Deleted Data Recovery.
If you regularly use a computer then you’re bound to do it at some point in time; delete data unintentionally. It could be you accidentally selected the wrong files, folders, or emptied the recycle bin without realizing that there was something important in there. Now, you need deleted data recovery.
In most cases your deleted file is still there. Even if you empty the recycle bin the data still exists on the hard drive, at least for a while. It’s important to understand how operating systems like Windows store data. All operating systems use a type of filesystem which is essentially a directory of where files are stored, their names, folder location, size, and other information. Also to protect against accidents, a backup copy of the filesystem is also stored in most operating systems. When a file is “deleted” what’s actually deleted is the reference in the primary filesystem table. However the file itself is stored in a different location on the drive. After the entry in the filesystem is deleted, the OS now thinks that space is available and may opt to store another file in that location making recovery impossible.
That’s why it’s so important to immediately stop using the computer where the data was deleted. Also in most cases the secondary filesystem still contains the necessary information to properly identify the file. Just don’t wait too long, or the backup copy may be updated and the entry lost completely. Most data recovery software works by analyzing the filesystem data to see what entries are in the secondary copy but not in the primary. Thus identifying them as deleted files. The higher end software can also perform a data area scan to identify lost files and folder structures that are no longer available in the filesystem. The files may not have their names and folder locations, but if you have time to sort through them, you’ll likely find what you’re looking for.
This article will consider what can be done to recover the data yourself, and where you can go for help if you need it. The article is primarily based on the Windows operating system, as that’s the most common. However most of it applies to other operating systems like Mac OS, Linux, Unix, FreeBSD, and others as well.
If you are looking for professional deleted data recovery service please contact us to talk to a data recovery expert right now. Otherwise please enjoy this article about recovering deleted data.
What To Do When You Accidentally Delete Data
Step 1 - Don't Panic
Often people make the situation much worse by overreacting and making a snap decision to attempt recovery. Until you attempt to do something you have near 100% chance of recovery. Once you start the process and go about the wrong way that can very quickly change. Try to keep your calm and research what to do first before running out to install the first program that advertises it can get your data back. Read this article in it’s entirety and you’ll be able to recover the files yourself.
Step 2 - Immediately Stop Using and Shut Off The Computer
In this step you are supposed to kill the power to the computer as quickly as possible. Avoid running Shut Down from Windows as that process might overwrite the data. Just unplug it, or pull out the battery from the laptop (some laptop models you can just hold down the power button for 5-10 seconds). That is the best way to minimize the risk of losing deleted data. Even just leaving the computer on or browsing the web poses risks to the data. Shutting it off is the only guaranteed way to stop all future writes to the hard drive.
Step 3 - Remove the Hard Drive
Although you might be tempted to install some software on the computer that the data was deleted on, DON’T! The files downloaded and generated when the software is installed will often overwrite where the data is stored. Data recovery operations should always be performed on another computer running it’s operating system on a separate hard drive.
Step 4 - Clone the Hard Drive
Even if you’re experienced in data recovery, this step is very important. Working from the original drive poses significant risks to the data. Not only because of the ease of making a mistake during the recovery, but also there are hardware risks. Very often seemingly healthy hard drives may have areas of bad sectors that have gone undetected. During a data recovery scan, these areas will become apparent and the drive may actually fail partway through. By cloning first, you’ll at least have a copy of all the data on the first pass.
Step 5 - Choose a Data Recovery Program Appropriate to Your File System
No one data recovery program does it all. Although their advertising departments may tell you otherwise. And even if it does support your file system it might not be the best at handling it. If it’s a typical NTFS file system, you’ll probably want to go with R-Studio, if it’s FAT on the other hand you might be better off going with GetDataBack or another program. It’s important to research this first, otherwise you’ll waste money on software that doesn’t really work for your situation. Here in our lab we use about a dozen or more programs for different situations.
Step 6 - Extract the Recovered Data to A Different Hard Drive
While this seems like it should be obvious, and most programs won’t even let you this does happen. I’ve had quite a number of difficult cases where a computer guy started to recover the data back onto the same drive it was deleted from, thus overwriting other files needing to be recovered. This is again why step number 4 is so important. Only after you are confident you’ve recovered everything you need might you consider copying the files back to the original drive.
Need a Data Recovery Professional to Look at It?
The pros here at Budget Data Recovery will gladly take a look at your drive to see if we can get back your lost data. We offer free evaluation, even if someone else has told you that the data can’t be recovered. If we fail to get back your data, there’s no charge for our service.
Give us a call at 224-475-1077 or contact us online to see how we can help with your hard drive data recovery project.
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Those guys are great! Got back every bit of my data. Very fast and the price was very reasonable as well. They also instructed me on how to keep proper backups so i can avoid the risk of data loss in the future. While I hope I never need their help again they will be the the first folks I'll call if I ever do.
Backup Data Recovery saved me big time! I was in the middle of writing my dissertation when my hard drive died on me. My last backup was over a month ago which was useless since all my work was done in the last week. They very quickly recovered everything so I could get back to work. Highly recommended!
Mark H.My hard drive was clicking and acting up. I tried to pull the data off but I only managed to get about half of what I needed to keep. Took it to them and they were able to recover all the files I needed. They are very knowledgeable and quick.
Bill T.