Tips on Testing Hard Drive For Problems

One of the basic requirements of keeping your PC in good working order is to ensure that its hard drive doesn't have any problems. To do this, you can either opt for computer repair or prevent it by testing your hard drive to detect potential problems.

There are several ways to test and, if required, repair your hard drive. You can use the diagnostic tools built into your operating system, say Windows, or use specific diagnostic tools provided by a PC repair company skilled in such tasks.

Operating System Diagnostic Tools

Ideally, you should use the diagnostic tools present built into your operating system to perform regular, scheduled checks. Examples of the diagnostic tools provided in a Windows operating system are:

• Disk Cleanup
• Disk Defragmenter
• Scanning for bad sectors
• The chkdsk utility

Disk Cleanup

The Disk Cleanup utility helps you free hard disk space by deleting temporary and other unnecessary files. This utility also enables you to compress the files of your choice. Though this utility proves to be useful when you run out of hard disk space, it is a good idea to run this utility at regular intervals. If you regularly run the Disk Cleanup utility, it prevents you from running out of hard disk space, ensuring the smooth functioning of your PC. To run this utility in a Windows operating system, you can simply right-click the hard disk volume and click the Properties command. The Local Disk Properties dialog box of the hard disk drive will contain a Disk Cleanup button that can be used to run this utility.

Disk Defragmenter

However, the Disk Cleanup utility doesn't ensure that the files you store on your PC are stored in an organized manner. This causes your hard disk drive to become cluttered and, sometimes, even fragmented. You can resolve this by running the Disk Defragmenter utility. This utility optimizes your file system by ensuring that all files on your hard disk drive are stored in an organized manner. This utility also identifies the bad sectors on your hard disk drive and prevents data to be stored in them. In Windows, you can run this utility by clicking the Disk Defragmenter command on the System Tools menu. This menu can be opened from the Accessories menu within the All Programs menu.

Scanning for bad sectors

The Disk Defragmenter utility might not be able to detect or recover data from the bad sectors on your computer. To do this, you need to scan for bad sectors on your PC. But before you do this, you need to close all files open on your computer. You also need to exit from all applications open on your computer. Then you need to right-click the appropriate hard disk volume and click the Properties command. The Hardware tabbed page in the resultant Local Disk Properties dialog box will contain the Check Now button that is used to scan for bad sectors.

The chkdisk Utility

Another utility available in a Windows operating system is chkdsk. This utility enables you to check whether your file system contains any errors and, if possible, repair them. This utility can also be used to recover your data among other things. You can run this utility from the DOS prompt with or without any of its parameters. The syntax of this utility is:

chkdsk [drive:] [/p] [/r]

In this syntax, the [drive:] parameter represents the hard disk volume on which you want to run the utility. If you want to check the hard disk volume for all errors, you can use the /p parameter, represented by [/p] in the syntax. If you want to ensure that the utility checks for bad sectors and recovers available data, you can use the /r parameter, represented by [/r] in the syntax. However, if you just want to check the status of your hard disk, you can run the utility without any parameter.

External tools

Another way to check your hard drive for errors is to use the tools developed by the manufacturer of the hard disk. These tools are available on the Internet and can be downloaded from the Web site of the manufacturer. In addition to manufacturers, companies specializing in hard disk or PC repair also provide diagnostic utilities. You can purchase and use these utilities as required.

If you face problems in managing the hard drive of your PC, you can get in touch with a remote PC support company and resolve the things.

The online technical support executives working with a remote IT support company such as fixit99.com can resolve the problems within few minutes. Not only this, you can reach out an online computer repair company whether your PC is too slow, freezing, crashing or experiencing any other problems, the expert remote computer repair technicians ensure your PC is restored at the earliest.

Hard Drive Repair Using Free Software

Contrary to popular belief, if a computer does not boot due to hard drive corruption all data is not lost and the hard drive may even be repairable. There are 2 types of hard drive damage. One is fixable by you and the other requires a professional data recovery facility.

Physical Drive Damage - Physical damage is the worst. Data recovery can only be done by professionals and can cost up to $1,500 (sometimes higher). Physical damage usually consists of bad actuator arms, damaged platters or fried controller cards.

Non-Physical Drive Damage - Non-Physical damage (NPD) is what we're going to be discussing in this article. NPD occurs when the operating system's file system (fat or ntfs) gets corrupted due to an improper shutdown (for example). While this damage is may seem really bad (if it's preventing you from booting your PC), it's easily fixable with some software that's already including in any Windows PC and a USB external hard drive enclosure.

Here are a list of items that you'll need to follow the instructions below:

Another working computer with Windows XP, Vista or Windows 7
Find out what kind of hard drive you have. There are 2 types. SATA (small flat connector) and PATA (a.k.a IDE) which has a connector with about 30 pins. An external USB hard drive enclosure with a connector for the type of drive you're going to be connecting to it (you can grab one of these at BestBuy for about $50 USD).

Please follow the steps below to perform a non-physical repair (software repair) on a non-bootable hard drive.

1. Take the drive out of the computer.
2. Connect the hard drive to the connector on the USB enclosure.
3. Connect a USB cable from the enclosure to the computer that's working.
4. Power on the USB enclosure.
5. An external drive will probably load in your list of available hard drives. You can see this list by opening "My Computer" or "Computer". Take note of the drive letter for the external hard drive.
6. Now it's time to load a program called CHKDSK (Check Disk).
7. Click Start (if you're on Windows XP) or click the Windows globe (on the bottom left for Vista and Windows 7).
8. On Windows XP click RUN, then type CMD. On Windows Vista and 7 type CMD where it says "Search Programs and Files". This will open a black command prompt window.
9. In the command prompt type chkdsk "the drive letter you want to check": /r and press enter. So here is an example chkdsk g: /r then press the enter key.
10. This process can take hours. I've had a few that took days.
11. If this command completes successfully your drive should be repaired enough for you to recover the data from it and you might actually be able to boot from it again.

