Data Recovery | DataRecoveryUnion.com

File Name: RAID Reconstructor
Version: 4.0
Publisher: Runtime Software
Raid Supported: RAID 0, RAID 5
Analyze Mode: Automatic mode
Price: US $99.00

What can DiskInternals Raid Recovery Do?
Even if you do not know the RAID parameters, such as start sector, drive order, block size and direction of rotation, RAID Reconstructor will analyze your drives and determine the correct values. You will then be able to create a copy of the reconstructed RAID in a virtual image (.vim), an image file (.img) or on a physical drive.

Download: http://www.runtime.org/raid.zip
Buy: http://www.runtime.org/buy_now.htm

Data Recovery

Raid Data Recovery Software: DiskInternals Raid Recovery

DATARECOVERYUNION.COM16 years ago4 years ago01 mins

File Name: DiskInternals Raid Recovery
Version: 1.5
Publisher: DiskInternals Research
Raid Supported: RAID 0, Raid 1, JBOD, RAID 5, 0+1, Dynamic Disks
Analyze Mode: Automatic and manual mode
Price:Personal License ($249.95 USD) Business License ($499.95 USD)

What can DiskInternals Raid Recovery Do?
• Recover damaged raid arrays
• Recover files from damaged disks
• Recover files from inaccessible drive
• Recover corrupt or damaged partition table.
• Restore disks after crash
• Unformat NTFS drives
• Recover files deleted by accident
• Recover Photos from the erased or formatted media
• Undelete files deleted from the Recycle Bin.

Download: http://www.diskinternals.com/download/Raid_Recovery.exe
Buy: http://www.diskinternals.com/order/raid.shtml

Data Recovery

Get Your Computer in Gear — Avoid Data Recovery

DATARECOVERYUNION.COM16 years ago4 years ago16 mins

For many of us, computers are a lot like cars—we don’t absolutely need them, but they can make life a great deal more enjoyable and convenient, we get to do and see things by using them that we probably wouldn’t otherwise see and they both require regular maintenance to keep them in good working order. This is never more true than when talking about avoiding data recovery.

Avoid the Crash

Just like with motor vehicles, the best way to steer clear of data recovery and keep your computer in tip-top condition is to keep it from crashing. When your computer freezes up or crashes the potential for data loss increases exponentially. The following are just a few basic measures you can take to avoid a disastrous system crash:

Utilize Basic Disk Utilities – You have several tools built in to your operating system (defragmentation, disk cleanup, error checking) designed to help keep your computer running at maximum capacity. Just like changing the oil in your car, performing these small tasks every few months can make a world of difference.
Run System Updates – Keeping your computer’s operating system current with the latest updates is key for optimal performance. If you’re a Windows user, ignoring update prompts is like ignoring low and worn tires; the longer you go without addressing them, the greater your chances increase for a problem-and hence the possibility of lost data.
Protect Against Viruses and Spyware – Computer viruses are designed for destruction and some spyware, like adware, can cause your system to lock up-posing a high risk for data loss. Like potholes and other unseen road hazards, viruses and spyware often appear before it’s too late. By investing in some high-quality anti-virus software and anti-spyware software, you can avoid these dangers altogether.
Use a Surge Protector/Power Backup – Power surges and power outages are a fact of life; both can harm your computer and cause data loss. Double-check your power strip and make sure it is also a surge protector.
Also, if you use your computer for work or some other important role, consider purchasing a power ba ckup unit. Although they cost a few bucks, power backups, like a spare tire, can keep your computer going long enough for you to avoid a major data loss situation, which in itself can be priceless.
Give Your Computer the Royal Treatment – Just as you’d baby an expensive car, your computer also needs tender loving care. Avoid jostling your computer when you need to move it-a good rule of thumb is to handle it as if were filled with champagne glasses.
Avoid exposing your computer to direct sunlight and to extreme temperatures-heat is your computer’s worst enemy. You’ll also want to keep your computer in a place where the air is not too dry, as dry air tends to promote static electricity.
Lastly, keep the inside of your PC case clean. To do this, make sure your computer case is not sitting directly on the floor. Dirt from carpets and dust bunnies are easily sucked into your computer’s case through cooling fans, settling on circuit boards and other major components. Also, every six months or so you (or someone experienced with computers) should open up your case and clean it out with a small handheld vacuum or compressed air.

