The dictionary definition of data recovery is “the process of recovering data from damaged, failed, corrupted or inaccessible storage media when it cannot be accessed normally”. This means, in simpler terms, not being able to access data that you know is right there in your drive. This is a situation that most people are familiar with. In the case of a company this might prove disastrous, but even a student does not like losing his study material just because the computer fails to start up one fine morning. Whether its granny’s ancient PC conking off at a power surge, or the server of a national security network crashing inexplicably – there are experts for repairing every fault.
What Data Recovery Involves (For Home Users)
Data recovery, like every service in the world would basically involve two commitments from the user’s behalf – time and money. So the first decision one needs to take is whether data recovery is needed at all or not. If it is your PC which is giving you the trouble, just try the initial scan and chkdsk functions, go for a thorough defragmentation, take outputs of your data and free the hard disk of any clutter. If the drive has crashed, you may first want to verify whether you already have a back up in the form of a USB drive, Zip drive or DVD. Buy the data recovery pack only when you are sure of three things: -
- You really want to get back the data.
- You do not have any back-ups.
- You will be able to handle the process of data recovery yourself.
Inexpert handling of the software will farther damage your data, and buying it from an unreliable company might turn out to be ineffectual, or worse still, a virus.
What Data Recovery Involves (For Corporations)
The story completely changes when it comes to large volumes of high security data. This may even involve computer related crime. The dictionary definition referred to at the beginning had gone on to mention that “Data recovery can also be the process of retrieving/ securing deleted information from a storage media for forensic purposes”. This is where a professional data recovery company steps in, and the process can be long, complicated and costly. Giving just the example of a hard drive, a data security professional first removes the hard drive very carefully. Then it is taken to a ‘clean room’ of Class 100 or Class 10 standard. These are specially treated chambers, with stringently controlled atmospheric conditions, and an extremely nominal level of microns in the air. The disc is opened here, checked for damage and a report send to the client, stating the extent and nature of damage, the time needed to recover the data, and the costs involved. Thereafter, an exact copy of the disc is made, and the recovery work is undertaken on it, without touching the original drive any farther.
Who Does This?
There are literally hundreds of data recovery companies in the
Who’s The Best?
No firm can be declared the best in the world, especially in a market which has such strong competition. But Fields Data Recovery is without doubt one of the best around. It serves as a forensic firm too, and has some fourteen years of experience behind it. It is featured in most of the directories available on the net, and has been recommended by satisfied customers. In fact, 89% of its customers are willing to recommend it as a dependable firm. So it hardly comes as a surprise that, most of their clients come through references by previous customers. Its services are competitively priced and prompt. In the case of corporate cases where something fishy might have occurred, it is a good idea to go for Fields. This would give the client the chance to get all his doubts cleared under one roof. The firm also provides expert witnesses to help the client see the matter through the courts, if things take such a turn. In short, Fields would definitely be a wise choice.