The four most common reasons for data loss are:

* Deletion. You deleted the file by accident during a disk cleanup, or because you thought it was no longer required. It is not in the Recycle Bin. However, the data will still exist until the space it occupied on the disk is are-used by another file.
* Overwriting. You saved a new file over the top of the old one. However, the old data may still exist, and be recoverable.
* File system corruption. The disk suddenly appears empty, or the file and folder names contain gibberish. The files probably still exist, but the pointers to them have been lost or corrupted and the operating system cannot find them.
* Physical damage or hardware failure. You receive error messages when you try to read the disk, or it is not recognised by the computer at all. The data is still likely to be present on the disk itself, but the drive is incapable of accessing it.

In each case, there is a good chance that the data still exists. The computer operating system isnt able to see it, but data recovery software may be able to. If the problem is a hardware failure then a data recovery service may be able to get back the data using special equipment.

Prepare for data recovery

There is one cardinal rule of data recovery: for the best chance of recovering the files you must not write any new data to the disk they were stored on. The old data will only remain on the disk until the space it occupied is used by another file. If the disk is your computers main drive, then the drive is being written to all the time. You should turn off the computer immediately, and use another computer to search for a solution to recover your data. You should put your computers hard disk in another computer to do the data recovery, or use data recovery that runs from a CD or floppy disk, because installing the data recovery software on the drive could overwrite the very data you want to recover.

Choosing the data recovery method

Data recovery tools use different methods to try to recover data. Some tools are designed for recovering deleted files, others are better at restoring overwritten files, or recovering files from disks that are physically damaged. Some data recovery software products have been developed specifically for recovering photo images, or Microsoft Word or Excel document files. Such products may succeed where others fail because they understand what these files look like, and can recognise their data when other clues to its existence have vanished.

It can be difficult to choose the most appropriate data recovery method. Tech-Pro has created a website called Get Data Back. It has a Data Recovery Wizard that asks questions about the data you have lost and how it was lost, and then recommends the product that is most likely to be successful. It will also advise you if it would be better to use a professional data recovery service. Give the Get Data Back data recovery site (http://www.get-data-back.com) a try if you need to recover lost files.

Even if you are extra-cautious and dont usually click OK when asked to agree with the total loss of your data, data corruption and hard drive crashes tend to happen regardless. Sometimes the corruption is so severe that you cannot even access your disk or partition, let alone read your files.

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Under the hood SoftAmbulance Partition Doctor has a complex and powerful data recovery engine. Its not just another free undelete tool or a clone of Windows check-disk. Being a much more complex and way more robust recovery product, SoftAmbulance Partition Doctor combines check-disk and undelete functionality, but does it much better and more reliably. Instead of relying on the possibly corrupted file system to find deleted files, SoftAmbulance Partition Doctor scans the entire hard drive surface to locate every file that can be restored. Its designed to rescue as much data as possible even if your hard drive went amuck and file system is barely breathing.

SoftAmbulance Partition Doctor is a perfect data recovery tool for the rest of us. A simple, intuitive wizard guides you through entire recovery process by asking you multiple-choice questions. Its not a math exam, not even an algebra test! Just select the damaged disk or the drive that contains deleted files to recover, and SoftAmbulance Partition Doctor will start working on that drive automatically. Deleted files, corrupted data, lost documents and broken file systems not a problem with SoftAmbulance Partition Doctor. Download your copy right now from http://www.softambulance.com/

Due to the nature of the NTFS, this file system is more complex and way more complicated to analyze and recover than the FAT. When it comes to data repair, NTFS partitions are at huge disadvantage due to shortage of specialized data recovery tools that can handle such partitions correctly. The many reliability and security control structures integrated into the NTFS make developing NTFS disk recovery products a challenge.

Using Windows built-in disk check for the NTFS disk recovery can help sometimes, but more often than not itll get you into more trouble if theres more than a moderate degree of corruption present. Besides, Windows checkdisk never goes beyond fixing the file system structures, while you care about your files and data more than the integrity of the NTFS disk.

NTFS disk recovery is a complex process that can only be handled by trained specialists shall you pursue the option of turning yourself to a data recovery service. Fortunately, you can also do it yourself by using appropriate NTFS disk recovery software.

1st NTFS Recovery by www.ntfs-recovery.com is one of the few NTFS disk recovery products dedicated to disks and partitions formatted with the NTFS file system. This NTFS disk recovery product can put your system back on track in a matter of minutes! No matter how serious the corruption and how bad the damage, 1st NTFS Recovery will recover your files and data, fix the file system, and restore access to inaccessible partitions completely automatically.

