We've all been using
computers for a while now and I bet none of us have been spared from at least
one data loss related problem in our technical "career". Data is so
easily losable that you're practically forced to make backups for everything you
have, for obvious safety reasons. Data loss can occur due to several reasons,
including:
- Physical damage - when
your data storage unit gets physically damaged, data recovery is often
difficult. Physical damage can translate into a badly scratched CD or DVD containing
essential data, a failing hard disk head or motor and so forth. Physical damage
can be avoided, but you can never really protect yourself from it 100%. A hard
disk for example, can break down due to aging, constant workload and so forth.
CDs and DVDs aren't fully protected even if you keep them in the cleanest,
scratch-free conditions possible.
- Logical damage -
logical data damage takes place at file structure level as opposed to physical
level. Logical damage is more common, as it can be caused by numerous
additional factors such as power outages, system crashes, driver problems, RAID
controller issues and so forth.
- Human error - human
error factors include everything from "oops, I accidentally pressed
delete" to overwriting files, moving them around, formatting over
essential files and so forth. Basically, of the three types of data loss
causes, human error ones are the easiest to avoid and yet they are the most
common, because of the users' low computer skills, impatience or forgetfulness.
Sure, if you're a simple
user that lost some important data, you won't really be interested in knowing
WHY you lost it, but rather if you can get it back. Still, data recovery may
often depend on the "WHY you lost it" factor. And unfortunately, in
some rare cases, data recovery becomes impossible and the most common of data
loss categories is the physical damage one.
If your hard disk blows
up on you, there's absolutely nothing to be done about it and no specialized
data recovery program or data recovery professional will be able to help you
out. But not all hardware (physical) problems fall into this category. For
example, a hard disk with a failing motor still holds a chance for data
recovery, whereas if the section that holds the logical data gets burnt out or magnetized,
you most likely have no chance of getting anything back. Some physical problems
may be partially fixed, with only a part of the data being recovered. Although
this is never a reason to cheer for, you can at least scavenge up some of your
lost data.
The easiest type of data
loss to recover is, fortunately, the one falling under the human error category
(fortunately - because this is also the most common). When you delete a file
from your operating system, it won't show up in the file structure anymore, but
that doesn't mean it's gone forever. What the operating system does, is store
away that file on a specific sector of your hard disk, where it is held for
sake keeping. The only way you can truly delete these files is by overwriting
that sector with new data, over and over again. That's why time is an important
factor when it comes to data recovery. If you deleted a file yesterday for
example, chances are that your system didn't overwrite it with anything else in
that "safe closet" on your hard disk. However, if you deleted it last
year and subsequently deleted, overwritten and moved files around your hard
disk since then, chances are data recovery becomes impossible.
Fraser Wheaton is a data
recovery expert and owner of the [http://www.RecoverMyFile.net] website.
We can help get back any
file you have deleted or lost.
[http://www.RecoverMyFile.net]
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