By following these steps, you can avoid data recovery and keep your computer in gear and purring like a kitten as you speed down the information superhighway.

Data Recovery

RAID Recovery – Don’t Increase the Level of Difficulty

DATARECOVERYUNION.COM16 years ago4 years ago04 mins

More and more enthusiast users encounter the destroyed RAID arrays. Generally, data recovery from such a RAID array is possible, but keep in mind that the effort increases disproportionately. First of all, data has to be copied from a RAID drive onto a server, and the data set has to be put back together. The distribution of data into smaller blocks across one or more drives makes RAID 0 the worst possible type to recover. Increasing performance doesn’t necessarily do your data any good here! If a drive is completely defective, only small files, which ended up on only one of the RAID drives (despite the RAID stripe set), can be recovered (at 64 kB stripe size or smaller). RAID 5 offers parity data, which can be used for recovery as well.

RAID data configuration is almost always proprietary, since all RAID manufacturers set up the internals of their arrays in different ways. However, they do not disclose this information, so recovering from a RAID array failure requires years of experience. Where does one find parity bits of a RAID 5, before or after the payload? Will the arrangement of data and parity stay the same or will it cycle? This knowledge is what you are paying for.

Instead of accessing drives on a controller level, the file system level (most likely NTFS) is used, as logical drives will provide the basis for working on a RAID image. This allows the recovery specialist to put together bits and bytes after a successful recovery using special software. The recovery of known data formats is an important approach in order to reach towards a complete data recovery. Take a JPEG file for example – will you be able to recognize a picture after recovery? Or will you be able to open Word.exe, which is found on almost every office system? The selected file should be as large as possible, so it was distributed across all drives and you can know for sure that its recovery was successful.

Two dead hard drives in a RAID 5 are more likely to be restored than two single platters, since RAID still provides parity data.

Data Recovery

RAID Data Recovery Is Possible!

DATARECOVERYUNION.COM16 years ago4 years ago14 mins

What if your hard drive decides to enter the Elysian Fields in this very moment? Sure, you could simply get a new hard drive to substitute for the defective one with a quick run to your favorite hardware store. And with last night’s backup you might even reconstruct your installation quickly. But what if you don’t have a backup? The truth to be more like this: many users don’t even have a backup, or it simply is too old and thus useless for recovering any useful files at all. In case of real hard drive damage, only a professional data recovery specialist can help you – say bye-bye to your vacation savings!

Hard drive failure is especially disastrous for smaller companies working with a single server and a single disk, if they do not have a complete and working data backup at hand. The whole situation is even more complicated if the broken hard drive is a member of a RAID array. Neither hard drive failure in RAID 1 nor RAID 5 will result in data loss, since this scenario has been taken care of by the choice of these RAID levels in advance. But the risk of human error increases: self-made data loss occurs if you accidentally substitute the wrong drive in a degraded RAID 5 array (one with a failed hard drive).

But not all hard drives that show failure symptoms are defective. Sometimes, so called “soft errors” can be fixed using data recovery software. But even in this case, you should weigh the risks to see if it makes sense to take care of the problem yourself or get help from professionals. You might not be able to detect a controller failure right away, for example; usually, users assume a problem with the hard drive. Here is our rule of thumb: if you hear clacking sounds in the potentially defective hard drive, or if the computer’s S.M.A.R.T. function indicates an error during the boot process, something is wrong for sure.

What can you do once you know that an important hard drive is definitely broken? Or what happens if you pulled the wrong drive out of the slot while you were desperately trying to save your data? First of all: don’t panic! You need to act systematically and thoughtfully to be successful, as well as to ensure that you spend as little as possible on recovery – costs can hits four digits easily.

Data Recovery

Data recovery apparatus and method used for flash memory

DATARECOVERYUNION.COM16 years ago4 years ago08 mins

1. A data recovery apparatus used for a flash memory that includes data areas and index areas in which values indicating whether data stored in the respective data areas are valid are recorded, comprising: a controller that performs a data operation at each of a plurality of logical addresses, and if the data operations performed at the plurality of logical addresses are successful, records a mark value in a last index area of a plurality of index areas respectively corresponding to the plurality of logical addresses.

2. The data recovery apparatus of claim 1, wherein the data operation is first performed on a middle portion of the flash memory and then on other portions of the flash memory, and the mark value is recorded in one of the index areas corresponding to the middle portion of the flash memory.

3. The data recovery apparatus of claim 1, wherein said plurality of logical addresses are consecutive logical addresses.

