Bluemax ARA Assoc

Data recovery is the process of extracting data, documents and other files from a damaged, defective or otherwise unreadable digital storage medium. This can be an internal or external hard drive, a USB flash drive, a CD-ROM, A DVD-R, a Compact Flash Card, Sony Memory Stick or almost any other device designed to store digital data. Any of these storage devices can fail unexpectedly. They can be physically damaged. They can be corrupted by viruses or other serious software issues. When these things happen the stored files become unreadable by ordinary means and the only chance to get them back is through the use of a company that offers data recovery services.

Many data recovery companies allow you to send your unreadable medium to them through the mail, often with a form that you fill out online and then print out to include in the package with the damaged storage. You can also call the company to make arrangements by telephone if, for example, the problem device is your hard drive and you don’t have computer access until you get a new one. If the company is local, you can also stop in with your problem drive or other storage device and take care of the paperwork when you get there.

The data recovery house will try to first diagnose the problem to determine whether the issue is related to bad hardware or is simply a data corruption problem. If it is the latter, they may be able to restore the formatting of the storage media and return it to you in usable condition. If the problem is caused by a hardware failure or physical damage, then, at best, you may be able to get your data back on a new storage media. Most companies will let you specify how you’d like the data back: recorded on a new hard drive equivalent to the old one, a set of CDs or DVDs, or some other device.

Sometimes, the storage media is damaged beyond all hope of recovering the data, but that is usually only true for extreme cases. Most of the time, all or most of the data contained on the bad storage device can be retrieved through one method or another. That assumes, of course, that the hard drive data recovery company you select has the capability for more than one approach, and is qualified to attempt data recovery from physically damaged media. You’d be surprised at how many of the local “computer experts” who offer data recovery services do nothing more than run some virus recovery software and hope for the best.

Data recovery is one case where going local isn’t always the best option. It is worth sending your drive clear across the country instead of choosing a local guy, if that’s what it takes to be sure of the qualifications of the company that you’re dealing with.