Exabyte were bought by Tandberg in 2006. This means that there are very few new drives available for purchase, nor spares readily available for maintenance and repair of existing drives. From our own experience, even to purchase older working drives is becoming increasingly difficult. Once a common item on eBay Australia, they are now rarely seen or available.
Type of Data Held On Exabyte Technology
Using the oil and gas industry as a prime example, the type of data stored in Exabyte 8mm technology was largely processed data. This means it has had substantial value added to the raw data, and therefore small losses of data can be more significant.
Density
In comparison to storage technology which is readily available today, Exabyte tapes hold very little data. An average holding of 1000 Exabyte cartridges would now quite easily fit onto 5 or 6 LTO tapes which in addition to the main advantage of data security and longevity, also represents savings in ongoing storage and retrieval costs.
In addition, as one media cartridge can be written to on many drives, there is a higher chance of there being a compatibility issue for users with regards to data density.
Brand Differences in Media
As always in a competitive market, there were quality products and inferior quality products and by this we refer to the media brand which were compatible with this technology. Largely due to the manufacturing process of 8mm tape and how the end products were distributed for rebadging and resale, there are significant differences in the reliability of different brands. The brand of media storing your data should be an important consideration when planning for its migration to newer technology - with the inferior cartridges taking priority where possible.
How To Take Corrective Action
An audit and data migration plan, if required, should take into account the following factors:
- How much data do you have stored on 8mm technology?
- How many cartridges are there?
- How/where are they stored?
- What brands of media were used to record the data? (Some will have priority, some may last a little longer)
- What type of data is residing on these tapes? (Is it field data, processed data or other data)
- How often are the tapes tested for restoration of data? (Have you already encountered problems with restoring data?)
- Do you even still have the tape drive to read the tapes on?
- Do you have problems with your drives?
Conclusion
Exabyte technology is not considered an ideal choice for archival and backup data - even for small/medium sized organisations which generally do not have the budgets to purchase expensive, state of the art high capacity storage technology. The retired drives (and tape media) can be unreliable, are prone to physical damage and stress, and as a storage technology choice are now considered a very low capacity legacy technology.
The recommended migration path for data stored on 8mm technology is to either 3592 media, which is now industry standard within the oil and gas sector, or to LTO technology for other types of industry. With the current rise in popularity of the LTO format, this enterprise level media solution is now more affordable allowing SMB/SME users to exploit its large volume and reliability. This makes it an ideal replacement for the aging Exabyte media format. Both types of media are widely used and are readily available.
Once you have selected the right company to entrust your data with, it is time to scrutinize them with the requirements below to ensure that you are getting a good deal.
When making the major decision to get data recovery services, know your rights. Ask what is their data recovery success rate. You do not want to be going through evaluation and shipping for nothing even when it is paid by the recovery company.
No obligation free evaluation fees. Your data recovery company should be able to tell you how likely your data is to be recovered based on the damage on the hard disk.
Then, if you should decide to give the data recovery provider the go ahead, they will clone the system and begin attempting to retrieve the data that is on your hard drive. This is for safety purpose that another recovery attempt can be done if the first one fail.
Complimentary shipping to and from their facilities. Specialists do not require your entire computer to recover your data. All you got to do is simply ship your hard drive to them and they will retrieve the data from it.
Extra precaution should be taken when shipping your hard drive. For example, if it is damage by water, it should be shipped wet by covering it with a damp cloth. Also, you might want to put it in a shock proof tight container so that the hard disk do not get damage even more is handled roughly during shipping. However, avoid using styrofoam container when shipping as it can create static electricity that can damage the data.
If your computer is still under warranty, a data recovery attempt may void the warranty you have with the manufacturer. Honoring a drive manufacturer warranty may cause delays in recovering the data. If they do not provide you a clear warranty statement, you may have to purchase a new hard drive after your data is recovered.
Does your data recovery company offer 24 / 7 telephone-based personal support? Better still, this number should be toll-free too. Apart from that, a 24 / 7 online case status reporting ensure that you can track the progress of your case and a dedicated case manager can answer all the questions and ease all the concerns that you may have.
Laptops and notebooks can also have data recovered from them, but the process is different as the parts were way smaller. The main difference is that these computers require smaller tools in order to recover the data due to its mini size. Ask your data recovery company if they can handle this.
Can your data remain confidential? Ask this question when selecting a trustable company. Going to an established company with good credibility will help in this situation.