4. A data recovery apparatus used for a flash memory that includes data areas and index areas in which values indicating whether data stored in the respective data areas are valid are recorded, comprising: a controller that determines whether data respectively stored at a plurality of logical addresses prior to a predetermined logical address, through a data operation, are valid based on a mark value recorded in an index area corresponding to the predetermined logical address.

5. The data recovery apparatus of claim 4, wherein the mark value is recorded in index areas respectively corresponding to first and last logical addresses of the plurality of logical addresses when performing the data operation first on a middle portion of the flash memory and then on other portions of the flash memory, and determining whether data respectively stored at at least one of the plurality of logical addresses between the first and last logical addresses are valid based on the index areas in which the mark value is stored.

6. The data recovery apparatus of claim 5, wherein it is determined whether data stored at the predetermined logical address is valid based on whether data exists at a logical address subsequent to the predetermined logical address.

7. The data recovery method of claim 4, wherein said plurality of logical addresses are a plurality of consecutive logical addresses.

8. A data recovery method used for a flash memory that includes data areas and index areas in which values indicating whether data stored in the respective data areas are valid are recorded, the data recovery method comprising: performing a data operation at each of a plurality of logical addresses; and recording a mark value in a last index area of a plurality of index areas respectively corresponding to the plurality of logical addresses.

9. The data recovery method of claim 8, wherein, in the recording of the mark value, if the data operation is performed first on a middle portion of the flash memory and then on other portions of the flash memory, the mark value is recorded in an index area corresponding to the middle portion of the flash memory.

10. The data recovery method of claim 8, wherein said plurality of logical addresses are a plurality of consecutive logical addresses.

11. A data recovery method used for a flash memory that includes data areas and index areas in which values indicating whether data stored in the respective data areas are valid are recorded, the data recovery method comprising: identifying a mark value recorded in an index area corresponding to a predetermined logical address; and determining whether data respectively stored at a plurality of logical addresses prior to the predetermined logical address, through a data operation, are valid based on the mark value.

12. The data recovery method of claim 11, wherein in the determining operation, it is determined whether the data respectively stored at the plurality of logical addresses are valid based on a mark value recorded in an index area corresponding to one of the plurality of logical addresses where the data operation has performed most recently.

13. The data recovery method of claim 12, wherein, in the determining operation, if the data operation is performed first on a middle portion of the flash memory and then on other portions of the flash memory, it is determined whether data stored in the flash memory are valid based on the mark value recorded in the index area corresponding to the middle portion of the flash memory.

14. The data recovery method of claim 12, wherein it is determined whether data stored at a predetermined logical address is valid based on whether data exists at a logical address subsequent to the predetermined logical address.

15. The data recovery method of claim 13, wherein it is determined whether data stored at a predetermined logical address is valid based on whether data exists at a logical address subsequent to the predetermined logical address.

16. The data recovery method of claim 12, wherein said plurality of logical addresses are a plurality of consecutive logical addresses.

Data Recovery

Access control method and module with data recovery option for a hard disk

DATARECOVERYUNION.COM16 years ago12 years ago07 mins

1. An access control method for a hard disk, comprising the steps of: (A) partitioning the hard disk into primary and secondary partitions; (B) in response to a write command from a host terminal for storing write data in an addressable space found in the primary partition of the hard disk, (i) creating a recovery file that includes a write time, an address of the addressable space, and recover information including a starting data found in the addressable space of the hard disk during the write time, and (ii) storing the write data in the primary partition at the address of the addressable space, and the recovery file in the secondary partition; and (C) in response to a recover command from the host terminal, (a) retrieving the recovery files from the secondary partition, the write time in each of the retrieved recovery files being not earlier than a recovery time associated with the recover command, and (b) based on the contents of the recovery files retrieved in sub-step (a), restoring the primary partition to the starting data initially found therein during the recovery time.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein, in sub-step (ii), the address of the addressable space, the write data and the recovery file are stored in a buffer prior to storage in the hard disk.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the recover information further includes the write data.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein, in sub-step (b), restoring of the primary partition is performed in a chronological order of the write times in the retrieved recovery files starting from one of the retrieved recovery files having a latest write time.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of reporting a total storage capacity of the hard disk as being equal to that of the primary partition in response to a capacity inquiry command from the host terminal.

