What TO DO and NOT TO DO:
Do not make the situation worse and risk a permanent data loss!
Do it Right - You may have only one chance to recover data
When
you notice loss of your data or become aware of a failure or irregular
operation of your hard drive (or any other data storage device/media), you need to know:
What TO DO and NOT TO DO to improve the chances of your data being recovered successfully.
At this initial stage, it is crucial that the subject storage device/media is not mishandled, which would deteriorate its condition and risk a permanent loss of your data.
Hence, do not do anything with the storage device/media until you carefully read the following recommendations:
Recommended Steps:
- Firstly and
most importantly, please stop whatever activity you are doing and
immediately switch off and unplug your computer or data storage device.
- Ensure
that the failed hard drive (or other storage device) is not operated
any more as any further operation of the drive in such failed state will
deteriorate the drive's fault and will decrease a chance for data
recovery, risking even a permanent loss of your data.
- If by
mistake data is deleted from the hard drive (or the drive is reformatted
or the operating system is reinstalled on the drive), the subject
drive should immediately be switched off, unplugged and brought to a specialist for data recovery, as with further
use of the drive the drive's sectors that contain the original (lost) data would be
permanently overwritten and the subject original data would be
permanently lost.
- Appropriately protect and pack your failed
hard drive (or other storage device) and bring or send it for assessment
and data recovery only to a data recovery company which is reputable by
the industry standards (i.e. which has a proven track record,
appropriate facilities and equipment, and highly trained data recovery
engineers).
Not Recommended actions:
- Do not try to operate the hard drive (or other storage device) on which you experienced a data loss.
- Do not attempt to open or repair the damaged drive (storage device) yourself.
- Do not try to recover data yourself. Do not temper with the hard drive.
- Do not hit the drive on hard surface. Do not freeze it in the fridge. Do not wash it.
- Do
not use off-the-shelf basic data recovery software. Such software may
look like a cheap solution to your problem and sometimes it is even free
to download. However, a recovery software, which is not of a professional level is usually of poor quality and when ran on a
failing drive, it can additionally deteriorate the problem and cause permanent loss of data.
- Do not
give the hard drive for assessment and data recovery to a friend who
deems to be an “IT guru”, just because he will do it for free.
- Do
not give the hard drive for assessment and data recovery to some
general IT shop on the corner, which claims to be in data recovery
business by having one semi-trained technician and a freebee data
recovery software downloaded from the net.
Once you pass through these recommendations, you are ready to start with recovery of your data (for more details, see the page Data Recovery Process )
For any additional information, please call us on 1300 656 071 or contact us via email or Enquiry / Quote Request form.