A word of warning. If your drive ever has any errors on it (bad sectors) it's reached the end of it's life and should be replaced ASAP. You'll be able to see this in the report provided to by the chkdsk command at the end of it's scan.

Best Hard Disk Data Recovery Software

Hard disk data recovery software is software that is used to get back the data that cannot be accessed due to formatting or maybe data that was deleted by human error, corrupt files, hardware failure software errors, virus attacks etc.

The advantages with using this type of software is that most of the data that was lost in your hard disk can be restored or even through service providers in a class room.

It is of much importance to power down your computers system once you have hard suspicion that your computer system is corrupted.

It is also important for one to note that the data that is to be restored will not be 100% guarantee that you will get back all your data.

One of the leading programs that can restore lost files is nuclear data.

With this type of software at hand, it will give you result oriented recoveries at a cost effective price and a secure way to get back your data.

There is another type of software that restore data which offers a wide range of HDD recovery tools. They can be found or bought from local dealers or via the internet, this software's are commonly referred to as the disk restoration, Linux data restoration, data retrieval called Novell Netware, window file recovery and so on.

Kernel data retrieval is one that can be used for the repairing corrupt files, damaged files which can come about due to bad sector or clusters, virus attacks and file that are deleted accidentally.

Hard disk recovery software which has been developed by Kernel data recovery team which was particularly designed for recovering data from windows operating system, Linux, Novel Netware etc.

There is also the development of the email recovery software that offers quick recoveries on Outlook express PST recovery, OST recovery, exchange server recovery and many more.

Kernel has also developed a password recovery which can really assist in the recovery of lost passwords.

This includes VBA password recovery and outlook password recovery.

You will even come across backup recoveries developed by Kernel recovery software's which deal's with Zip repairs, BKF repair and tape recoveries.

Hard Drive Problems

A hard drive crash can occur for various reasons, which will be discussed in the next paragraph. There are many factors which increase the likelihood of disk failure, and most of these are not related to the age of the hard drive. When a hard disk fails, many people try to open the drive and repair it themselves. This is a big mistake because the internal components of a hard drive are very fragile and susceptible to dirt, dust, scratches, fingerprints, and corrosion.

Reasons Hard Drives Fail

The simplest reason for physical hard drive failure is a burnt circuit board. When a circuit board has failed, the drive will not spin up. Another reason a hard drive might not spin up is motor failure. When the hard drive motor fails, the drive will either not spin at all or will spin at a degraded and unpredictable speed. Many times, users will hear a clicking sound coming from their hard drive. This clicking sound indicates either corrupt firmware or head crash. Both will require extensive labor from a data recovery company in order to repair and recover the data. Other reasons for physical drive failure are a broken read/write arm, water or fire damage to the hard drive, scratched platters, or bad hard drive bearings.

Hard drives can also fail due to logical problems such as computer viruses, bad sectors, cyclic redundancy errors, blue screen errors, and more.

How To Recover Data

Since the internal components of a hard disk drive are fragile, it is important to use a data recovery company to help recover data. Such companies are well equipped to open a hard disk in a clean room environment to protect the disk drive from corruption while attempting to repair it. The damaged drive must be repaired first in order to recover the data. The repair is not designed for long-term use. It is repaired for short-term use in order to recover the data only.

Fix Disk Read Error

A computer sometimes fails to load with Disk Read error. This error comes up when computer is started. A black screen appears with following text:

"A disk read error occurred. Press Ctrl + Alt + Delete to restart."

As instructed in the error message, restarting computer does not usually fix the problem. This article contains simple and easy-to-implement instructions to fix Disk Read Error in PC.

1. Customize CMOS Settings
2. Load CMOS Setup Defaults
3. Replace Data/Power Cords
4. Scan and Repair OS Registry
5. Check Disk Errors
6. Disinfect Computer with a Rescue Disk

Customize CMOS Settings

The CMOS Settings contain primary configurations which are required to load your system and control the way hardware operates.

Disk Read Error occurs when the CMOS settings fail to recognize your hard disk. In other words computer is not able to detect it and/or the operating system which is installed on it. Customize CMOS Settings to repair this problem.

1. Restart the machine.
2. Press F2 or Delete repeatedly.
3. Go to the Drives menu.
4. Move down using keyboard and select Hard Disk Drive.
5. Select the hard drive that contains Windows operating system installed.
6. Move up and go to the Boot menu.
7. Move down and select Boot Sequence option.
8. Set following sequence-
First Boot Device- Hard disk Drive
Second, Third Boot Devices- {Disabled}
9. Move up and select Exit menu, and then Save settings and exit.
10. The computer shall restart itself without showing above error message.

Load CMOS Setup Defaults

Problems with the CMOS Settings cause Disk Read Error. The best option to deal with this problem is to restore default settings.

1. Load CMOS Settings in the same manner as shown above.
2. Go to the Exit menu, select Restore Defaults.
3. Select Exit | Save Settings and Exit.

Replace Data/ Power Cords

Your disk data/power cords can be loose. Failure to transfer data leads to such errors. Turn your computer off. Check internal wiring, etc. If the problem still persists, replace the data/ power cords of your hard disk.