6. An access control module for a hard disk that is partitioned into primary and secondary partitions, said access control module being responsive to write and recover commands from a host terminal, and comprising: a processor; a first interface adapted to connect said processor to the host terminal; a second interface adapted to connect said processor to the hard disk; a command interpreter coupled to said first interface for interpreting the write and recover commands; and a recovery file creator coupled to said processor and said command interpreter; wherein, in response to the write command for storing write data in an addressable space found in the primary partition of the hard disk, said command interpreter enables said recovery file creator to create a recovery file that includes a write time, an address of the addressable space, and recover information including a starting data found in the addressable space of the hard disk during the write time, and further enables said processor to store the write data in the primary partition at the address of the addressable space, and the recovery file in the secondary partition; and wherein, in response to the recover command from the host terminal, said command interpreter enables said processor to retrieve the recovery files from the secondary partition, the write time in each of the retrieved recovery files being not earlier than a recovery time associated with the recover command, and based on the contents of the recovery files retrieved by said processor, to restore the primary partition to the starting data initially found therein during the recovery time.

7. The access control module of claim 6, further comprising a buffer coupled to said processor, said processor storing the address of the addressable space, the write data and the recovery file in said buffer prior to storage in the hard disk.

8. The access control module of claim 6, wherein the recover information further includes the write data.

9. The access control module of claim 6, wherein said processor restores the primary partition in a chronological order of the write times in the retrieved recovery files starting from one of the retrieved recovery files having a latest write time.

Data Recovery

Preventive recovery action in hard disk drives

DATARECOVERYUNION.COM16 years ago12 years ago08 mins

1. A method in a data processing system for minimizing read/write errors caused by impaired performance of a hard disk drive during runtime operation of said hard disk drive, said runtime operation including an active mode during which read/write operations are performed and a standby mode during which no read/write operation is underway, said method comprising the steps of: monitoring at least one performance parameter of a hard disk drive during said standby mode of operation; and in response to detecting a degraded value of said at least one performance parameter during said monitoring, performing preventive recovery action only during said standby mode of operation, wherein said preventive recovery action includes restoring said performance parameter to an acceptable value without interfering with hard disk drive operation during an active mode.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein said performance parameter is signal resolution, and wherein said step of performing preventive recovery action comprises the step of adjusting a fly height of a read/write head within said hard disk drive, such that said signal resolution is maintained at an acceptable level.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein said data processing system includes a disk drive controller associated with said disk drive, said method further comprising the steps of: during said step of monitoring at least one performance parameter, detecting a degradation of said performance parameter beyond a pre-determined value; and in response to detecting a degradation of said performance parameter, performing preventive recovery action during said standby mode, wherein said preventive recovery action instructs said disk drive controller to undertake corrective action to rectify the degraded performance parameter.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising the steps of: detecting a read/write error during said active mode of operation, said error having a cause that is correlated to said performance parameter; and in response to detecting a read/write error during said active mode of operation, examining said performance parameter during said standby mode, such that said cause may be diagnosed and further read/write errors prevented.

5. The method of claim 4, further comprising the step of correlating said preventive recovery action to said cause of said read/write error, such that said cause may be corrected.

6. The method of claim 4, wherein said step of examining said at least one performance parameter is preceded by the steps of: initiating a data recovery procedure during said active mode; and upon completion of said data recovery procedure, initiating preventive recovery action during said standby mode, such that a subsequent read/write error may be prevented.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the step of initiating preventive recovery action during said standby mode is followed by the steps of: determining whether said cause has been corrected by said preventive recovery action; in response to said cause having been corrected, continuing said runtime operation of said hard disk drive; and in response to said cause having not been corrected, utilizing predictive failure analysis to issue a warning, such that said hard disk drive may be taken off-line.

8. A system for preventing read/write failures within a hard disk drive during runtime operation of said hard disk drive, said runtime operation including an active mode during which read/write operations are performed and a standby mode during which no read/write operation is underway, said hard disk drive including a controller for providing electromechanical control of said hard disk drive, said system comprising: means within a disk controller for monitoring a performance parameter of said hard disk drive during said standby mode of operation; means responsive to a detected degradation of said performance parameter for producing an error signal indicative of a potential hard disk drive failure; and means responsive to receiving said error signal for initiating preventive recovery action only during a standby mode of operation, wherein said preventive recovery action includes restoring said performance parameter to an acceptable value without interfering with hard disk drive operation during an active mode.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein said means for monitoring a performance parameter of a hard disk drive and said means for producing an error signal in response to detection of a potential hard disk drive failure, are predictive failure analysis instruction means.

