Data Recovery Blog

Imaging tools provide custom hardware and software solutions to the challenges of read instability.

Processing All Bytes in Sectors with Errors

While the system software works well with hard disk drives that are performing correctly, read instability must be dealt with using specialized software that bypasses the BIOS and operating system. This specialized software must be able to use ATA read commands that ignore ECC status. (These commands are only present in the ATA specification for LBA28 mode, though, and are not supported in LBA48.) Also, the software should have the capability of reading the drive error register (Figure 2), which the standard system software doesn’t provide access to. Reading the error register allows specialized software to employ different algorithms for different errors. For instance, in the case of the UNC error (“Uncorrectable Data: ECC error in data field, which could not be corrected”), the software can issue a read command that ignores ECC status. In many cases, the AMNF error can be dealt with in a similar way.

Bit 0 – Data Address Mark Not Found: During the read sector command, a data address mark was not found after finding the correct ID field for the requested sector (usually a media error or read instability).

Bit 1 – Track 0 Not Found: Track 0 was not found during drive recalibration.
Bit 2 – Aborted Command: The requested command was aborted due to a device status error.
Bit 3 – Not used (0).
Bit 4 – ID Not Found: The required cylinder, head, and sector could not be found, or an ECC error occurred in the ID field.
Bit 5 – Not used (0).
Bit 6 – Uncorrectable Data: An ECC error in the data field could not be corrected media error or read instability).
Bit 7 – Bad Mark Block: A bad sector mark was found in the ID field of the sector or an Interface CRC error occurred.

Figure 2: ATA Error Register

Only when the sector header has been corrupted (an IDNF error) is it unlikely that the sector can be read, since the drive in this case is unable to find the sector. Experience shows, however, that over 90 percent of all problems with sectors are due to errors in the data, not in the header, because the data constitutes the largest portion of the sector.

Also, the data area is constantly being rewritten, which increases read instability. Header contents usually stay constant throughout the life of the drive. As a result, over 90 percent of sectors that are unreadable by ordinary means are in fact still readable. Moreover, problem sectors usually have a small number of bytes with errors, and these errors can often be corrected by a combination of multiple reads and statistical methods.

If a sector is read ten times and a particular byte returns the same value eight times out of ten, then that value is statistically likely to be the correct one. More sophisticated statistical techniques can also be useful.

In fact, some data recovery solution providers have encountered situations in which every sector of a damaged drive had a problem. This situation would normally leave the data totally unrecoverable, but with proper disk imaging, these drives were read and corrected in their entirety.

Unfortunately, most imaging tools currently available on the market use system software to access the drive and are therefore extremely limited in their imaging capabilities. These products attempt to read a sector several times in the hope that one read attempt will complete without an ECC error. But this approach is not very successful. For example, if there is even a one percent chance of any byte being read incorrectly, the chances of reading all 512 bytes correctly on one particular read is low (about 0.58 percent). In this case, an average of 170 read attempts would be necessary to yield one successful sector read. As read instability increases, the chances of a successful read quickly become very low. For example, if there were a ten percent chance of reading any byte wrong, an average of 2.7 x 1023 read attempts would be needed for one successful one. If one read attempt took 1 ms, this number of reads would take 8000 billion years, or many times the age of the universe. No practical number of read attempts will give a realistic chance of success.

However, if imaging software can read while ignoring ECC status, a 10 percent probability of a byte being read in error is not an issue. In 10 reads, very few bytes will return less than seven or eight consistent values, making it virtually certain that this value is the correct one. Thus, imaging software that bypasses the system software can deal with read instability much more easily.

Hard Disk Repair

Disk Imaging Problems

DATARECOVERYUNION.COM16 years ago12 years ago08 mins

Disk imaging is not a trivial task. Degraded drives and drives whose physical defects have been repaired often yield a high read error rate, or read instability. Read instability means that multiple readings of the same data tend to yield different results each time. Read instability differs from cases where data originally written in error is read consistently each time, or where a physical scratch makes an entire part of the disk unreadable no matter how many read attempts are made.

What Causes Read Instability?

Repaired drives may have high read instability for a number of reasons. Donor parts, while nominally identical to the original failed parts, differ slightly due to tolerances in the manufacturing process. The majority of modern hard disk drives are individually tested at the factory and have optimized adaptive parameters burned into the read-only memory. If one or more parts are later replaced, the adaptive parameters are no longer optimized to the new configuration. Because modern drives are fine-tuned to obtain maximum performance and capacity, even small deviations from optimum can introduce a high rate of read errors.

