If our hard drive contains important files and the day comes when we find a fault or need routine maintenance, we will surely be glad to have basic knowledge about the care of our data.
For example, your hard drive has been broken.
The offer of your computer friend to fix it by homemade means can be tempting, but before making a decision, there is something that you will be interested to know.
The hard disk data is usually recoverable in more than 80% of cases, however, it is proven that the probability of recovery decreases drastically if the disk is manipulated without the appropriate means.
On the other hand, if you resort to a computer repair service, you can return the machine arranged professionally and quickly.
But, what if they do not ask you what to do with the data, and it does not occur to you to say that you need to keep them? You could find yourself with a good surprise … a new and shiny disc, but empty.
As in previous articles, today we bring some real cases attended by the official laboratory, everyday situations that could happen to any user.
All of them have had to request a data recovery after an unsuccessful attempt to solve a fault, or after performing maintenance without taking into account that it was necessary to keep the data.
«The record was opened by a neighbour who understands this.»
Even if your neighbour is very knowledgeable and opens the disk with the utmost care, the reality is that hard drives should only be opened inside an advanced technology device called a “clean camera”, so that dust particles do not damage the surface of the dishes.
When discs that have been opened come to the laboratory, they must necessarily be handled in the clean chamber, with which the recovery, in addition to being more complicated, will be more expensive.
If a specialist had been the first to evaluate the breakdown, we might have met with the pleasant surprise that it could be fixed without even opening it.
«A friend changed my operating system and deleted the data.»
In the same way that we assume that the most important part of our hard drive is data … people will assume that we have already made a backup.
The problem is that some users with little computer knowledge do not know that when performing certain maintenance operations, the data is overwritten. And between that some take for granted one thing and others, another … the result is that the data is overwritten and there is no backup.
Even so, although new data has been recorded on top of ours, in some cases it is possible to recover part of the information using a specialized service. Until then it is advisable not to reconnect the computer because every time it is turned on, data is overwritten.
“They fixed my computer … replacing the hard drive, but I need the data!”
Not everyone knows that “fix the computer” … does not necessarily imply recovering the data.
The technical services are dedicated to repairing computers and that is what they are going to do: if the disk fails, they replace the disk so that the computer works. And they return your computer as new, but sometimes, when you go to find your files … there is nothing on the disk!
On the other hand, a disk does not work does not mean that the data has evaporated. It is very possible that they can be extracted in the best raid recovery experts laboratory with the necessary technology.
That is why it is essential to ask the technical service not to forget to return the original hard disk to be able to take it to the specialists.
«My friend tried to recover the disk by removing it from the external case and the case no longer has it. He threw it away.
One of the advantages of resorting to a specialized service in data recovery is that the technicians will be aware of the latest technological advances that may affect data recovery.
For example, it is normal that your friend does not know this, because before it was not necessary to keep the outer casings of the hard disks; However lately some brands, especially some models of Western Digital, have a type of encryption in the case, so you have to keep it in order to decrypt the disk data.
Conclusions
Of all these cases we could draw the following three “morals”:
- Never neglect backup copies, especially before carrying out PC maintenance operations.
- In case of maintenance or repair that will act on the disc and therefore may affect our data, do not take anything for granted: make sure to talk to the technician about the conservation of the data.
- No matter how good you intend to do in a home repair, there are things that can only be solved with the right technology and knowledge.
- Otherwise, the inexperienced manipulation of the hard disk may cause the data to be lost forever or the recovery may be more expensive.
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