Data Recovery Digest

Data recovery is one of things that, annoyingly, will probably happen to a vast number of computer users. The fact of the matter is, no matter how important the act of backup is broadcast, there will still be those who don’t abide. Whether it’s simply misunderstood, seen as too confusing, or too expensive, data recovery is something that is carried out globally all the time.

There are two main types of failure that a hard drive can suffer: logical and physical. A physically damaged hard drive is when the internals of the device are literally damaged. For example, the delicate platter that holds data could be scratched. In these cases, the drive will need to be sent to a recovery specialist. Be sure to research the specialist thoroughly and don’t just go for the cheapest option.

On the other hand, logical damage is different. This can be repaired at home and there are many programs online that will scan your damaged drive in an attempt to restore your data. In fact, if you Google for data recovery software you may be amazed at the choice that greets you. However, here’s where you have to be a bit careful.

As with all software that you can download online, there are some pieces of software that are actually designed to take advantage of your panicked and perhaps less judgemental state. These malicious pieces of software are not actually coded to recover your data but instead to harm your computer – perhaps by planting malware or a virus. There are a number of ways you can avoid this, but the best is to probably do a search for the name of the software and read reviews for it from professional websites (and not just forum or blog posts). Also, always be sure to download directly from the official source to ensure the download is safe. You can always virus scan it once downloaded to be extra sure.

You would be forgiven for thinking that all recovery software is going to perform the same. In fact, exactly the opposite is true. Although all legit data recovery software sets out to do the same task, some of them are far better at it than others. This is down to how the program has been created and how it has been designed to scan the drive. Some programs are designed to offer a much deeper, thorough scan that is more likely to bring about your data.

A decent piece of reliable software worth checking out is R-Studio. This works on a number of operating systems and across a whole range of file systems. It’s a long standing, reputable piece of kit that has been proven to work. Although it is paid software, it’ll be worth it if it manages to get your data back; it’s hard to put a price on those valuable business documents or those family photos. There’s even a free trial so that you can test it out before you buy.

Just remember when searching for data recovery software to be aware of what you’re actually about to download. Ensure the software is reputable and be sure to check up on its reputation – you may find that a competitor product will perform much better.