Introduction to Data Recovery

When we work on a computer, every bit of information that we use and save is called data. In other words, the programmes we run are all data, if we write a mail and save it, that is data, if we keep music downloads on the hard disk that is data as well. So any piece of information becomes data when it is saved after being created. This means that this data is essentially for use again in the future. Since we, as users, feel that way, it follows that we do not like losing data either as we have found it valuable enough to be saved.

What is Data Recovery?

This is where data recovery steps in. If we have lost data that we needed and we want it back, we use data recovery for it. In other words, data recovery is the process of bringing lost, corrupt, deleted data within the access of the user again through means of retrieving it from its current location or servicing the device that holds the data and is malfunctioning.

Data recovery has a history that goes back almost to the beginning of the computers, but it was not at all popular till the late eighties and early nineties. This was when the Operating Systems underwent a massive marketing approach change, and the home pc became a household good instead of a luxury item. Thousands of people began to use data, and consequently, lose data as well. The internet boom among home and business users went on to ensue a greater demand for data recovery as hundreds of SMEs, desktop businesses as well as established businesses all wanted their lost data to be recovered.

So data recovery, which had begun as an exclusive, unbelievably expensive and very cumbersome process that only governments and corporate giants could afford, evolved into a very competitive sector of service providers who are constantly on the lookout for reducing the price while retaining and, if possible, bettering the quality of their services.

What it Entails

What does data recovery entail? It follows certain steps to recover the data again, and these steps vary completely from situation to situation. However, a common ordering of steps can be drawn up in the following way:

• To begin with, one needs to identify how the data loss happened. This will decide the next steps. Sometimes it is not clear from which device or due to which problem the data cannot be accessed. Identifying this is the first step.

• If the loss has happened through a software defect, then a search will now locate the present address of the data on the disk or digital device concerned. If it has happened due to hardware problem, the malfunctioning device must either be serviced or replaced with an exact match.

• In case of a minor problem, a recovery software will now retrieve the file to its former address and put it within the access of the customer.

• In case of a hardware or more complicated problem, a copy of the disk will be first created, and then worked upon so that the original disk remains intact. After the recovery is over, the recovered data will be returned to the user.

How is Data Recovered? - Methods

Data is recovered by two means – through DIY software – and by hiring a professional data recovery company. A DIY software, as the name suggests, is readily downloadable and is something that even lay persons using a computer would be able to manage. A data recovery company costs more, but is a safer bet in general. Most businesses go for the professional recovery services, while home users by and large apply the DIY kit.

In case of a criminal proceeding being involved in the case, i.e. if a company computer or network has been hacked, IP stolen or if the computer has been used to perpetrate a crime, then a data forensics expert should also ideally be called in for legal verification, gathering of digital evidence etc.

How Data Loss Happens – The Reasons

Data loss can happen, broadly speaking, in two ways. Either the data can itself be affected, where the hardware may still be perfectly intact. On the other hand, in software-oriented data loss, the data itself is in jeopardy, while the hardware may require replacement or servicing.

James Walsh is a freelance writer and copy editor. If you are concerned about data loss and would like more information on Data Recovery see http://www.fields-data-recovery.co.uk

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