In drives that have not been repaired, physical degradation due to normal use also means that adaptive parameters are no longer optimum, thus leading to read instability. For example, wear in the actuator bearings causes slight deviations in the distance the arm moves across the platter. As a result, the current that was once required to move the actuator to a certain track is no longer sufficient to move the arm precisely. Read errors can also be caused by dust infiltration into the disk drive over the course of its life, which may make the read process electronically noisy.

The important point is that failed drives tend to have read instability no matter what the reason for failure.

For the purposes of imaging a disk, read instability is not a major obstacle in principle, since each sector can be read several times and statistical methods can be applied to obtain the most likely correct value for each byte. However, because of the way that the basic input/output system (BIOS), operating system (OS), and drive firmware behave, it is impossible to obtain data during drive read instability without specialized hardware and software.

Why System Software Can’t Handle Read Instability

System software consists of a computer’s BIOS and OS. The primary reason that computers can’t handle read instability without specialized tools is that the system software reads each disk sector presuming that the sector is not corrupted—that is, that the data is read-stable. A sector on a disk typically consists of a header, 512 bytes of data, and error correction code (ECC) bytes (Figure 1). Other bytes are present to facilitate read/write synchronization.

For simplicity, the ECC bytes can be thought of as a checksum to validate data integrity. Most current hard disk drives are Advanced Technology Attachment (ATA) compliant devices. The system software reads the drive sector-by-sector, using the standard ATA read sector command. If a sector has a wrong ECC checksum, it returns no data, just an error, despite the fact that most of the bytes in the sector are likely correct and all are actually readable, even if some of the data is corrupt. The system software is unable to access data byte-by-byte, using other ATA read commands that read data regardless of ECC status.

Example of Sector Format.

The system software reads drives in this way because the mandate of computer architecture is to create a reliable, stable machine that runs at the highest possible speed. The system software cannot allow errors to be propagated from the hard drive to the computer’s random access memory (RAM). These errors might be part of an executable file that would then cause the computer to stop responding. Thus, system software has a low tolerance for read instability and assumes that the drive is working correctly without delving into drive errors except to flag whole sectors as bad and to avoid reading them.

Also, in many cases the system software is unable to handle drive errors, a situation that may cause the system to stop responding.

Using the system software to read a drive is also time-consuming and involves intense drive processing, leading to further wear. This wear increases the likelihood of further disk degradation during the imaging process. See “Processing All Bytes in Sectors with Errors ” for more information on how disk imaging is by its nature very demanding on the drive, involving multiple reads on the entire disk and modifying its firmware data. Since progressive disk degradation is common (that is, read instability increases with use), it is desirable to reduce the
demands on the drive.

Thus, even a relatively low level of read instability, which is common for drives in recovery, can lead to the computer not being able to read the drive at all, despite the fact that the drive is still readable by other means.

Data Recovery

3D Data Recovery process

DATARECOVERYUNION.COM16 years ago12 years ago06 mins

Data recovery firms are missing out on data they could retrieve with the complete 3D Data Recovery process. Proper data recovery involves three phases: drive restoration, disk imaging, and data retrieval. But data recovery professionals can face frustrating problems when imaging a damaged disk. The drive may repeatedly stop responding in the middle of copying data. The drive may fail completely because of the stress caused by intensive read processes. Significant portions of data may be left behind in bad sectors.

These issues plague firms that use traditional disk imaging methods. Read instability makes it difficult to obtain consistent data quickly, and system software is not equipped to read bad sectors. However, these problems can be solved with imaging tools that address disk-level issues.

Imaging software bypasses system software and ignores error correction code (ECC), processing each byte of data in bad sectors. Inconsistent data is evaluated statistically to determine the most likely correct value. Faster transfer methods speed up the process, and customizable algorithms allow the data recovery professional to fine-tune each pass. Imaging software provides feedback on the data recovered while imaging is still underway.

Imaging hardware can reset the drive when it stops responding, which minimizes damage from head-clicks and allows the process to run safely without supervision.

