RTA Information Technology
Certified, Reliable Care for Computers and Networks

480-345-8399
1740 East Knox Road
Tempe, Arizona  85284

Data Recovery
A Practical Guide
Myron Johnson, MCSE: Security: 2003
RTA Information Technology, Tempe, Arizona

Two key data restoration rules:

1) All hard drives fail eventually.
2) Any writes to a failing drive can cause additional data loss.

Keep these two rules in mind when plotting your data recovery strategy.

Failing hard drives often show symptoms. Occasional failures to boot, write or read error messages, or any abnormal noises are all danger signs. Windows XP, 2000, and 2003 all have System Event Logs that will clearly show impending drive failure. Don't ignore any unusual noises or behavior. As part of its Server Care program, RTA does regular reviews of Server Event logs, looking for warnings of drive problems.

Upon first warning, check that you have good backups of critical data. Don't wait. If you don't have a backup, then make one immediately. Check the cabling. IDE and SCSI cables sometimes spontaneously develop flaws that result in random read/write failures. Keep replacement cables in inventory.

Hard drives are very cheap nowadays. Especially when compared to the price of lost data or data recovery. Replace failing hard drives while you have the advantage of planned replacement. Drive warranties generally run from one to five years. You may find that your failing drive is under warranty.

Once you have a solid backup, you can decide on your repair strategy. Since you have a backup, you can use aggressive repair techniques, like SpinRite or other disk repair utilities. First, try the drive manufacturer's utilities. If there's any hint of hardware failure, replace the drive.

If a drive has failed and YOU DON'T have a backup, life will be much tougher. Remember Rule 2). Drive repair utilities, by their nature, write to drives. If the repair fails, the drive will be WORSE off than before. Also, be aware that Formatting and Partitioning a drive will make all your data disappear. Do not perform these operations unless you have good backups.

Causes of Data Loss

RTA Information Technology has extensive experience in handling failing drives, data backups, data recovery, and system repair and restoration. If you have any questions, call us for immediate advice. Better yet, allow us to help you maintain a safe and consistent backup policy that will completely avoid the need for expensive data recovery.

You may find that your drive can be read by inserting it into an external USB housing and reading it as a data drive. Copy critical files and then repair or replace the failing drive.

If you give your failed drive to a data recovery firm, be sure to choose the firm wisely. Ask about their experience, about their techniques, and about their cleanroom facilities. Responsible data recovery companies will physically CLONE your drive to another drive before doing any irreversible data recovery operations. They will not write to your original drive. Don't let somebody play Russian Roulette with your data. Find an EXPERT and be prepared to pay for the expertise. High-end data recovery houses typically charge $100-$200 for an estimate and $500+ for actual file recovery.

RTA Information Technology is a Partner with Ontrack Data Recovery Services. Ontrack has been in the data recovery business for nearly twenty years and has a flawless reputation. Our Ontrack Partner ID# is 3017648. If you wish, you can call Ontrack directly at: 1-800-872-2599.

Recovery of RAID arrays has its own challenges. Fortunately, RAID 1, 5, and 10 arrays greatly reduce the chances of data loss. Pay attention to RAID array warnings and promptly replace failing drives and it's unlikely you'll have a catastrophic drive failure. All of the mentioned RAID arrays have parity drives that prevent a single drive failure from causing data loss.

If a RAID array actually fails, recovery can be tricky. As always, having a recent backup is the best medicine.

Laptop hard drives are common patients. They can be removed and placed in 2.5-inch USB housings, or special 2.5-inch-to-3.5-inch adapters can be installed to allow the laptop drive to be placed inside a desktop PC as a secondary drive. Any readable data can then be copied to the desktop PC.