Scan and Fix OS Registry

Operating system Registry is a set of all PC configurations. Recent modifications in the Registry could have forced your computer to show Disk Read Error. Scan and fix Windows Registry as shown below:

1. Turn on your computer.
2. Press F8 key, select Safe mode with networking option.
3. Press ENTER.
4. Download an efficient System/Registry optimizer software..
5. Start full Registry scan.
6. Repair all errors detected.

Check Disk Errors

Disk Read Error appears when your computer fails to retrieve data from the disk. System files, settings and user data retrieval fails due to corrupt disk. Bad sectors are the reasons behind this error message. Check your hard disk for errors. Here's how to do this:

1. Load your computer in the safe mode again.
2. Double click My Computer desktop icon.
3. Right click system drive (the drive where your OS is installed).
4. Select Properties.
5. Click Tools | Check Now from the new dialog box.
6. Check-up Automatically fix file system errors and click Start from the confirmation dialog.

Disinfect Computer with a Rescue Disk

The most common reason behind Disk Read problem is virus infection. Your computer may have become a victim of virus/malware. Viruses overwrite system files with malicious content.

1. Use another working computer to download a rescue disk from the internet. (Use freewares available widely)
3. Burn the rescue disk content on a blank DVD ROM Drive.
4. Insert it in your malfunctioning computer and restart.
5. Load CMOS Settings. Set your DVD ROM Drive as First Boot Device; and Hard Disk as Second Boot Device. Save the settings and exit. (For detailed instructions, please refer previous paragraphs for details).
6. The computer shall restart itself.
7. When you're prompted to press any key, follow the onscreen instructions. Computer shall boot in a Linux-based environment, and antivirus will scan and remove infected system files.
8. When you are done with removing infected files, please shut down the Linux-based rescue disk system.
9. Eject your disk, set First Boot Device as Hard Disk using CMOS Settings.
10. Load Windows in safe mode.
11. Insert Windows installation disc. Press Windows Key + R, type SFC /SCANNOW and then click OK.

How To Recover Your Dead Hard Disk

Sometimes it happens that the hard disk drive stops working without any sounds of popping, screeching or clicking. If your hard disk shows the same symptoms and it contains some important data that is not backed up on any other device or computer, this guide may be helpful for you to troubleshoot and correct all the problems.

Inspect outside of the disk drive for any damage

· Firstly, stop using your laptop or your external hard disk.
· Disconnect your external drive or power down your computer.
· Remove the disk drive from the device or computer.
· Examine your drive carefully for the 'hot spots' or any other damage on external controller board.
· Closely examine if there are any broken parts.

Now replace the cables

Try plugging in the disk drive with new cables (data and power connection) that you think are functional and try again. Also note that you will need a certain flat-ribbon cable for an IDE drive.

If your computer has an IDE/EIDE (PATA) drive, switch the drive pin settings

· Switch it to "master", if previously it was "cable select" or "slave".
· Without keeping any other device or laptop on the same port, plug it in and try again.

Try another PCI controller or other IDs and try again

Just change your ID if you do not have any other controller or PCI card that can add ports to your laptop.

Plug it into the external driver case or an external disk drive adapter

If your hard disk does not spin up, you can try connecting the disk to some other power source. If it still does not work, the fault is probably related to your Printed Circuit Board.

Connect your hard disk to another computer or device and try again

If connecting the drive into any other device works, there is a possibility that your hard disk is fine and the motherboard of your computer is at fault.

Useful tips

· Keep in mind that you may permanently damage your hard disk by attempting to read damaged area of the disk again and again. It may damage the head assembly also.
· If you are not confident about what to do with your hard disk, seek a professional help to repair the hard drive as you may worsen the condition of your drive with lack of proper knowledge.
· Do not use RAID 0 to do anything but scratch all data. It is fast but it has no redundancy.
· You can see a partition table on the 1st sector of your disk drive. It contains the information about the organization of the drive. Without the partition table, your computer will just think that nothing is there.

How to Look For Hard Drive Repair Tools

The importance of computers in recent years has forced computer manufacturers to increase the reliability of their machines to compete effectively in the highly competitive market of computer producers. One of the most important parts of the computer is the hard drive, also known as the hard disk, the component that stores all your data within your computer. There are several different manufacturers such as Western Digital and Seagate that offer large hard disks for use in desktops and laptops, and these hard drives are manufactured using the latest of technologies available in the hard drive industry today.

These technologies make use of highly effective, compact chips and devices that are extremely small in size, thus they are highly sensitive and delicate components. It is the same when we speak of external hard drives that are attached outside a computer, just like internal hard drives that are installed within the computer/ laptop itself. Being sensitive items, these drives tend to malfunction quite regularly if not looked after properly. Any sort of impact to these drives might cause damage to them, and when you do not have your hard drive working, it would be impossible to use your computer.

Thus it is exceptionally important that you repair your hard drive effectively when it malfunctions. To accomplish this, you could simply send your CPU or laptop to your computer manufacturer for the company to find the root cause and perform the rectification works for you. This method would be expensive and also time-consuming. There is another way of fixing your malfunctioning hard disk, one that involves doing it yourself. This option can only be taken into account if you are fully competent in this task, or you risk causing more damage to your computer. And remember that in order to fix your hard disk, you would require the proper hard disk repair tools at your disposal to be able to perform the repair task.

Looking at how to find the proper hard drive repair tools for your repair works, you could try three different locations. The first would be the obvious option of finding the right tools and equipment online, where you would have a brilliant arrays tools from different makes and manufacturers to pick and select from. And you could also compare all the prices from different tool manufacturers not only within the nation, but all across the globe. This would be a clear advantage in terms of cost-effectiveness as you could obtain the tools that you need from nations such as China where the cost of the tools are far lower than what is available in other countries.