10. The system of claim 9, further comprising: a controller for providing electromechanical control of said hard disk drive, said controller receiving and executing said predictive failure analysis instructions.

11. The system of claim 9, wherein said means for initiating preventive recovery action only during a standby mode of operation are preventive recovery action instruction means included within said controller.

Data Recovery

Data clock recovery circuit

DATARECOVERYUNION.COM16 years ago12 years ago16 mins

1. A variable phase oscillator comprising:
an oscillator having a substantially fixed frequency output signal;

means for periodically generating coded phase values of said oscillator output signal, said generating means including means for quantizing the phase value of said oscillator output signal into a predetermined number of phase steps;

a source of a prescribed phase value; and

means for comparing said periodically generated coded phase values and said prescribed phase value to periodically generate output pulse signals.

2. The invention as defined in claim 1 wherein the relative phase of said output pulse signals in relationship to said oscillator output signal is dependent on said prescribed phase value.

3. The invention as defined in claim 2 wherein said source of said prescribed phase value includes means for obtaining a phase value which represents the phase difference between said coded phase values and an incoming data transition.

4. The invention as defined in claim 1 wherein said source of said prescribed phase value includes means for obtaining the coded phase value being generated upon occurrence of an incoming data transition.

5. The invention as defined in claim 4 wherein said source of said prescribed phase value includes means supplied with said coded phase values and being responsive to an incoming data transition for storing the coded phase value being generated upon occurrence of said data transition and for adding a predetermined phase value to said stored coded phase value.

6. The invention as defined in claim 4 wherein said source of said prescribed phase value further includes means for adding a predetermined phase value to said obtained coded phase value.

7. The invention as defined in claim 6 wherein said means for obtaining comprises means supplied with said coded phase values and being responsive to said incoming data transition for storing the coded phase value being generated upon occurrence of said data transition.

8. The invention as defined in claim 7 wherein said predetermined phase value is dependent on the incoming data bit period.

9. Data clock recovery apparatus comprising:
an oscillator having a substantially fixed frequency output signal;

means for periodically generating coded phase values of said oscillator output signal, said generating means including means for quantizing said oscillator output signal into a predetermined number of phase steps;

means supplied with said coded phase values and being responsive to an incoming data transition for generating a prescribed phase value in predetermined relationship to a coded phase value being generated upon the occurrence of said data transition; and

means for comparing said periodically generated coded phase values with said prescribed phase value to generate periodically clock recovery pulse signals.

10. The invention as defined in claim 9 wherein said means for generating said prescribed phase value includes means supplied with said periodically generated coded phase values and being responsive to an incoming data transition for storing the coded phase value being generated upon occurrence of said data transition and for adding a predetermined phase value to said stored coded phase value.

11. The invention as defined in claim 9 wherein said means for generating said prescribed phase value comprises means supplied with said periodically generated coded phase values and being responsive to an incoming data transition for storing the coded phase value being generated upon occurrence of said data transition and means for adding a predetermined phase value to said stored coded phase value.

12. The invention as defined in claim 11 wherein said coded phase values are coded in a Gray-code format.

13. The invention as defined in claim 11 wherein said predetermined phase value is selected in predetermined relationship to the incoming data bit period.

14. The invention as defined in claim 13 wherein said comparing means generates a clock recovery pulse when said supplied coded phase value equals said prescribed phase value.

Data Recovery

Stored data recovery system

DATARECOVERYUNION.COM16 years ago12 years ago112 mins

1. A method for recovering data from a flash data storage system, the method comprising the steps of: loading flash data storage media into a device using a flash data storage system, said device being connected to a technical workstation; loading all physical sectors of the flash data media into memory of the technical workstation or remotely controlling the flash data storage system through hardware/software; whereupon data storage on the flash data storage media can be diagnosed and rectified through operation of the data recovery computer portion of the technical workstation.

2. The method as defined in claim 1, further including the step of querying a flash data storage system for information through operation of a data recovery program by the technical workstation prior to loading sectors onto the data recovery computer portion of the technical workstation.

3. The method as defined in claim 2 wherein said step of querying said flash data storage system includes determining at least one of: the PC card type, the memory size, PC card geometry, chip type, firmware revision, and type of card.

