Examining the Evaluation Process that Precedes Data Recovery

Autor: jameswalsh
 
Considering data is so important and data loss common, it is no wonder that data recovery is in constant demand. Data recovery is a precise and painstaking procedure and is best carried out by professionals. It can also be extremely expensive but, since data is valuable, companies justify the cost. If data recovery is not carried out in a proper manner, there is the danger of losing data permanently.

Data Loss

Data loss can occur due to different reasons. Natural disasters like fire, floods, hurricanes, earthquakes etc. can strike unexpectedly and can destroy data. Data loss can also occur due to technical reasons. Computer viruses and worms are common problems that users face, leading to data loss. Head crashes, circuit board shorts, electrostatic shocks, power surges, over heating etc. are other reasons causing data loss. Backup media are not very hardy and media degradation oftentimes leads to data loss.

Statistics reveal that hardware malfunction accounts for 44% of all data loss. User error at 32%, software corruption at 14%, computer viruses at 7% and natural disasters at 3% are the most common causes of data loss. When data is lost due to different causes, there is no generic recovery process. The different problems have to be resolved in a different manner. Therefore, it is advisable to call in an expert to evaluate the damage before data is recovered.

Data Loss Tips

When damage is caused to a computer and data is lost, it is easy for a user to panic and try and rectify the situation in a haphazard manner. However, this can lead to permanent data loss. It is important to keep a few points in mind if and when data loss occurs. A user should never presume that data is lost for good, no matter what the extent of damage is. It is not advisable to shake or remove a damaged hard drive. One must not attempt to dry a wet hard drive or data source by exposing it to a heat source, such as a hair dryer. Using utility software maintenance tools to repair damaged drives will only make it worse. Attempting to clean a hard drive in an effort to restore data is also a bad idea.

Evaluating Data Loss

Data recovery involves salvaging data from inaccessible, formatted, damaged, failed or wrecked primary storage media. In the event of data disasters, data is salvaged from storage media like hard disk drives, pen drives, digital cards, storage tapes, CDS, DVDs, RAID etc. Data recovery can be a simple process or extremely complex. To determine whether it is simple or complex and what procedures it would necessitate, carrying out an evaluation, before data recovery is important.

Evaluating the damage will allow a recovery expert to ascertain the cost involved, so the user can decide if the data is worth recovering. When a hard drive crashes there can be more than one solution for data recovery. One can either decide to go in for a simple hard disk recovery and recover as much data as is available. However, if the drive has been extensively damaged and the spinning platters are corrupted, then a recovery expert will have to use highly sophisticated and expensive machinery to decipher and solve the problem.

To prevent the damage of a hard drive from getting worse, data recovery companies carry out the evaluation in clean rooms. These clean rooms are specially constructed rooms which are temperature-controlled and filtered to minimise the dust particles present. These rooms also have state-of-the-art equipment to perform repairs. It is only after a rather painstaking and extensive evaluation, the experts give a client a report and the approximate cost.

Post-evaluation

Most reputed companies carry out an evaluation before taking on a recovery job. Since the Data Recovery industry is so competitive, every data recovery company tries to offer a value addition for potential customers. A free evaluation is part of their relationship-building exercise. They understand that if a customer is happy with their report, then they will get the business. The cost of evaluation is a fraction when compared to the cost of the actual data recovery. Therefore, in the long run, it makes business sense to offer the evaluation as a free service.
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