1.Drive Restoration: Damage to the hard disk drive (also referred to as HDD) is diagnosed and repaired as necessary. There are three main types of damage:

Physical/mechanical damage: Failed heads and other physical problems are often repaired by replacing the damaged hardware with a donor part.
Electronic problems: Failed printed circuit boards (PCBs) are replaced with donor PCBs, and the contents of the failed PCB read-only memory (ROM) are copied to the donor.
Firmware failure: Firmware failures are diagnosed and fixed at the drive level.2.Disk Imaging: The contents of the repaired drive are read and copied to another disk, Disk imaging prevents further data loss caused by working with an unstable drive during the subsequent data retrieval phase.Drives presented for recovery often have relatively minor physical degradation due to wear from normal use. The wear is severe enough for the drive to stop working in its native system. However, imaging software can work with slightly degraded drives, so part replacement is often not required. In these cases, the data recovery process can skip drive restoration and start with disk imaging.3. Data Retrieval: The original files that were copied onto the image drive are retrieved. Data retrieval can involve these tasks:
File system recovery: The recreation of a corrupted file system structure such as a corrupted directory structure or boot sector, due to data loss.
File verification: Recovered files are tested for potential corruption.
File repair: If necessary, corrupted files are repaired. Files might be corrupt because data could not be fully restored in previous phases, in which case disk imaging is repeated to retrieve more sectors. File repair is completed, where possible, using vendor-specific tools.Drive restoration and data retrieval, the first and last phases, are well-serviced by the data recovery industry. Many data recovery companies have the necessary software, hardware, knowledge, and skilled labor to complete these phases. However, the technology for effective disk imaging has been relatively neglected because of its challenges, making it a weak link in the data recovery process. Data recovery firms that skim the surface with traditional imaging methods often miss out on potential revenue.

Hard Disk Repair

Ultimate Boot CD

DATARECOVERYUNION.COM16 years ago2 years ago03 mins

You need the Ultimate Boot CD if you want to:

Run floppy-based diagnostic tools from CDROM drives. More and more PCs are shipped without floppy drives these days, and it is such a royal pain when you need to run diagnostic tools on them.
Free yourself from the slow loading speed of the floppy drive. Even if you do have a floppy drive, it is still much much faster to run your diagnostic tools from the CDROM drive, rather than wait for the tool to load from the floppy drive.
Consolidate as many diagnostic tools as possible into one bootable CD. Wouldn’t you like to avoid digging into the dusty box to look for the right floppy disk, but simply run them all from a single CD? Then the Ultimate Boot CD is for you!
New! Run Ultimate Boot CD from your USB memory stick. A script on the CD prepares your USB memory stick so that it can be used on newer machines that supports booting from USB devices. You can access the same tools as you would from the CD version.

Ultimate Boot CD is completely free for the download, or could be obtained for a small fee. If you had somehow paid a ridiculous amount of money for it, you have most likely been fleeced. The least you could do is to make as many copies of the offical UBCD and pass it to your friends, relatives, colleagues or even complete strangers to minimize the per unit cost of your loss!

When you boot up from the CD, a text-based menu will be displayed, and you will be able to select the tool you want to run. The selected tool actually boots off a virtual floppy disk created in memory.

Hard Disk Repair

Glossary of Hard Disk Drive Terminology (Letter E)

DATARECOVERYUNION.COM16 years ago12 years ago03 mins

ECC On-the-Fly
A hardware correction technique that corrects errors in the read buffer prior to host transfer without any performance penalties. These error corrections are invisible to the host system because they do not require assistance from the drive’s firmware.

EIDE (Enhanced Integrated Drive Electronics)
The primary interface used by desktop PCs to handle communication between hard drives and the central processing unit. The equivalent interface system in most enterprise systems is SCSI.

Embedded Servo Control
The embedded servo control design generates accurate feedback information to the head position servo system without requiring a full data surface (which is required with a “dedicated” servo control method) because servo control data is stored on every surface.

Encoding
The process of modifying data patterns prior to writing them on the disk surface.

Enterprise
The series of computers employed largely in high-volume and multi-user environments such as servers or networking applications; may include single-user workstations required in demanding design, engineering and audio/visual applications.

Enterprise Storage Group
The Western Digital operation that designs, produces and markets hard drives for the enterprise market.

Error Correction Code (ECC)
A mathematical algorithm that detects and corrects errors in a data field.

Error Log
A record that contains error information.

Error Rate
The number of errors of a given type that occur when reading a specified number of bits.

Extended Partition
You can create multiple partitions on a hard disk, one primary partition and one or more extended partition(s). Operating system files must reside on the primary partition. An extended partition is a partition where non-system files (files other than DOS or operating system files) can be stored on a disk. You can also create logical drives on the extended partition.