The second option would be to contact your computer's manufacturer, who might have the right tools that you need for the job. The last option would to scout around computer stores or departmental stores where you should be able to find the right tools that you need for your rectification work.

Any of the above mentioned steps would be able to assist you in finding the right equipment and tools for the job of repairing your computer's hard drive. All the best!

Remove Disk Repair Fake Computer

Disk repair is rogue computer program that seems as real hard disk optimization tool. It comes on targeted system silently without any authorization with other malicious downloads. It installs automatically in the system and modifies registry settings. It performs several malicious activities on compromised system to harm system security and performance level. It displays fake scanning results that misguide users to think about their system is infected with numerous virus and malware items. It also shows notification alerts that include memory errors, bad sectors problems and hard drive errors. It displays numerous pop-up alerts and promotional adverts that promote users to buy full version of fake disk repair program. It can hijack internet browser and blocks secured windows applications. It is extremely important to remove Disk Repair fake computer optimization tool upon detection to avoid any further damage on system.

Some dangerous effects of Disk Repair:

· Create duplicate system files and programs
· Corrupts system programs and files
· Modifies registry settings
· Redirects web browser to malicious sites
· Displays numerous fake alerts, one such fake message is:

"Critical Error

Windows can't find hard disk space. Hard drive error"

You must remove Disk Repair from infected system to save your system from harmful effects of this rogue application. Expert system users who have adequate knowledge of registry entries and disk repair contaminated files can remove it manually. But you must have full system backup before moving towards removal steps.

How to remove Disk Repair:

· Use windows task manager to stop all processes run and managed by this fake program
· Remove disk repair program from windows control panel followed by Add/Remove program
· Open windows registry editor and delete added registry values
· Delete other contaminated files associated with this fake program.

You can remove this fake computer optimization program by following manual removal steps. But manual removal is not always safe. If you delete any important registry values mistakenly then it may crash complete system. If you are general system user then use any professional tool to remove this infection. Anti-spyware is a specialized virus removal tool that detects and removes virus and malware items automatically from the system. You can further use registry cleaner program to upgrade system performance and repair registry errors. It is better to update your system with anti-spyware software regularly to avoid any further virus attack.

How to Repair Hard Drive

How to Fix Hard Drive Errors and Slowdown

Repairing hard disk and doing basic troubleshooting is not difficult unless your hard drive is under serious complications. This is common in users to store more information on their hard disks than ever and the reason is simple, consumers require more space now and hard drive manufacturing companies have responded to this need by producing immense 500 GB disks that are suitably enough for users. However, such hard disks demand more maintenance than smaller ones. This article provides you with unique information regarding how to fix hard disk related problems.

Check Hard Drive Health:

Run the Check Dist, Utility, and CHKDSK to fix hard disk failure. This is a Windows application which allows you to scan your hard drive to detect errors. Most of the times you can fix hard disk problems by using this utility. This will work by making error zones and instructing your computer to repair the errors.

Here is how it works:

• Open " My Computer"
• Right click on your selected hard drive
• Click "Properties"
• Click "Tools"
• Click on "Check Now"
• If you wan a systematic repair, click "Automatically fix file system errors" and then "Scan for and attempt recovery of bad sectors".
• When you see new window, click on "Schedule disk check" to start the process.
Make sure to run this utility every 3 months to avoid hard disk slow down, and fix hard drive errors.

Organize Fragmented Data:

Another way to fix hard disk problems is to organize the data on your hard drive. You load immense data on your hard almost every time when you use your computer. Though, your operating system organizes this data, but it's not a perfect system. So, many times the data you are adding is placed in an inefficient location on the hard drive, this is called fragmentation. Thus, you should take some steps to defrag the data to overcome poor performance of hard disk. The way to defrag data is mentioned below:

• Go to "Start Menu"
• Open "My Computer"
• Right click on C drive
• Click "Properties"
• Open "Tools Menu"
• Choose "Defragment Now"
• Click Defragment in the Disk Defragmenter Menu

Take Out the Trash:

Now that you have enabled your system to fix hard drive problems and errors its time to clean up the newly de fragmented data. Microsoft has developed great tool that can be used to clean up defragmented, unnecessary and temporary data. So, use this tool to clean and avoid hard disk slowness.

How it works:

• Click on "Start" button
• Click "Programs" and open "Accessories"
• Choose "System Tools"
• Click on "Disk Cleanup"

Follow these easy steps to fix all your hard related problems and speed up the Windows performance incredibly. If you understand and follow these steps properly, you can save yourself to spend money on hard drive repairs and speeding up the speed of your computer. On the other hand, you can start giving your services to your friends or family friends to earn some money.

Hard Disk Repair Tips

Hard drives work like the human body in the sense that if we don't keep them properly maintained, we will need hard disk repair. It's also similar in that we have a tendency to not worry about small problems until things completely stop working because of a serious issue. Before a hard drive crash we don't think about the measures for hard drive repair and why backups are a superb choice. Since data recovery techniques are not easy tasks and frequently must be handled by trained professionals and computer proficient people, it often remains "out of sight, out of mind". Fortunately, despite the technical nature of a hard disk, damage can be quite predictable.

Hard Drive Crash Warning Signs

Understanding the early signs of hard drive failure is key to being ready for a crash. It doesn't mean that these signs will automatically lead to hard disk crash and a need for data recovery, but it will surely help. The always infamous "blue screen of death" (BSOD) in Windows systems, is a key indicator, as it can predict crashes better than most signals. Your BIOS' S.M.A.R.T. system can also alert you to signs of a failed hard disk.

