Why You Should Avoid DIY Data Recovery
If there is one truth about computers and hard drives, it’s that they eventually fail. Programs will unexpectedly quit and leave you with no access to critical files. Computer viruses, natural disasters, or accident-prone employees may eventually make their way into your workplace. It’s important to have backups ready. If that’s not possible, knowing what to do next can be a big plus.
The first thing to understand is that time is of the essence with data recovery. It’s important not to wait to address the issue. If the hard drive was impacted by water damage or a virus for example, waiting that extra time can make the data in question more difficult to recover. Waiting and continuing to use the computer in question can also complicate recovery methods and reduce the chances of success.
Don’t Be Lured by DIY Data Recovery Methods
A Google search on data recovery will provide you with all sorts of software options for attempting DIY data recovery. While in some cases these methods might be successful, it’s what happens when they are not successful that should be a concern.
When your data goes missing, it’s often still on the computer, just in a location that’s not immediately findable. Downloading anything, and that includes data recovery software, increases the chance that your computer will write over the data that you are trying to recover, in which case it’ll be much more difficult (and more expensive) to recover on a second attempt.
Attempting any sort of physical recovery can be damaging, too. Opening a hard drive can result in dust or air particles getting stuck to sensitive equipment, complicating the problem as well. This equipment remains extremely sensitive to the outside elements.
Determine What Happened
Sometimes it’s easy to tell what happened. The signs of a power surge or some sort of physical damage to the drive might be obvious. But a virus or files that are simply missing might be a little more subtle and nuanced. Once you determine what occurred, you can take note of what files are missing. The more you understand at this point, the better.
Stop What You’re Doing and Shut the Computer Down
If you try to work through a hard drive malfunction you may risk doing more damage to the computer and making files more difficult to recover. This is why it’s important at the first sign of trouble to stop using it and power it down.
The Best Thing You Can Do Is Contact a Data Recovery Specialist
Look for a data recovery specialist with a clean room, and that values research and development. These are signs that they are serious about creating the right environment for sensitive computer repairs and understand that the field is constantly evolving with new equipment and new threats. At We Recover Data, we are constantly doing everything we can to stay on top of this evolving field. If you have a hard drive that’s stopped working or lost access to vital data, shut down your equipment and contact us today!
Flood or Water Damage Data Recovery: What You Need to Know
Whether it’s hurricanes, thunderstorms, another natural disaster, or faulty pipes, thousands of homes and businesses are impacted by water damage every year. Computers are extremely sensitive to water, and if they get wet it can result in damaged hardware and inevitable data loss. Flood or water damage data recovery can be complex, but it is possible.
Hopefully, all business-critical files will have been backed up. But if not, the files may still be retrievable from the water-damaged hard drives.
You’ll Have to Act Fast
There’s no question, discovering standing water in your home or business can be a stressful event. It’s worth noting that if any computer equipment or cords are submerged underneath standing water, you’ll want to shut off the electricity within the home or business as a safety precaution. You’ll also want to make sure your equipment is unplugged.
There’s a lot to worry about in these scenarios. You’ll want to do everything you can to protect your home and people. That said, if you’re worried about crucial files on the computer, you’ll need to move fast. Water or moisture within the hardware and components can negatively impact your equipment within hours.
When you go to touch the equipment that has been impacted by water, it’s important to ground yourself to avoid injury.
Do Not Try to Recover the Data Yourself
It’s important to understand that trying to plug in water-damaged equipment and recover the files in question yourself can result in more damage. The equipment may not immediately power on and using the free data recovery software can make it impossible to recover the data on a second attempt.
Do Not Attempt to Dry the Hard Drive
It may seem illogical but if you have water on the hard drive, you don’t want to attempt to dry it off. This means avoid using a hair dryer or leaving it outside in the sun. The reason is that if there is water on the platters inside your hard drive, when it dries, the residue left behind can prevent the hard drive from working. The added heat from these attempts to dry off the drive can also be damaging to the hardware.
Do Not Open Up the Hard Drive
The outer covering on your hard drive is there to protect it from dust and other airborne particles that can stick to the platters and damage the equipment. Removing the covering could also allow water to seep further in.
Give the Damaged Drive to a Data Recovery Company
The best thing you can do if you need flood or water damage data recovery is to hire a data recovery specialist so that you can regain access to the files in question. Look for a data recovery company that has a clean room so that your equipment is protected during the recovery process. You can also find a company with the appropriate cybersecurity protocols and certifications.
An experienced data recovery specialist understands how to recover these files without causing further damage to the equipment. If you have a water or flood-damaged computer hard drive, contact We Recover Data today!
Can Deleted Computer Files Be Recovered?
If you’ve been working on a computer long enough chances are you’ve wondered “Can deleted computer files be recovered?” This probably occurred after deleting a file on accident, that’s still needed. When the file disappears from the desktop or the folder it’s been stored in, it’s not gone forever.
In the best-case scenario, you can simply open the trash or the recycling bin and locate the file that was accidently deleted. Once it’s been located, you can drag it back to its previous location and go about your day. But what happens when the trash has been emptied, and the file (or files) in question are nowhere to be found?
That’s where it gets a little bit more nuanced.
What Happens When a Computer File is Deleted?
After a computer file has been deleted, it’s not gone, but it no longer resides in the previous visible location. The computer essentially earmarks the space that the file took up as vacant. The good news is that the file exists on the computer and can be recovered. The bad news is that if you continue to use your computer, you run the risk of writing over the file – making it harder to recover.
Your Options for Recovering a Deleted Computer File
If you’re looking to recover a deleted computer file at this point, you still have options. In the best-case-scenario you can restore from a backup. For Mac users, iCloud or Time Machine backups can provide easy access to restoring the file. Windows users could benefit from a cloud or external hard drive backup at this point, too. But unfortunately, that’s not always a possibility.
A Google search can reveal any number of free or paid software options that can assist in the data recovery process. While it’s possible to recover deleted files this way, there are certainly risks attached. When you use this approach, unsuccessful attempts can make a recovery increasingly difficult.
As mentioned above, the file still exists on the computer when it’s been deleted, just not in a visible state. When you download the necessary software or continue to use the computer in any fashion after the file went missing, you are decreasing your chances of recovery.
Hire a Professional Data Recovery Company
When you’re wondering “Can deleted computer files be recovered?” the good news is that the answer is yes, but you need to take the appropriate steps and act fast. It’s important not to act in ways that will jeopardize the recovery.
The best thing you can do is to stop using the computer in question and hire a professional data recovery company right away. An experienced professional data recovery company will have clean room access, a research and development team, and the resources to handle all types of data recovery cases. They’ll know what steps to take right away so that your data is never in risk. Contact We Recover Data today to find out more about how we can help!
GlusterFS Data Recovery Service
GlusterFS (or Red Hat Gluster Storage) is a scale-out network-attached storage file system.
GlusterFS is often used in cloud computing, streaming media services, and content delivery networks as well as in other applications.
In 2012, Red Hat Storage Server announced the integration of GlusterFS with Red Hat Enterprise Linux. Red Hat later re-branded GlusterFS-based Red Hat Storage Server to “Red Hat Gluster Storage”
We Recover Data is capable of working with damaged and corrupted GlusterFS file systems. Our R&D team developed proprietary in-house tools and has the capability to manually correct issues with the file system and eventually access the lost data.
We offer worldwide, in-lab, and remote data recovery services, 24/7, 7 days a week.
Please contact us to discuss your specific needs.
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