The Data Recovery Process
The Data Recovery Process Data recovery is the process of obtaining data from damaged or corrupted media when it cannot be accessed normally.
Generally speaking, nowadays data is recovered from hard disk drives, USB flash drives, CDs, DVDs, raid, and other storage media.
Usually the reason the data has become corrupted is because it was either physically damaged, such as being dropped on the ground and shocking the actual media, or because of a surge of electricity, such as static electricity.
In today's fast-paced computerized world, it is important to have an efficient means of recovering your data.
Data can include everything from cherished family photos, important legal documents, or proprietary company information.
There are several different methods of actually recovering data, and I will be briefly going through several of the most common ones below.
Data Recovery: Method One - Corrupt Operating System In some cases, it is the operating system that is actually corrupt.
What this means is that the user cannot get access to their files simply because the computer will not actually start.
The files themselves are perfectly intact, however they are currently inaccessible because of a corrupt operating system.
Usually the process involves having a host computer that hooks up to the target computer.
The operating system on the host computer is perfectly fine.
This way, a data recovery expert can obtain the data on the target computer by accessing files on the actual hard drive.
A second method simply involves having a bootable CD or DVD that you insert into the target computer.
Then, when the target computer starts up, you simply copy the files that are of importance to other storage media.
Data Recovery: Method two - Corrupt Data The second type of data recovery is when you actually have a disk level failure, such as a compromised file system, disk partition, or the like.
Generally speaking, you can use a software-based tool that will manually go through and analyze the data on a sector by sector basis, and put files together.
For example, if the FAT table has been corrupted on a Windows-based system, it is possible to find out which clusters correspond to particular files through other means.
In other cases, the software will simply guess what data should be there, or will stitch together the parts of the data that it can recover, and move them to a different location on the hard drive.
Method Three - Deleted Files A third method simply involves recovering data that has been deleted from storage media.
On most Windows-based systems, when you delete the file, it is not actually deleted.
Windows simply puts in a marker that the file has been deleted.
So, using software, it is possible to actually just reconstruct the first part of the file, the file name, and/or other parts of the file and then you will obtain for access to the missing files.
Method Four - Physical Damage When you have actual physical damage to the hardware, such as scratched CD-ROMs, or when there is a malfunction on the circuit board or platter, there are several different recovery techniques.
The common involves sending the device to a data recovery company where they will take it in a clean room and replace any parts on the drive that have malfunctioned.
Another technique involves putting a fluid on scratched CDs, so that they become readable.
With the right combination of software, knowledge and tools one can recover their data but it is recommended that to the delicate hands of a professional.
Generally speaking, nowadays data is recovered from hard disk drives, USB flash drives, CDs, DVDs, raid, and other storage media.
Usually the reason the data has become corrupted is because it was either physically damaged, such as being dropped on the ground and shocking the actual media, or because of a surge of electricity, such as static electricity.
In today's fast-paced computerized world, it is important to have an efficient means of recovering your data.
Data can include everything from cherished family photos, important legal documents, or proprietary company information.
There are several different methods of actually recovering data, and I will be briefly going through several of the most common ones below.
Data Recovery: Method One - Corrupt Operating System In some cases, it is the operating system that is actually corrupt.
What this means is that the user cannot get access to their files simply because the computer will not actually start.
The files themselves are perfectly intact, however they are currently inaccessible because of a corrupt operating system.
Usually the process involves having a host computer that hooks up to the target computer.
The operating system on the host computer is perfectly fine.
This way, a data recovery expert can obtain the data on the target computer by accessing files on the actual hard drive.
A second method simply involves having a bootable CD or DVD that you insert into the target computer.
Then, when the target computer starts up, you simply copy the files that are of importance to other storage media.
Data Recovery: Method two - Corrupt Data The second type of data recovery is when you actually have a disk level failure, such as a compromised file system, disk partition, or the like.
Generally speaking, you can use a software-based tool that will manually go through and analyze the data on a sector by sector basis, and put files together.
For example, if the FAT table has been corrupted on a Windows-based system, it is possible to find out which clusters correspond to particular files through other means.
In other cases, the software will simply guess what data should be there, or will stitch together the parts of the data that it can recover, and move them to a different location on the hard drive.
Method Three - Deleted Files A third method simply involves recovering data that has been deleted from storage media.
On most Windows-based systems, when you delete the file, it is not actually deleted.
Windows simply puts in a marker that the file has been deleted.
So, using software, it is possible to actually just reconstruct the first part of the file, the file name, and/or other parts of the file and then you will obtain for access to the missing files.
Method Four - Physical Damage When you have actual physical damage to the hardware, such as scratched CD-ROMs, or when there is a malfunction on the circuit board or platter, there are several different recovery techniques.
The common involves sending the device to a data recovery company where they will take it in a clean room and replace any parts on the drive that have malfunctioned.
Another technique involves putting a fluid on scratched CDs, so that they become readable.
With the right combination of software, knowledge and tools one can recover their data but it is recommended that to the delicate hands of a professional.