Other key physical failure signs include abnormal clicking, scratching or crushing noises. If you observe any of these, shut down your system immediately. In this case, it's likely your hard drive might be having a mechanical issue and needs data recovery. This sound is the sound of your drive heads, which may be scraping the platters. The more your drive heads damage the platters, the more critical data may be lost.

Are You Backed Up?

When hard disk damages occur, professional hard disk repair is the best possible option to enable your hard drive to recover its data. This hard disk repair is best performed by professionally trained people. Understand that it is possible that 100% of the data cannot be retrieved. The most prominent reason for this is the permanent damage to the hard drive. This is why backing up your data on a daily or at least weekly basis is really the only way to be certain about your data protection.

Platters in your hard drive spin at thousands of RPM. Small elements like dust particles and unnecessary movements can create irretrievable harm by damaging platters. When the data is backed up, it reduces the probability of data loss due to hard disk failure. The frequency of backup should depend upon the magnitude and significance of data.

Put The Drive Down... Slowly

Avoid opening the cover of a damaged hard drive with the intent to repair. Technologies have changed: hard disk drives are completely susceptible to damage from minor dust particles, gases and atmospheric elements. This is not a time to be a mechanical hero.

Keep It In Shape

Taking care of your drive through disk checks and defragmentation is a proactive way to ensure its future. But, be aware that failure is inevitable, and one day you may have to consider professional hard disk repair.

Laptop Hard Drive Data Recovery

Laptop hard drive data recovery services - the advancement in technology has led to the increased usage of laptops. A laptop enables an individual or a business professional to carry his office with him, and allows him to work as well as remain in business even when he is not at home or in his work place. Hence, it is quite obvious that a laptop would always be stored with critical business and official information. But, it would be quite overwhelming in case your important data is lost from the laptop and at the same time you do not have a back up of the important files. One of the major causes of data loss from laptop is due to hard disk drive complaints, which at the same time is the most complicated reason.

In other words, in the case of laptop hard drive data recovery, DIY or the usage of free software program may prove harm than good, as hard disk drives within the laptops are relatively small when compared to hard drives fitted within the desktop computers. In other words, any wrong move may sometimes damage the laptop as well as data contained in it, and hence should be handled with utmost care.

Contacting a data retrieval and recovery service provider would be one of the fast, reliable, and trouble-free ways to rescue your lost data. Since they provide access to expert data and file recovery engineers and technicians coupled with excellent, dust free, clean lab environment, a data recovery specialist or company could help you to recover data that has been lost due to a number of reasons, from logical and physical damages to natural disasters such as flood, hurricane, and earthquake.

A laptop hard drive recovery expert would be proficient enough to recover data from almost all types of laptop hard drives such as Parallel ATA (PATA), Serial ATA (SATA), Small Computer System Interface (SCSI), and Solid State Drives (SSD). In addition to in house service, some companies even render onsite laptop hard drive data recovery services however depending on the cause of data loss. There are also companies that render professional courier and pick up services.

Important Things To Know About Data Recovery Services

Today computers have become an essential part of our life. No one can imagine a life without this electronic machine. It is of utmost importance in the business organizations as it has not only reduced the manual labor but also provides safe storage of important and confidential data. So, overall these devices are very important to us but what if the hard drive of the system gets crashed and you lose your data. No one would even like to imagine such a bad situation.

However, it can come up due to technical errors, software or hardware malfunctioning, power surges, network storing errors or human mistakes. Though there are several precautions which can be taken in order to avoid such a situation but most of the individuals usually do not implement them until such a thing happens. If you encounter with such a situation anytime, it is better to contact a professional data recovery service provider to get over your issues.

Loss of data can lead you in serious trouble and affect your business to a great extent. But there are various experienced data recovery professionals who can help you in recovering the data of your hard drive. No matter, it is your personal data or business data, hard drive data recovery is not a tough task.

There are different types of data storing devices from which data can be recovered. Some of them include the following.

Databases

The data stored in large databases like Oracle, MySQL, SQL, Fox Pro, Microsoft Access etc. can be recovered with the help of professional advanced data recovery services. They can restore the data in the existing state and location.

Server data

Most of the business organizations store their data at a server. A professional data recovery team can restore the data from the hard drives of Linux and Windows systems, data archiving and data storage systems, NAS, SAN etc.

Digital devices

Data of digital devices like hard drives, flash drives, DVDs, USB drives, laptops, CDs, iPhones, tablets, digital cameras, iPads, digital tapes, mobile phones and memory cards can also be recovered easily by professional technicians.

Hard drive recovery is though not impossible but it is essential to get it done from proper technicians having proper experience in this field. It is due to the fact that inexperienced professionals might increase your trouble by losing the data permanently. Therefore, selecting the right data recovery service provider is highly essential. Here are some important things which can be considered by you while hiring a service provider.

Make sure that hold enough experience and have a good record of the services rendered.

Look for a service provider who offers the best services at cost effective prices.

Make sure that the individuals recovering your data are familiar with the device and proper techniques of restoring data from that device.

You should also ask them about the percentage of recovery that can be done according to them. Seek references from other experts before moving on.
Your data is very precious to you and hence you should always prefer to select the best and experienced data recovery services in order to get the best results.

The Anatomy of Hard Drive Failures

With many technological changes in the storage industry, you can see a number of choices available at your disposal. Even older drives have come across with their new high-capacity variants with improved specifications. New hard drives are more reliable than their traditional versions. However, the risk of failure still lingers if proper care is not taken timely, i.e. routine maintenance and virus scanning. Due to these risks, there are various types of hard drives failures that may be strike you at the worst time.