Hard Disk Repair

Glossary of Hard Disk Drive Terminology (Letter D)

DATARECOVERYUNION.COM16 years ago12 years ago04 mins

Database
A collection of data stored on a computer system medium, such as a hard drive, CD-ROM, etc., that can be used for more than one purpose.

Data Lifeguard
A Western Digital exclusive data reliability feature that automatically detects, isolates and repairs problem areas on the hard drive before data loss can occur.

Data Synchronizer
An electronic circuit that uses a clock signal to synchronize data to facilitate interpretation.

Dedicated Landing Zone
The designated radial zone of the disk, usually at the inner portion of the disk, where the heads are stored to avoid contact with the data cylinders when power to the drive is off.

Defect Free
A term used to describe recording surfaces that have no detectable defects.

Defect Management
A general methodology of eliminating data errors on a recording surface by mapping out known defects on the media. The defective areas are rendered inaccessible, so that when information is written to the disk, it is stored to non-defective locations on the disk.

Desktop
A personal computer sized to fit on or under your desktop. Western Digital EIDE hard drives are designed to fit into a desktop PC.

Differential SCSI
An electrical signal configuration which uses pairs of lines for data transfer. Used primarily in applications requiring long cable lengths of up to 82 feet (25 meters).

Direct Memory Access (DMA)
A process for transferring data directly to and from main memory, without passing through the CPU. DMA improves speed and efficiency by allowing the system to continue CPU processing even while it is transferring data to/from the hard drive.

Disk
A rigid platter, usually constructed of aluminum or mylar, with a magnetic surface that allows the recording of data, that is stored inside the drive.

Disk Controller
The chip or circuit that controls the transfer of data between the disk and buffer. (See also disk drive controller and interface controller).

Disk Drive Controller
The hard disk drive controller electronics which include the disk controller and the interface controller. (See also disk controller and interface controller.)

Disk Operating System (DOS)
The computer program that controls the organization of data, files and processes on the computer.

Disk Transfer Rate
Speed at which data transfers to and from the disk media (actual disk platter); a function of the recording frequency. Typical units are bits per second (BPS), or bytes per second. Hard drives have an increasing range of disk transfer rates from the inner diameter to the outer diameter of the disk.

Distribution Channel
Electronics distributors and certain retail chains that deliver electronic goods to end users through value-added resellers and some retail stores.

Hard Disk Repair

Glossary of Hard Disk Drive Terminology (Letter C)

DATARECOVERYUNION.COM16 years ago12 years ago07 mins

Cable Select (CSEL)
An alternative option which can be used in place of setting Master/Slave jumpers in the designation of drives in a dual drive configuration. Master/Slave designation is based on the position of the drives relative to the cable. Special cabling is required by the system manufacturer to selectively ground the CSEL signal on one of the IDE cable connectors. For example, when one of the drives is connected to the grounded CSEL conductor, it configures itself as the Master. When the second drive is connected to the other connector, on which CSEL is not grounded, it becomes the slave. This eliminates the need for unique jumpering configurations between the Master and Slave drives.

Cache
High-speed RAM used as a buffer between the CPU and a hard drive. The cache retains recently accessed information to speed up subsequent accesses to the same data. When data is read from or written to disk, a copy is saved in the cache, along with the associated disk address. The cache monitors the addresses of subsequent read operations to see if the required data is already in the cache. If it is, the drive returns the data immediately. If it is not in the cache, then it is fetched from the disk and saved in the cache.

Capacity
The amount of information, measured in bytes, that can be stored on a hard drive. Also known as storage capacity.

Channel
A connection or socket on the motherboard or controller card. A motherboard may have one or two channels (primary and secondary). If your motherboard has only one channel, you may need to add a controller card to create a secondary channel.

Channel Assembly
In the computer industry, the final assembly of a system by a distributor or reseller from kits provided by the manufacturer and from components shipped directly to the assembler by subsystem makers.

Clean Room
An environmentally controlled, dust-free, assembly or repair facility in which hard drives are assembled or opened for internal servicing.

Cluster
A cluster is defined as an allocation unit. At least one cluster is allocated to each file, regardless of the file’s size, that is stored in the DOS environment. The cluster size increases with the partition size determined during formatting. With a 1024 MB partition, the cluster size is 32 KB. Each file stored consumes 32 KB of storage space, no matter how small the file. Create multiple, smaller partitions to avoid wasting space on small files. (This definition applies to FAT16).