4. The method as defined in claim 2, further including the step of querying the flash data storage system for identifying information through operation of a data recovery program by the technical workstation prior to loading all physical sectors of the flash data media into memory of the technical workstation.

5. The method as defined in claim 4 wherein the step of querying the flash data storage system for identifying information further includes the step of checking socket status for write protection and the status of the backup battery on the flash data storage system.

6. The method as defined in claim 2, wherein the step of identifying the flash data storage system includes monitoring the flash data storage medium containing the data recovery application programs.

7. The method as defined in claim 1 further including the step of executing a data recovery application program on the flash data storage system.

8. The method as defined in claim 7 wherein the step of executing a data recovery application program further includes the step of computing a CRC checksum over an entire PC card or section thereof.

9. The method as defined in claim 1, further including the step of executing a data recovery diagnostic program on the flash data storage system.

10. The method as defined in claim 9 wherein the step of executing a data recovery diagnostic program includes the step of generating DOS-Formats for SRAM and ATA cards.

11. The method as defined in claim 1, further including the step of downloading data to be recovered from the flash data storage system to said technical workstation.

12. The method as defined in claim 1, further including the step of logging all write activity, to be performed on a sector of the flash data storage media to a file on said technical workstation.

13. The method as defined in claim 12, further including the step of providing each entry within the file with an identifier which identifies the sector and the local storage device, as well as the latest data which was written to that sector.

14. A data recovery system for recovering inaccessible data from a flash data storage system, comprising: a flash data storage system selected from a group including: CompactFlash, ATA Type I, II, III or IV, digital film card, SmartMedia, Memory Stick, Multimedia Card (MMC), Secure Digital Card (SD) or other similar flash device; a data recovery system including a computer which computer accesses or controls the flash data storage system so that data on the flash data storage media of the flash data storage system can be diagnosed and rectified.

15. A data recovery system as defined in claim 14, further including a technical workstation which includes a second data storage media for storing data recovery application program means.

16. A data recovery system as defined in claim 14, further comprising a communications channel over which communications are established between the flash data storage system and the technical workstation, said communications channel using one of the group including a PCMCIA Adapter, Floppy type adapter, local area network, wide area network, Internet and proprietary adapter suited to the flash storage device.

17. A data recovery system as defined in claim 14, wherein the flash data storage system is operable from said data recovery computer so as to recover data from the flash data storage media.

18. A data recovery system as defined in claim 14, wherein a flash data storage device is operable from the data recovery computer so as to diagnose a data recovery situation on the flash data storage media.

19. A data recovery system for recovering inaccessible data from a flash data storage system to another flash data storage system, said data recovery system comprising: a flash data storage system selected from a group including: CompactFlash, ATA Type I, II, III or IV, digital film card, Smart Media, Memory Stick, Multimedia Card (MMC), Secure Digital Card (SD) or other similar flash device; a computer which accesses or controls the flash data storage system so that data on the flash data storage media can be diagnosed and rectified.

20. The data recovery system as defined in claim 19 further including: a communication channel over which communications are established between the flash data storage system and another flash data storage system, said communications channel using one of the group including an PCMCIA Adapter, a Floppy type adapter, local area network, wide area network, Internet, and proprietary adapter suited to the flash storage system.

21. A method for recovering data from a flash data storage system, the method comprising the steps of: establishing a data link between a technical workstation and a flash data storage media through operation of a data recovery application program by a technical workstation; and controlling flash data storage by a technical workstation; whereupon data on the storage media of the flash data storage system can be diagnosed and rectified through operation of said technical workstation.

22. A data recovery system as defined in claim 21, further including means for transferring all data, which is marked for being changed to an archival facility before making the changes to the flash card data storage media.

23. A data recovery system as defined in claim 21, further including means for logging all write activity, to be performed on a sector of a local storage device, or to a file on the flash card data storage media.

24. A data recovery system as defined in claim 21, wherein each entry within the file contains an identifier, said identifier identifying the sector and the local storage device, as well as the latest data which was written to that sector.

25. A data recovery system as defined in claim 21, further including means to select data recovery events during a data recovery process.

26. A method of data recovery comprising the steps of: establishing a communications link between a flash data storage system requiring recovery of data and a data recovery computer; enabling interaction between said flash storage system and said data recovery computer; diagnosing said flash data storage system; downloading a data recovery application program from said data recovery computer to said flash data storage system; and recovering data on the flash storage system.