Hard
Drive Crash? The Essential Data Recovery Report by Greg Duffield
Greg
Duffield is the founder of ACS Data Recovery. ACS specializes in
providing hard drive data recovery services for clients around the world.
He has compiled a very important article about hard disk data recovery.
Below is the article without any editing.
Your worst nightmare just became a
horrifying reality. You keep hearing that little voice in your head
mockingly shout "you should have backed that stuff up" The voice
keeps echoing throughout your head as you perform a quick inventory all of
the important information that you just lost.....your client database, a
years worth of e-mail, your entire inventory database, even your family
photos. Even worse, you've got a deposition in two-weeks and key
information needed to help win the case were also lost. You quickly call a
service technician and have them come over to check the computer out, only
to hear the worst news of all....your data has been lost. When a hard
drive crashes, it's too late to worry about what you "should have
done."
Today data recovery is a multi-million
dollar industry. The number of data recovery firms out there seems to
exceed the number of fast food restaurants for the entire planet. These
companies specialize in helping their clients retrieve data on anything
from hard drives to flash-roms. In the following report, we will discuss
what data recovery really is; the different types, the costs, and what you
can realistically expect when it comes to getting your data recovered.
What To Do In The Event Of Data Loss?
Around 44% of all data loss is caused by
hardware failure. It's important to make sure that you immediately shut
your system down if you suspect that hard drive has crashed. Don't even
try to go through the shutdown procedure, just pull the plug from the
wall. Do not try to run off the shelf data recovery software or drive
utilities. Many times these applications will assume the drive is
functioning properly and will increase the risk of permanent data loss.
Types Of Hard Drive Failure
When we discuss data recovery in this
report, we will primarily focus on issues surrounding hard drive failures;
since these types of failures are most common. There are really two
primary forms of failure in a hard drive, logical and physical. Logical
failures are usually a result of file-system corruption. This can occur
due to a virus, accidental deletion of key files or registry components,
and in some cases even electro-static discharge. In most cases where a
logical failure has occurred, the drive is still recognized by the system
BIOS, but it will not boot. In most cases, your data should still be
intact on the drive, even though it may appear to be inaccessible.
If the system BIOS does not detect the
presence of the hard drive, then chances are a physical failure has
occurred. Physical failures can result from a wide variety of causes.
There are really two sub-categories for physical hard drive failures;
mechanical and electronic. Mechanical failures usually result from a
failure of the spindle motor. Spindle motor failure can result from
excessive heat due to a bearing failure. The increased heat resulting from
the bearing failure will expand the drive shaft and therefore seize the
spindle motor. Suddenly, your drive will become inoperative. Occasionally,
you will get a warning that something bad is about to happen. You may hear
a loud whining, a grinding noise, even high-pitched screeches. If anything
like this starts to occur, BACK UP YOUR DATA IMMEDIATELY.
Another physical issue that sometimes rears
its ugly head is an electronic failure. If you look at a hard drive you
will notice a circuit board on the bottom. This board is basically the
brains of the drive, and it is where the computer interfaces to the hard
drive. An electrical failure can occur unexpectedly at any time. Even
brand new hard drives are not totally immune to having electrical
failures. Sometimes it's just a faulty component, sometimes it's improper
installation (i.e. electro-static discharge, grounding out the board,
damaging circuitry during installation). It's important to also keep your
system clean and well ventilated, since excessive heat can damage the
electrical components on the drive. If you have a system that is in a
somewhat contained area, you may look at adding an additional 80mm fan to
cool the internal components of the system, especially the hard drive. No
other component of a computer works as much as the hard drive, and
therefore it is vitally important not to overlook it when cooling issues
arise.
How Is My Data Recovered?
One of the most often asked questions that
customers ask is, "how do you get my data back?" Well, it's
really not black magic or rocket science. It's just a matter of having the
right tools and the knowledge necessary to know what to do, much like a
surgeon performing heart by-pass surgery. Many prominent data recovery
facilities have a large array of hardware, software and tools for
recovering data.
Generally speaking when a hard drive is
received by a data recovery firm, the first thing they do is evaluate it,
and determine what recovery solution will be necessary. If the drive
failure is a logical issue as mentioned earlier, then a scan of the drive
will be performed to try and repair the file system corruption. Sometimes
a partition can be repaired and the drive restored to the status that it
was before the failure. If this is not possible, then a very low-level
scan will be performed that essentially searches every sector of the hard
drive for files. Once the files are located, they can then be copied to
the media of choice, i.e. a CD-ROM, DVD-ROM or another hard drive. Logical
recoveries can take up an enormous amount of time, especially if the drive
is on the verge of physical failure. It's not uncommon to allow for one
day of scanning and a day for recovering the found files.