How will your data be returned to you? Depending on the volume, your data can be returned in the form of a CD, DVD, loan or replacement hard drive. A free disc is usually the norm. As a basic requirement, your data should be returned on media that you can easily access and integrate into your existing system.
Make sure that your newly restored data is covered by a warranty. If you later find any problem with it, you can always refer back to the data recovery company.
A clear time frame for getting your data back. Although data recovery can be done in as little 24 hours to 5 days, the evaluation process can take several days to weeks, and it may or may not be successful after all.
If they cannot get your data back you should not be charged for the service.
Data recovery at home using software are the cheapest and easiest way around, but does it really work? You may be tempted to DIY instead of paying hundreds and even thousands of dollars for professional data recovery service, but let's not forget that these professionals remained in demand despite their exorbitant fee and the various related software available in the market.
Two problems can arise from doing doing a DIY data recovery. One, you could have selected a poor software and the data recovery is not successful, greatly lowering the chances of the salvaging the data in subsequent effort. Two, you may have a powerful tool in hand, but it is so powerful and complex, it is most probably meant for professionals.
So as you can see, attempting to recover data on your own is no easy feat, even when you are knowledgeable with computers. Even the pros need sophisticated machines and special room and spending a lot of time and effort to delicately extract information from a corrupted hard disk. While software are created with good intention, many things could go wrong.
You should probably go ahead with software when you meet these all these three criteria:
Make sure you are excellent and well-versed with computers (and familiar with your type and year of your computer). Say for example you are an expert in today's latest computer parts but your model was phased out last year, you could be looking at a totally different thing altogether.
Ensure that your software company is helpful, preferably with live chat so you don't have to submit trouble ticket and wait hours upon hours for reply. Also, you should be following instructions that come with the software carefully and ask questions when in doubt. If the product website offer step-by-step video instruction, even better. This ensure that the product work as claimed and you get a look at how complicated it is to use before buying.
Thirdly, you must be prepared or be able to afford not seeing those data ever again. This seem ironic since the goal is to get them back. Even with professional intervention, the odds of recovery in 80-85%, although a part of this is because they sometimes work on data that failed to be recovered the first time. If loss of data means financial loss, or not getting that multi billion dollar project or contain sentimental value contents, your best bet is to NOT do it yourself.
It is crucial that if you are able to complete a scan of the failing hard drive, the recovered files are not saved back to the hard drive you are trying to recover. If you do that, the saved recovered files on the source drive could overwrite other files you are trying to recover.
Before you proceed to paying for the software, do a background search on search engine to read unsolicited feedbacks (those listed on the software site don't count). Type name of product + scam to read the bad things written about it, and whether ot not the problem gets rectified in the end. If so, how long does it get rectified? Was the software company helpful and offered help? You get the picture.
Also, if you intend to go ahead with a software, make sure they offer money back guarantee in case they don't work. You don't want to be paying for nothing. If the site does not mention anything about a return, then forget about it.
If you have experienced inability to retrieve stored files from your computer, chances are you may have a data crash. This could happen due to physical or logical problem with your hard drive.
Physical refers to external damage to the hard drive component such as platter, circuit board failure and motor malfunction. Logical problems are internal failures due to virus attack and accidentally deletion of files and so on.
How to tell if you are facing possible data crash? You can usually know by strange noises produced by your computer, such as grinding, scraping, buzzing and clicking.
The above symptoms are indicating the possibility of a head crash. Because hard drive have an operational spinning speed of 3600 to 15000 RPM, severe damage can be done in a very short amount of time. This can result in damage to the head, loss of data and damage to disk surface or a combination of all three.
In this event, you will have to act instantly to firstly avoid further damage to your stored data and secondly, to preserve the damage in its original state. The first thing you want to do is to power off immediately. Do not even use the 'shut down' command, just switch off from the main source. This is because if you shut down, temporary files could overwrite any precious data.
Even if you are working on a particularly important document at the time of the crash, do not attempt to edit, save or retrieve anything. Remember that your hard drive could be severly corrupted very quickly and the goal here is to preserve the original state of the damage in order to recover not one, but all your files.
If your computer tell you that it cannot detect the hard disk, refrain from rebooting repeatedly especially if you face the same outcome after the initial reboot. If there has been a data crash, you risk damaging the head by having it scratching against the disk, damaging the disk surface at the same time.
The greater the damage, the lesser your chance in recovering your data. However, in approximately 80% of the time, data recovery is possible.