Unlike Windows disk checking tools, 1st NTFS Recovery attempts to recover your files and data before it goes on with the file system structures. The NTFS is a complex and highly fragile logical structure; why risk your own data when you can recover it safely and efficiently without writing anything to the damaged partition?

You can even preview the contents of the corrupted partition and view your Office documents and digital pictures before the recovery. 1st NTFS Recovery fully supports the now-popular Live Preview feature that allows previewing the content of the lost and damaged files before the actual recovery.

NTFS disk recovery tools from the source. Get 1st NTFS Recovery to save your files and fix your disks!

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I always thought of myself as a reliable guy with reliable data. I never deleted my files accidentally, I made regular backups and had a power supply for my computer to protect me against surges and outages. However last year I experienced two cases of data loss where I needed to use recovery software. The first was a dead hard drive thatd hardly served a year. Subsequently, I accidentally deleted a large project file that was too big for the Recycle Bin. Happily Ive got all my data back, thanks to good advice and a little preparation.

These handy tips will help you stay confident in the face of data loss, no matter how it occurs.

Tip 1: Use your system as little as possible until you recover all of your lost files. The more activity taking place on your hard disk, the greater the chance that some of your lost data might be written over.

- Dont copy any files to the disk containing your lost data;
- Avoid browsing the web, because your web browser saves cache files on the disk;
- Dont launch any unnecessary programs, because they can also use your disk;
- Dont restart your computer.

Tip 2: Before you go further, take steps to free up some space on the disk containing your lost files. The more free space your system has, the less chance of overwriting any lost files with new ones. You can do one or more of the following things.

- Delete old files that you dont need anymore (you can also move them to another source, like a USB flash drive, instead of deleting);
- Empty your Recycle Bin – making sure that you havent put any important files in there by mistake;
- Empty your browser cache. For Internet Explorer, click on the Tools menu, then select Internet Options. Then, on the General tab, click the Delete Files… button.

Tip 3: To install any software after data damage increases the risk of your data being overwritten, so if you havent had any data problems yet, consider installing a data recovery program just in case. Prevention is always better than cure, and a recovery program is good insurance for your data. However, if you dont yet have a recovery program, find one and – if possible – avoid installing it to the disk where your lost files are located.

Most recovery programs work fairly similarly. You need to select the disk where the lost files are located, let the program analyze the content of the disk – this can take a while – and then select the file you want to recover. Then, provide a location where you want to save that file. You should try to avoid recovering files to the same disk. You could use another hard drive, a network or removable media like a floppy disk or USB flash drive.

After you recover your files, check that they are correct. If youve recovered applications, check that they still run, or if youve recovered documents, check that your words are still there. Even the best recovery software cant guarantee 100% results. If some parts of your files were overwritten – meaning that other data was saved to their location on your disk – after recovery they might contain invalid information. Depending on the type of file involved, partially recovered files like this can be mended by special utilities.

If I asked you the question: which part of your computer is the most fragile, what would you say? What if I asked: which part is most important to you?
Often, the answer to both of these questions is your Hard Drive.

Your hard drive is likely one the most important things you own. It contains work data, school data, emails, photos, music, movies, tax information, etc… Incidentally, the hard drive is also one of only two moving components in your computer (the other being your optical drive). The following is a list of important maintenance and monitoring techniques you can use to maximize the life of your hard drive and prevent data loss.

Hard drives are physically fragile – handle with care
Statistics show that 25% of lost data is due to a failure of a portable drive. (Source: 2001 Cost of Downtime Survey Results)
Contrary to its seemingly rugged appearance, your hard disk is a very delicate device that writes and reads data using microscopic magnetic particles. Any vibration, shock, and other careless operation may damage your drive and cause or contribute to the possibility of a failure. This is especially relevant for notebook users, as they are most at risk of drive failure due to physical damage, theft, and other causes beyond their control. That’s why we recommend regular backup of notebook hard drives, as often as possible.
Possible solutions include external USB or Firewire drives (although these are prone to the same risks), desktop synchronization, or backup at a data center through the web.

