Backup - The MOST important computer task
Driving with a flat tire is ill-advised. Computing without a backup can be much more troublesome.
Things you don't care about - but you SHOULD know
Terms - concepts the consumer should understand
Logical failure - easily confused with a bad drive, logical failures can show many symptoms, including but not limited to, failure to boot, unable to read partitions and files, unrecognizable by OS (no drive letter) This is typically the easiest failure to diagnose and repair and should cost a small fraction of an open-case evaluation. Can be caused viruses, malware, power surges and brown-outs. Some logical problems can have physical causes at their root (bad sectors, write-errors) and may still be recoverable with logical techniques and tools.
Physical failure - the most severe type, involves mechanical or electronic failure of the drive itself. Most physical problems are the result of damaged disk due to abuse, wear, and excessive write operations. Other damage occurs to the electronic controller card attached to the drive. Many time, despite the damaged drive, data can be recovered, in part or in whole thru the use of open-case techniques and tools. This is the most specialized recovery process, and therefore the most expensive. Less than 10% of drive failure fall into his category, yet victims pay the same amount to recover their data.
Data recovery - the act of finding data in a place where it was lost before. Most of the time (+90%) the data was lost due to a corrupt, master file table (MFT). This happens quite often, and many times is due to virus and malware damage, power issues during an MFT write operation, and sector flaws on the drive itself can cause the MFT to be corrupted and therefore unrecognizable. Other causes include: boot record failure, OS failure, and the worst and rarest form - mechanical, or physical failure. All these forms of data loss should be recoverable, given that the drive was not tampered with too extensively after the loss. For up-to-the-minute information on everything data, check out Disk Drive Planet for news you can use, and the cutting edge of data recovery.
Master File Table (MFT) - a Windows file that is the key index of an NTFS volume. The corruption or scrambling of the MFT is the second leading cause of data loss currently. The corruption in the file table comes during write operations or other errors that may cause the table to be unreadable without special tools and training. This problem is relatively easily diagnosed and cured within a few hours.
Directory - an invisible Mac file that lists the files and folders on a Mac harddrive. Corruption or scrambling of the Directory is the second leading cause of data loss. Corruption in the directory happens during write operations or other errors that can make it unreadable. DiskWarrior (alsoft.com $100) is the best choice for repairing the directory.
Boot record - the primary cause of all logical errors, and thus also the primary cause of all data loss. This is one of the easiest and fastest techniques, and one of the most overlooked and potentially most costly overall because of ignorance of general public about the specifics and the truth about data recovery ,
Options - the consumer has many options when it comes to recovering data, including DIY options such as recovery software that will help identify lost records. Caution must be used when attempting a recovery on any system. The best way to prevent loss in any system is to 'mirror' the drive, or make a carbon copy of the contents. Never recover data TO the drive you are reading, this can cause further damage and loss. If you are not sure, always consult a professional
Logical failure - easily confused with a bad drive, logical failures can show many symptoms, including but not limited to, failure to boot, unable to read partitions and files, unrecognizable by OS (no drive letter) This is typically the easiest failure to diagnose and repair and should cost a small fraction of an open-case evaluation. Can be caused viruses, malware, power surges and brown-outs. Some logical problems can have physical causes at their root (bad sectors, write-errors) and may still be recoverable with logical techniques and tools.
Physical failure - the most severe type, involves mechanical or electronic failure of the drive itself. Most physical problems are the result of damaged disk due to abuse, wear, and excessive write operations. Other damage occurs to the electronic controller card attached to the drive. Many time, despite the damaged drive, data can be recovered, in part or in whole thru the use of open-case techniques and tools. This is the most specialized recovery process, and therefore the most expensive. Less than 10% of drive failure fall into his category, yet victims pay the same amount to recover their data.
Data recovery - the act of finding data in a place where it was lost before. Most of the time (+90%) the data was lost due to a corrupt, master file table (MFT). This happens quite often, and many times is due to virus and malware damage, power issues during an MFT write operation, and sector flaws on the drive itself can cause the MFT to be corrupted and therefore unrecognizable. Other causes include: boot record failure, OS failure, and the worst and rarest form - mechanical, or physical failure. All these forms of data loss should be recoverable, given that the drive was not tampered with too extensively after the loss. For up-to-the-minute information on everything data, check out Disk Drive Planet for news you can use, and the cutting edge of data recovery.
Master File Table (MFT) - a Windows file that is the key index of an NTFS volume. The corruption or scrambling of the MFT is the second leading cause of data loss currently. The corruption in the file table comes during write operations or other errors that may cause the table to be unreadable without special tools and training. This problem is relatively easily diagnosed and cured within a few hours.
Directory - an invisible Mac file that lists the files and folders on a Mac harddrive. Corruption or scrambling of the Directory is the second leading cause of data loss. Corruption in the directory happens during write operations or other errors that can make it unreadable. DiskWarrior (alsoft.com $100) is the best choice for repairing the directory.
Boot record - the primary cause of all logical errors, and thus also the primary cause of all data loss. This is one of the easiest and fastest techniques, and one of the most overlooked and potentially most costly overall because of ignorance of general public about the specifics and the truth about data recovery ,
Options - the consumer has many options when it comes to recovering data, including DIY options such as recovery software that will help identify lost records. Caution must be used when attempting a recovery on any system. The best way to prevent loss in any system is to 'mirror' the drive, or make a carbon copy of the contents. Never recover data TO the drive you are reading, this can cause further damage and loss. If you are not sure, always consult a professional