CMOS Setup
A program supplied in most systems that allows you to configure internal and external devices.

Command Aging
A SCSI feature that prevents the command reordering algorithm from keeping I/O processes waiting in the command queue for extended periods of time.

Command Queuing
A feature that enables the drive to receive I/O processes from one or more initiators and execute them in an optimum sequence.

Command Reordering
A feature that allows the drive to reorder I/O processes in the command queue, which results in minimizing the seek time and rotational latency and thus increases throughput.

Controller
See disk controller, interface controller, and disk drive controller.

Controller Card
An adapter with the control electronics for one or more hard drives. Usually installed in a bus slot in the computer.

Correctable Error
An error that the drive can correct by using Error Detection and Correction schemes.

Customer Configuration Code (CCC)
A firmware revision tracking code that defines a major product change. This number increments as form, fit or function changes are implemented. The CCC code guarantees that the correct revision of drive product is provided to the customer.

Cyclic Redundancy Check (CRC)
Data stored or transmitted with data to detect corruption. By calculating the CRC data and comparing it to the original data sent, the receiver can detect some types of transmission errors.

Cylinder
The cylindrical surface formed by identical track numbers on vertically stacked disks.

Cylinder, Head, Sector (CHS) Addressing
A method of referencing the sectors on a drive as a collection of unique cylinder, head and sector addresses. Each block on the drive will have a unique cylinder, head and sector address.

Hard Disk Repair

Glossary of Hard Disk Drive Terminology (Letter B)

DATARECOVERYUNION.COM16 years ago12 years ago04 mins

Bandwidth
The amount of data that can be sent over a given circuit. See also buffer bandwidth.

BIOS (Basic input/output system)
A program or set of programs that control the basic functions of the computer.

Bit
An abbreviation for a binary digit which can be either 0 or 1. A bit is the basic data unit of all digital computers. It is usually part of a data byte, or data word; however, a single bit can be used to control or read logic ON/OFF functions. A bit is a single digit in a binary number. Bits are the basic unit of information capacity on a computer storage device. Eight bits equal one byte.

Bit density
Expressed as bits per inch (BPI), the number of bits that can be written onto one inch of track on a disk surface.

Block
A group of bytes handled, stored, and accessed as a logical data unit, such as an individual file record. A block in UNIX workstation environments is the smallest contiguous area that can be allocated for the storage of data. (Note: A different definition of the term is used when referring to the physical configuration of a hard drive.)

Boot
To start or restart your computer; loading the operating system.

BPI
Bits per inch. Indicates the density of information on a hard drive. See bit density.

Buffer
A temporary data storage area used to make up for a difference in data transfer rates and/or data processing rates between sender and receiver. For example, a printer buffer copies data from the computer and holds it until the printer is ready to print it.

Buffer Bandwidth
The speed of transferring data to or from the buffer.

Build-to-order
In the computer industry, the assembly of a system in response to a customer’s order, rather than for inventory or mass shipment. A system utilized by Dell Computer and Gateway, now being emulated to some degree by other PC makers like IBM, HP and Compaq.

Business Model
A company’s financial plan, including product pricing and margin calculations.

Burst Mode Transfer Rate
The transfer rate into the buffer RAM of the hard disk. This rate does not factor in delays due to latencies or host delays. See also transfer rate.

Bus
The path that carries data between the computer (microprocessor) and peripheral devices. An IDE interface cable and a SCSI cable are both examples of a bus.

Byte
A sequence of eight binary digits or bits regarded to be a unit or binary word. The storage capacity of a disk drive is commonly measured in megabytes, which is the total number of storable bits divided by eight million.

Data Recovery

How to select a data recovery provider

DATARECOVERYUNION.COM16 years ago4 years ago08 mins

Scan the web for data recovery providers, and you’ll find hundreds of companies promoting data recovery capabilities. Choosing the right provider can be a deciding factor in whether you will get your lost data back – and if so – how long you will have to wait. The information below will help you identify misleading sales tactics and select the provider that offers the highest level of professional service and overall best value.

Step 1: Identify companies that have the technology and resources to solve a wide array of data loss challenges.

How long has the provider been in the data recovery service business?
Does the provider have a clean-room laboratory to safely open, repair and recover data from media storage devices?
How many recovery labs with clean-rooms, does the provider operate? Does the provider have global coverage?
Does the provider have a sufficient number of engineers to handle large and complex recovery jobs and handle peak-demand seasons (e.g. hurricane season)?
Can the provider recover data from systems that are proprietary to their clients? Does the provider have the technology and resources to develop customized data recovery tools if required?
Does the provider have the expertise to recover data from virtually any type of platform, storage device, database or operating system?
Does the provider have the resources to perform emergency and/or on-site data recoveries?