Hard drives write data in a non-linear way forcing it to become fragmented.
When files accumulate on your hard drive, they do not just get written in a linear fashion. A hard drive writes files in small pieces and scatters them over the surface. The fuller your hard drive becomes and the more files you save and delete the worse file fragmentation can be. Hard drive access times increase with fragmentation since your drive must work harder to find all the pieces of the files. The more fragmented your data is, the harder the actuator arm has to work to find each piece of a file.

A case in point: Disk fragmentation is a common problem for users of Outlook Express and database software. Each time outlook saves new mail, it does so in a different physical location from the previous time. This results in extreme fragmentation, causing longer hard drive access times and forcing more strain on the heads. This strain can eventually lead to a head crash, and often that means a virtually unrecoverable drive.Finally, in the event of a total crash, a fragmented drive is much more difficult to recover then a healthy defragged drive.

Luckily, Windows makes it remarkably easy to defrag your hard drive, simply launch the Disk Defragmenter utility (Start > Programs > Accessories > System Tools), choose which disk or partition you’d like to defragment and set it to work overnight or while you are not actively using your computer. Defragmentation will speed up your computer and ensure a longer life for your hard drive.

A very small power surge can fry a hard drive – use a UPS and turn off your computer when you can

Another little-known fact about the fragility of your hard drive is its susceptibility to electrical failure. An electrical failure can be caused by a power surge, lightening strikes, power brown-outs, incorrect wiring, a faulty or old power supply, and many other factors. If a power surge enters your computer, it may do an unpredictable amount of damage, including destroying your hard drive’s electronics or crashing the heads and possibly resulting in total data loss.
The best way to protect your computer from such dangers is to use a highly rated protected power bar or an Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS). Although these devices won’t eliminate the chances of a crash, they will serve as effective protection in most cases. Also, you can minimize the danger of an electrical problem and reduce wear of your hard drive by turning off your computer or using power-save modes whenever possible. It’s a known fact that 100% of drives fail, the question is when will it happen and will you be prepared? Make sure to check out the knowledgebase section of our website for more detailed information on how electrical power affects your computer.

Be SMART, monitor the health of your drive to prevent unexpected crashes

All modern hard drives have a self-monitoring technology called SMART (Self Monitoring Analysis & Reporting Technology). What most people don’t realize is that the majority of hard drive failures do not have to be unexpected. Most failures occur as a result of long-term problems which can be predicted. By regularly monitoring disk health and performance, you can know about potential hard drive problems before you lose any of your data.

Several excellent utilities are available, including DiskView and Stellar SMART for standard IDE and SATA desktop drives. Also available are tools that monitor the health of SCSI drives and full RAID Array systems. Ariolic Software offers a great utility called ActiveSMART.

The only fool-proof way to prevent data loss is… Backup!
If you only take one of the suggestions here to heart, let it be this one: always back up your important data. After all the monitoring and all the prevention measures are in place, one fact still remains: all hard drives fail. Backing up regularly will ensure that you’re never caught without your critical data. For individuals, the simplest solutions include external portable hard drives, dvd’s, and online storage. For businesses, we recommend renting space at a secure data centre and implementing a disaster recovery plan, regardless of the size of your business.
I hope that the above techniques give you some idea of the importance of hard drive maintenance and provide some insights in how you can protect yourself from data loss.

A hard drive is the most vulnerable part of a computer; it has moving gears and is hence prone to wear and tear. So when you need hard disk data recovery, you must deeply consider the service and practice of the various repair companies in your area. A company that has been around the block more than a few times is ideal.

But more importantly, experts that ask questions and appreciate your situation are a necessity; companies that approach your needs in an impersonal way simply cannot diagnose your computer problems properly. For example, an expert who is on hand to ask specific questions about your hard disk will know whether or not to go about repair with mere software or through more professional means.

There are a variety of problems that lead to hard drive failure. If the hard drive is part of a mirror set, mirrored stripe set, or stripe set with uniformity, then all you will need to do is replace the drive – any lost data will mechanically regenerate.

A local service company can handle all your concerns though. Fixing a hard drive yourself is a tedious process, requiring lots of time and even research. Your next-door neighbor might be a computer geek, but that doesn’t mean his or her advice is remotely accurate. After all, a computer can fail for many different reasons and they are not always easy to pinpoint.

The ideal solution is usually to replace a failed drive and re-establish your backup. This does not always work though, as many people find the necessary backup is outdated or sometimes, non-existent.

If a hard drive is beyond repair, data recovery is obviously not an option. So prepare for unexpected charges; you might have to buy a whole new drive. In this case, just be careful when replacing it, as you don’t want to lose your data.