Logical Failures of Hard Drives 

Logical failures mean some kind of corruption has occurred to the file system of the drive. The underlying file system becomes so severely damaged that you cannot access data stored on the drive. The File Allocation Table (FAT) or Master File Table (MFT) is used to locate information on your hard drive. When the drive becomes fragmented, different pieces of information get scattered all over it making the FAT or MFT seriously entangled. Some virus programs may also target FAT, causing a range of logical errors and posing a threat to your vital data. These types of hard drive failures can be dealt with using professional data recovery software. These software use non-destructive and streamlined approach to recover all your seemingly lost information in any event of logical drive corruption.

Physical Damage to Hard Drive 

If your drive experienced a shock that has caused some damage to its internal parts, then there is a good chance it may stop working after some time. If the drive emits a clicking sound on being powered up, you can fix this by replacing its bottom board that runs the motors. However, the new board should be identical to the one being replaced. After swapping the boards, you may want to back all your important data to an external storage device to avoid any situation of permanent data loss. If the read/write heads of your drive have established contact with the surface of the platter, there is a high risk of data damage. Further, head crashes cause a lot of dust to accumulate over the platter surface. In such instances, data recovery can be done by opening the case of your drive and examining the drive for all existing problems. This job is safely carried out by professional data recovery service providers. These companies open your troubled storage media in a clean room environment and use proprietary tool to recover your valuable information.

All it takes is a bit of diligent effort on your part to perform precise recovery of lost information in any instance of physical or logical hard drive failure. By following the above recommendations, you can rest assured that your data is safe even if the disaster strikes at the worst time.

Hard Drive Data Recovery

Working on computers is common these days and most of the individuals now prefer to use a system for all kinds of tasks no matter they are related to studies or business. Though computers have enhanced the efficiency of the users to a great extent but sometimes the users might get in tricky situations which might trouble them to a great extent. Such situations include loss of data due to drive crash or technical faults. With the advent in technology, it is now possible to recover the lost data from the hard drives and other data storage devices. Some of the users think that data recovery is the work of professionals but it is not so as you can do it yourself following some simple steps and taking some precautions. Data recovery can be an easy task if you have access to the right tools and techniques.

The most important thing that should be kept in mind while recovering the data is that you should not overwrite the data. If you are sure that you have some data to be recovered, make sure you do not add or write any of the files before completion of the hard drive recovery process. There are two types of hard drive data recovery which are further discussed in this article.

Retrieving data after Deletion

The deleted files generally move to the recycle bin but if you have personalized settings they might get moved from the system's file system on deletion. A file that has been moved to the recycle bin can be recovered easily by restoring it. You will get this option by right clicking on the file in the recycle bin. This situation is only valid if the file is present in the recycle bin but it has been permanently deleted, it can not be restored using this method.

Recovering the file that is permanently deleted from the computer system is also possible, if you know how to do it. A permanently deleted file is just moved from the file system. There are changes that the data related to that file is still present on the system which can be recovered using appropriate tools which can detect the file location.

Retrieving files from a Crash

Recovering files from a crashed hard drive can be daunting but can be done with professional assistance. There are several ways and reasons due to which your data might be lost. It might be due to technical errors, power surges or deletion of a partition. If you have deleted a partition of the hard drive by mistake, you can recover it by using the hard drive-partition recovery software.

However, the case might get worse if the loss of data occurred due to physical damage. Such cases can only be dealt with professional assistance. Hire a professional expert who can recover maximum data from the damaged hard drive.

Drive recovery can be easy if you have proper knowledge of the basic methods and data recovery tools. Sometimes, even simple software can help you in recovering the data.

How Can a Computer Data Recovery Service Help?

Hard disk failures are an unavoidable risk for any computer user. However, if you experience a hard disk crash, you may yet be able to retrieve some or all of your files with the help of a professional hard disk data recovery service.

Hard disk failure can be a nightmare, whether it happens with your home or business computer. We use our computers for everything from storing valuable tax data to favorite music to irreplaceable family photos. So, when we experience a hard disk crash, it can instantly lead to panic as we worry that all of that data is lost forever. In some cases, it may be true that the data cannot be retrieved. However, computer professionals can do wonders with their data recovery hard drive expertise, and they can usually get back some, if not all, of your files. If your hard drive bites the dust, contact your local data recovery services experts to see what can be done. You may be surprised at how much they can restore.

Aside from obvious physical or impact-based damage to the computer, a hard drive crash may be caused by a number of different internal factors. It may be the result of a head crash, which is microscopic physical event that occurs inside the hard drive. In a head crash, the read-write head of a hard drive touches its rotating platter, which usually results in permanent, irreparable damage to the magnetic media on the platter itself. A faulty air filter may also cause a hard drive failure. When working properly, the air filter equalizes pressure between the hard drive and its outside environment. In some cases, however, the filter may fail and allow a dust particle inside the hard drive enclosure. If this happens, the particle can land on the platter and cause a head crash as described above. This platter damage can continue to worsen as you carry on using the drive, quickly causing extensive damage to the whole unit.

In addition to these examples, there are also cases when the controller electronics in the hard drive simply fail. This, in turn, causes the whole drive to crash, and your data to become inaccessible. If you experience a hard drive crash, it's likely you won't know which of these scenarios is to blame. That's why it's important to contact a hard drive data recovery pro to help you out. He or she will be able to take the appropriate action based on what type of damage you have so that you have the best chance of getting your files back.

