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Your Hard Disk Failed... Don't Panic!
By
Emanuele Allenti
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Inability to access your data
stored on the data storage device could be caused by many
reasons, from those that are easy to fix to those which
are completely impossible to fix. If the damage is
irreversible then data loss will occur. The causes of the
failure of your hard drive or CD-ROM drive could vary from
a bad connection due to a loose wire (which is easily
recoverable) to damage to the media itself, which could
still be recoverable in many cases.
As in the medical profession, the first principle of data
recovery is: "do not harm".
If you are facing a data loss situation, what not to do is
very important!
- Do not power up a device that has obvious physical
damage.
- Do not power up a device that has shown symptoms of
physical failure. For example, disks that make
"obvious mechanical fault noises" such as
ticking or grinding, should not be repeatedly powered on
and tested as it just makes them worse.
- Activate the write-protect switch or tab on any problem
removable media such as tape cartridges and floppies.
(Many good backups are overwritten during a crisis.)
- Do not use free software. This is very important. Free
data recovery software can be extremely dangerous and ruin
your chances for a successful data recovery. Many
companies offer free data recovery software -- also called
Do-It-Yourself (DIY) data recovery software -- available
for download on their website.
Even the best programs only work in very specific
situations. While these free tools that are available may
help, they usually only help if you are encountering one
of a very few specific data loss situations.
Some programs may cause further or permanent data loss.
While these programs are provided with good intention,
even when carefully used these utilities may cause
recoverable data to be permanently lost and may cause the
loss of additional data.
Anyway, there is something you CAN do; if you are having
data access problems and your media has no symptoms of
physical failure or damage, try and check some obvious
issues before deciding if you need data recovery:
- Are the power and disk cables properly connected?
- Is configuration or disk information correct?
- Try the defective unit with a different
adapter/controller interface or on a different computer.
- Is there an experienced technician at a local store or
the company help desk that you can consult, if these steps
are beyond your capabilities? (Make sure whoever is in
contact with your data loss situation is fully aware that
they should do nothing during their troubleshooting that
will risk hurting your data.)
Doesn't work? Don't panic; if the damage occurred to the
drive's electronics, it most likely could be fixed. If the
damage occurred to the, for example, system areas of the
disk, leaving the data zone intact, those data could be
theoretically, and (in some cases) practically, recovered
by a professional.
Look on the Net for data recovery companies, ask them
questions, explain them your situation. In most cases they
will be able to understand your problem and fix it for a
fair price.
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About
The Author
Emanuele
Allenti is the owner of Backup
and data recover tips, a website with
useful information written by experts for
those interested in backup and data
recovery |
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