Recovery Tips from the Pros and an "inside look" 

Here are some of the top tips from the service companies in this Who's Who directory.




What should I do when I experience data loss?

Safe Solutions for Common Problems

Perceptions of data loss

Saving Your Data After a Head Crash:  An Inside Look at a Disk Recovery Service

Recovery specialists bring data back from the dead

The facts about remote data recovery

Excerpt from Seagate Recovery Services

What should I do when I experience data loss?


"If your drive is making an unusual noise, shut it down immediately and do not power up again.
 
Calmly assess the situation. Hasty attempts to fix the problem can often result in further damage and data loss.
  • Stop writing to any media (including hard drives) that may be involved in data loss. Note that running most software (for example, Internet Explorer) writes new data to your drive and may possibly overwrite the lost data you are seeking.
  • Eliminate the simplest possible causes, such as loose cables or bad device drivers. Write down all symptoms of failure and all recent actions and events involving your computer.
  • If you determine physical damage to be the cause of your lost data, avoid do-it-yourself solutions. Do-it-yourself software make use of the problem drive, potentially causing complete failure and further data loss.
  • Contact ..."
              Go to their FAQ page
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Excerpt from DriveSavers.com

Safe Solutions for Common Problems


"Don't let a minor problem turn into major data loss. If you have NOT experienced any of the extreme situations listed on our Disaster Recovery page, follow our expert advice to safely and quickly get your drive up and running again.

Warning: If your hard drive emits unusual noises (clicking, grinding or metal scraping), turn it off immediately! This symptom typically indicates a head crash that can destroy your data. Hard drives spin with extreme speed - from 7,200 to 15,000 revolutions per minute - therefore extensive damage can occur in a short period of time. Contact DriveSavers immediately, as this situation demands professional recovery in a Clean room environment."
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Excerpt from OnTrack.com

Perceptions of data loss


"For example, 78% of our customers believe their data was lost due to hardware or system problems and may have also assumed that their data could only be recovered by shipping in their hard drive for an In-Lab recovery service.




Our findings indicate only 56% of lost data situations are a result of hardware problems. So, in reality, their data may have been able to be recovered with Remote Data Recovery™ service (recovery through modem or Internet connection) or even with data recovery software."
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Saving Your Data After a Head Crash:  An Inside Look at a Disk Recovery Service  (excerpt from Tom's Hardware Guide)

by Patrick Schmid, Achim Roos , May 30, 2005

"So when the nightmare happens and your hard drive is clearly physically damaged, you pick up the phone and call firms like CBL Data Recovery or OnTrack, which have the requisite equipment and lab infrastructure to do the necessary job. When one of our editor's laptop hard disk crashed, we put his precious data in the hands of CBL Data Recovery in Kaiserslautern, Germany. With a defective read/write head, he was understandably very worried that he would never again recover his family photos and other personal files on his busted 2.5" hard drive."
Read the complete article here
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Recovery specialists bring data back from the dead  -  Data recovery specialists describe how their methods match the changing needs of their customers.

Excerpt from Computerworld Robert Mitchell   July 24, 2006 

"The urgent need to recover digital data after disasters like hard drive failures and power outages has remained largely unaltered since companies entered the Electronic Age. What has changed is the greater complexity of the devices that fail and their increased media capacity, according to specialists from OnTrack Data Recovery. Computerworld's Robert L. Mitchell spoke with Todd Johnson, vice president of operations, and Mike Burmeister, director of engineering for data recovery, about how data recovery has changed and what users can do to avoid having to call OnTrack in the first place. "
Read the complete article here
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The facts about remote data recovery

Excerpt from Computerworld - Jim Reinert, OnTrack Data Recovery - April 26, 2005

"Losing data is an overwhelming situation. One minute, everything is working fine, and the next, everything is gone. Why did this happen? How did this happen? What are you going to do?
The good news is that lost data can be recovered. Once users understand that all is not lost, they want to know how fast they can get their data back and return to normal operations. There are several options for recovery, including restoring from backup, sending the media/hard drive to a lab for engineers to work on in a clean room, or do-it-yourself software. Another option that isn't used as often is remote recovery. "
Read the complete article here

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