When you call in a hard drive recovery expert for assistance, they will use professional tools to diagnose and assess what the situation is. The first step to this process is usually to make a copy of the whole disk as-is. Your data recovery pro will use a specialized disk-imaging procedure to image every readable bit from the surface of the disk. This will then be copied to another medium so that your data recovery services specialist can analyze it. They'll be able to see how extensive the overall damage is, and what type of malfunctions have occurred. From there, they can take specific action to restore the disk and/or salvage as much data as possible. If the read-write head of the hard disk is faulty, they can often simply switch that part out for a new one so that your data can be accessed via a properly functioning set of components. This is a delicate operation, but it can result in extensive data recovery. If the platter is damaged, your data recovery pro may have to disassemble it and image it onto a new platter in order to recover what data they can. This can sometimes be more chancy, but it's still possible to access a great deal of what you need to retrieve.

Hard Drive Recovery Service Companies

The iPod and smart phone explosion has ensured hard disk drives are pretty much everywhere you look. These drives are faster than before, and yet aren't any more dependable or crash-proof than they were even five years ago. What this means to you is that inevitably, your hard drive will fail. You will need a hard drive recovery service at some point, the only question is when.

While hard drive use in general has grown, hard drive data recovery service companies have grown in number as well. This increased competition has ensured that data recovery service pricing is lower than it has ever been, and no longer is it necessary for the user to settle for substandard customer service. But if there is a problem with industry growth, it's that pretty much everyone with a shingle and a soldering iron now offers "complete hard drive recovery service", even if they can't actually offer the service.

Selecting A Professional Data Recovery Service Company

When an emergency data recovery situation strikes, understand first of all that you're going to need a professional. DIY is not going to be your best direction here, unfortunately. Second of all, know that the best choice is an actual expert, a professional hard drive recovery company that does that, and that only. Making the mistake of going to your neighborhood computer repair shop when you have a damaged hard drive can be an expensive one, both in time and money, as many of these shops don't actually do restorations in-house!

Computer repair shops are the absolute worst nightmare for hard drive recovery service companies in general. They provide a local service that works in a lot of simple operating system cases, but in physical data loss, about one in 100 can actually perform a data recovery service in-house. The rest of them spend a lot of time with low-grade disk recovery software hoping and praying to restore lost files, only to discover that without the right tools, they will only be unsuccessful. At this point, instead of actually telling the customer, "no, we're not equipped", they then attempt to outsource the service at the lowest price to the lowest costs provider. Quality never really comes into it, and for the end user, this means a lot of time and money spent for sometimes subpar results.

Accept Nothing Less Than A Professional

If you find your drive has been bricked, or you have a RAID array that needs repair fast, it's a high-stress situation. Certainly, you don't want any more stress tacked on. So a great tip for avoiding additional stress is to take your hard drive recovery to a professional. If the company's name features the words "Networking Service" or "Computer Repair", don't bother. What you need in any emergency data loss situation is not a mechanic, but a real HDD specialist. Anything less and you're putting everything at risk.

Want to avoid being taken for a ride by a fairly aggressive computer repair shop desperate for your money? It's all about the questions you ask. A great one, of course, is to ask how many RAID server recovery jobs the shop performs in a week. If the answer is, "er, what?" or seems a little confused, it's time to move on. If there's one somewhat counter-intuitive thing you should know about the hard drive recovery service industry, it's that the more expert your chosen company is, the less expensive it will be.

Finding The Right Data Recovery Service

Losing all of the data which you have stored on your computer hard drive or other devices can be really frustrating, and if you are a business owner it can have a real negative impact on how you run your business. When a problem like the loss of data happens, the best solution is to find a company that will attempt to retrieve the lost data for you.

Hard Drive Data Recovery

Most data stored on computer is still stored on a hard drive, and these are delicate pieces of equipment, which can fail at any time. Failure is often total, however, there may be times when the disk is damaged which will prevent you from accessing certain bits of data, whilst other data files remain intact. A company that has experience in dealing with these problems will be able to advise you on the best course of action, whilst giving you a free non-obligation quote.

Other Problems

A data recovery company should also be able to restore data files that have been accidentally or maliciously deleted from your computer. RAID controller failure is another aspect of lost data that has to be dealt with from time to time. If you find that there is no access to the data on your raid system, then this can be fixed by allowing a data recovery company access to your affected systems.

Damage

Computers and their peripherals can become worn out through over use, or else damaged due to careless handling. When a storage device becomes damaged, it may appear as though that data is lost forever, however, that is not the case at all. Things such as damaged and broken memory sticks, and flash drives can be have their data recovered by simply removing the storage chips.

Damage caused by introducing liquid in to the internal workings of computers and their storage devices is a common problem, and again, all is not lost when this happens. Most data recovery companies have had to deal with laptops and USB sticks which have been dropped in to liquids, or else have had liquids spilt on them (usually coffee or soda). Any proficient data recovery company will be able to help you to recover the data from a device that has come into contact with liquid at some point in its working life.

When searching for a data recovery company, you will find that there are a lot of companies out there, so it is worth doing some research, and some even offer a 'no recovery, no fee' service too.

Hard Drive Data Recovery - Protect Your Precious Data

The progress of electronics and with the significant use of computerized storage, the protection problem of gadgets and devices like Hard Disk Drives, Memory sticks and Flash Drives is becoming nervy for many small and average firms. Due to the fact that there are many hard drive data recovery applications and service providers so there is no concern anymore. Giving your medium for professional checkup, is the best option among the two mentioned. To build a plain picture of what is ideal to you, we'll talk about the two.

Hard drive data recovery Software:

Day by Day computer programs are becoming more flexible and better. Most of them are useable with Mac and simple computers. You can find so many choices accessible on-line in addition to regional providers, so what information one should look at when buying software.