Step 2: Identify companies that provide a range of data recovery solutions to fit your specific needs.

Does the provider have service and/or do-it-yourself software options to fit your budget?
Does the provider offer a fast enough level of recovery service to address the most urgent data loss situations?
Can the provider offer a secure remote data recovery service for data loss situations where no mechanical damage has occurred to the storage device?
What is the standard turn-time required for desktop recovery and laptop data recoveries? For more complex systems?
Does the provider retain your recovered data for a period of time after the client’s recovery is complete?

Step 3: Identify providers that will provide you with the information required to make an educated purchase decision.

Will the provider give you a file listing report showing the recoverability of your files before you commit to recovery fees? Is this included in their evaluation service?
If the provider offers a file listing report, how long will it take them to deliver the report?
Will the provider commit to quoted price ranges in writing to ensure the services fit your budget?

Step 4: Identify companies that offer professional customer service whenever and wherever you need it.

Does the provider offer 24/7/365 customer service?
In which languages does the provider offer customer support?
Will the provider offer you free, no-obligation consultation and present you with a range of recovery options?
Will the provider allow you to speak one-to-one with a data recovery engineer to discuss your options?
Does the provider have a technical support team on staff to offer pre- and post-recovery support?
Does the provider have online customer portals to allow you to track the progress of your data recovery from start to finish?

Step 5: Identify companies that have well documented and established procedures for maintaining the security and confidentiality of your data.

Is the provider authorized by private and government entities to handle highly sensitive data?
Does the provider have the expertise to properly document chain of custody if the storage media is likely to be involved in an investigation or court case?
Does the provider have the ability to recover encrypted data?
Does the provider have the ability to return your data in an encrypted form?
Does the provider perform employee background checks for anyone that may come into contact with your data?
Does the provider participate in the U.S. GSA (General Services Administration) Program?
Do the provider’s facilities meet all U.S. Department of Defense specifications?

Step 6: Avoid the gimmicks! Select a data recovery provider you can trust by eliminating those who use questionable sales tactics

If the provider offers “free evaluations”, what is included in the free service? Will you receive a file listing report showing which files can be recovered before you are required to approve additional charges?
If the provider offers “no data, no charge”, what will they charge you if they recover data but not the data that you need.
If the provider quotes a price range for their recovery service, will they put it in writing?
Does the provider charge you for parts or are there other hidden fees?
Does the provider use outside or third parties to perform the data recovery service?

Data Recovery

Reasons and Costs of Data Loss

DATARECOVERYUNION.COM16 years ago4 years ago03 mins

Computer data may be one of your company’s most valuable and vulnerable assets. According to our experience, the primary threats to your data include:

Hardware or System Problems
Human Error
Software Corruption or Program Problems
Computer Viruses
Natural Disasters

These five major threats to your computer data share two things in common: they are unpredictable and, in many cases, uncontrollable. Therefore, the precautions taken by IT professionals to safeguard company data cannot always prevent a data loss.

Computer users and many experts often consider lost data permanently destroyed, with no hope of recovery. Information about lost data can be complex, inconsistent or inaccurate, so it’s not surprising that data loss and data recovery are some of the most confusing and misunderstood concepts.

In addition to being a vulnerable asset, computer data is also a valuable asset.

Based on the information below it is easy to see how significant the costs of lost or inaccessible data can be. The following is a summary of the average hourly impact of lost data on a selection of different businesses.

Type of Business & Average Hourly Impact

When time is crucial and data is mission-critical, data recovery may be the most practical option available. Data recovery professionals recover data from the damaged media itself, providing several advantages over alternative methods of data retrieval.

1) Complete – Data recovery professionals can safely enter the system or media to achieve a comprehensive data recovery.

2) Current – Although many people revert to backups following a data loss, those backups typically contain outdated information or could be corrupt themselves. Data recovery can help you access the most recent version of the lost data.

3) Fast – Every second that passes following a data disaster means time and money lost to your company. Data recovery reduces this downtime by quickly recovering and returning your data.

4) Cost-effective – The expense in time, money, and effort of rebuilding or re-keying lost data can be overwhelming to your company. Data recovery can provide the quickest and most complete data recovery possible.