If the drive has suffered a physical
failure, then the recovery procedure is quite a bit more challenging. As
mentioned above, there are really two sub-categories of physical failure;
mechanical and electronic. An important element in recovering data from a
physical failure is having the necessary parts to get the drive
functioning again. Unfortunately with hard drives if you have a 20GB
Maxtor Hard Drive for example, then you will need another identical 20GB
Maxtor Hard Drive for salvaging parts. In cases where the electronic
circuit board has failed on the hard drive, then you have to have the
exact same circuit board on hand in order to retrieve the necessary
circuit components for replacement. Many times you cannot even exchange
circuit board for circuit board. These repairs generally require soldering
skills and a thorough knowledge of electronics to be successfully
completed. You will most likely hear "Class100 Clean Room"
thrown around a lot when talking to data recovery professionals. Simply
stated, a Class100 Clean Room maintains exceptional air purity, and
contains less than 100 airborne particles larger than 0.5 microns in each
cubic foot of air. This is vital in protecting sensitive internal
components of hard drives. Anytime a hard drive is having an invasive
procedure performed on it, a Class100 clean room or better is needed.
The time frame for recovery is generally
5-10 business days for physical issues and 2-4 days for logical issues.
Sometimes if components are not readily available, then it may take weeks
to complete the recovery. Some firms offer expedite service and you
definitely pay for this added attention.
What About Data Recovery Software
This is one area where you really do get
what you pay for. Try to stay away from software in the $20-$60 range,
since these utilities are generally very limited in what they can do. Also
make sure that you NEVER and just to emphasize, NEVER EVER get data
recovery software that writes anything at all to the damaged disk. You run
the risk of overwriting data that may otherwise have been recoverable, but
will be lost forever. If you are fairly computer savvy, then there are a
few good data recovery software solutions available.
What To Look For When Shopping For Data
Recovery
There's an old saying, "you get what
you pay for." In most cases this is true. However, just because a
company with a fancy website quotes you $3,500 for data recovery, does not
mean that they are any better than a company that quotes you $1,500. Also,
try to stay away from companies that want to charge $50-$300 for
evaluating your drive. There has been a movement in the data recovery
industry over the last couple of years to offer a number of free services.
Most reputable data recovery companies will evaluate standard IDE drives
free of charge; so don't let the word "free" this or
"free" that stop you. The data recovery market is quickly
becoming saturated, and a company does not necessarily cheapen itself or
lack expertise by offering free evaluations.
You will find as you shop around for data
recovery that prices vary greatly. You will get quotes that range from
$300 to $5,000 for standard hard drive recoveries. It's not uncommon to
literally get quotes that have at least a $1,500 high/low spread. We
shopped one prominent data recovery company where we gave them specific
indicators of a physical hard drive failure. We were eventually quoted a
price range of $600 to $2,900 for the recovery. Many times this is a bait
and switch type tactic. They get you to send in the drive with the low-end
$600 price, then they let you know it's going to cost $2,100 for the
recovery. You end up being well under the $2,900 high-end price, but well
over what other reputable companies would charge. Since most customers
won't go through the pain of having the drive sent back, only to have to
send it out to another company, these bait and switch companies end up
making huge profits off of unsuspecting customers.
Try to find a company that will give you an
up front cost for either a logical or physical recovery. Most companies
will be able to tell you within a couple hundred dollars the cost of a
recovery. However, don't misunderstand a company that gives you a price
for two different procedures. For example, some companies will give you a
price if the failure is logical and a price if the problem ends up being
physical. We called one firm and were told that if the drive had a logical
failure the price would be $400 and if it ended up being a physical issue
the price would be $1,600. This is not a high/low spread as mentioned in
the earlier example, this is simply quoting a price for two different
types of recoveries.
On average you can expect to pay anywhere
from $400 to $600 for logical recoveries, and $1,200 to $2,000 for
physical recoveries on standard IDE hard drives. If you have RAID drives,
SCSI, etc. depending on the configuration prices can be as high as
$15,000. Remember, backup backup backup backup backup!!
Can My Data Be Recovered?
In most cases the answer to this question
is yes. On average, the success rate for data recovery professionals is
about 75-85%. However, there are times when the data is just lost, either
due to extensive damage to the platter or unavailability of replacement
parts.
How Do I Get Started?
If you have a hard drive that has crashed,
the most important thing you can do is contact a data recovery
professional immediately. Make sure you aren't being charged an evaluation
fee if you have a standard IDE hard drive. Most companies only charge
evaluation fees for complex RAID and network server drives.
You will find links to various data
recovery firms on this page. We do not support or endorse any of them, but
they are listed for your convenience. It is important to do your homework,
call and talk with the companies. When you find one that you feel
comfortable with, give them a chance. Your hardest job, may be finding
data recovery firms that actually have someone available to answer the
phones. Ask questions and be sure to have the following information
available:
Size of the drive
Operating system (i.e. Windows 98, Windows
XP, etc.)
Situation of failure (what happened just
before the drive stopped working)
Is the drive recognized by the computer's
BIOS or not
Good luck in getting your data recovered,
and make sure you always backup your important information on a daily
basis. For more information visit: http://www.acsdata.com
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