Traits of hard drive data recovery Software programs:

• User Interface. Always make sure that the application tool is fast to handle with a number functions

• Known software. Research and testing creates an ideal and best program by top Brands

• Compatibility. Make sure whether the software operates with your computer settings or not

• Efficiency. To recover most computer files is the standard of a good program

• File Preview. This particular aspect allows you to spot all records before going to saving them

• Trial Version. Web shops are offering free downloadable version to experience the software in advance

• Support Service. This comprises of upgrades, newsletters, helpful hints and other practical services after you purchase the software. This is sign of a good service company.

Hard drive data recovery Services:

Shopping for certified service providers for data recovery, as stated earlier is a preferred way. They have got considerable practical experience in this field and have knowledge whether or not the data would be repaired or perhaps not Professional service providers provide totally free investigation of your gadget and just in case the particular data are recoverable, they will ask your approval and give a quota before applying necessary services.

Some things to consider a service

• Most of all price ranges are variable in this service category. A number of agencies may demand up to four thousand$ or even more, and some may charge less but a high price doesn't normally signify higher quality service.

• Firms for data recovery service can rescue data from any device such as Apple iPods or Hard Disks etc.

• Let them know what kind of data you had held in the device and check out whether they can recover all those files or perhaps not.

• The importance of Privacy Business organizations and clients may have sensitive data stored in their crashed device. Confirm that your details stay discreet.

• They need to have capable and well-informed specialist for performing data recovery procedures.

• And lastly various kinds of firms provide assurances to extract data if they think that the unit will respond

Professional suppliers should also invest adequate for data backup if they are investing million dollars on information technology and commercial infrastructure This should be a key strategy of small or average company to purchase hard drive data recovery services. Customers have to take expert guidance immediately after process of recovery and repair any lapse in their Data storage systems.



Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/7060267

Hard Drive Data Recovery Service

Hard drive data recovery service begins with knowing how to find the right professionals to get the job done. You could make a mistake by choosing a local computer service because you want the cheapest option for recovering your files. These companies have the best intentions when it comes to getting back your files. They may even have a basic understanding of how hard drive data recovery works, but it is unlikely that any of these technicians have ever manually retrieved data from a drive. Hard drive data recovery is a highly specialized field. The safety of your hard drive and files depends on you choosing the right company to recover your lost data.

Keep your drive turned off

Keep in mind that hard drive recovery service starts with maintaining the safety of your data first and foremost. The way to make certain your data is safe is to make sure the data does not have a chance to be overwritten. If you are operating a computer that you need to recover data from right away, power it down right now. You may be wondering, "How can I save my files?" Turning off your computer is an important step in the data recovery process.

Be obedient to this or else

The next important lesson of hard drive data recovery people constantly do. Here it is. Do not install or run software on the drive that can communicate with the operating system. This can cause your data to be permanently lost. Recovering your files is your goal, right? Stop trying to fix a problem that you do not know exactly how to do it, especially when it comes to your valuable data.

Compare several hard drive data recovery service providers

Protect your data at all costs. It could also help to contact a few hard drive data recovery service firms to get professional advice about how to solve your problem. You will notice a pattern in the responses you receive. The answers these experts give can help you make an informed decision. Will software be an option? If so, which ones are the best? And if hard drive data recovery service seems to be your best option, what makes them so special?

Putting the information to work

When hard drive data recovery service comes to mind, a lot of people get sticker shock when they hear what the recovery will cost. They also can't understand why they can't find a professional company in town. If you live in an area where there is no major hard drive recovery service available, you may choose the next best thing and contact a local It professional or computer technician to handle the situation. Do not allow them to touch your hard drive unless they know exactly what to do. They should follow all of the safety steps listed above. If they do, then the odds of getting back your files is on your side.

If they are unable to recover your data, your only option at this point is to ship your drive to a professional data recovery firm. In the future, consider using a reliable local and network data management system so you no longer need to rely on hard drive data recovery service to retrieve your files.

Hard Drive Failures and Data Recovery

A good deal of truth lies in the fact that hard drives fail almost intermittently. Besides pondering over the cause and the elements that lead to the disaster, one should formulate a plan to action to work around the problem quickly. Hard drive failures are classified into two broad categories: logical failures and physical failures. Logical failures are an outcome of human errors or malware attack. Such type failures are an easy bet for anyone having a do-it-yourself recovery tool on hand. On the contrary, physical failures require significant amount of effort, time, and investment.

Physical Failures and Their Types 

Physical failures eventuate when some mechanism inside of the hard drive fails. Given the number of rotations per minute the platter of the drive has to undergo, there is a fair chance that something may go awry leading to failure. Some primary types of physical failures encountered with hard drives are listed below:

Logical Board Failures 

These failures include broken power or data connectors, spindle driver chip failure, and head block pre-amplification failure. A majority of these failures require the logic board to be replaced.

Mechanical Failures 

This correlates with the failure of moving parts inside of your drive. Some typical mechanical failures include head crashes and spindle motor failure.

Firmware Corruption 

This happens when the firmware built into your hard drive has become outdated. You need to update this firmware to resolve the issue.

Most of the time, physical failures are easily visible and they can be sensed observing various symptoms. A physically damaged drive is not recognized by Windows Disk Management, Device Manager, or system BIOS. You may occasionally notice a clicking sound emitted by the drive when accessed. In other cases, your hard drive may tend to lock up quite frequently after specific intervals of time. This most likely happens when you are anticipating a failure in near future.

Overcoming Data Loss in Event of Physical Failures 

When a physical failure occurs, you need to follow preventive measures to make sure your data is still safe on the affected media. The success of any sort of recovery attempt rests on the initial course of action you take after facing the disaster. You need to ensure that the damaged drive is no more used for reading, writing, or copying data. This keeps you from overwriting your original files placed on the hard drive.