When we think in terms of a need to recover data it is seldom due to a minor cause such as an accidentally deleted file. No, we are almost always referring to data lost due to a major hardware mishap. Sometimes the perceived as physical damage problem is actually a software issue but in either case the solution is similar.

A need to recover data lost due to a hardware failure is easily defined. Most computer hard drives use a magnetic disc onto which information has been encoded. The platter of the disk spins around and a magnetic head much like that used on a tape player reads and writes the information. Now a 200 gig hard drive is a much more precise invention than an old VHS video machine. And as such it must be better protected from moisture and dust. Any intrusion of either and the hard drive is apt to fail. Also, computer hard drives use a motor to spin that disk and as with any motor it does not have an unlimited number off rotations in its life. Both the motor and head of a computer hard disk are controlled by a circuit board. Should the PC processor overheat that heat can cause the control board of the hard drive to fail as well. Another factor in a computer hard drive experiencing a physical crash is simple handling. A laptop that is dropped can easily received damage to the internal components of its drive. A desktop tower that gets smacked by a vacuum cleaner can just as easily have its hard disk jam.

When a computer hard drive fails there are two options. One, repair the drive and hope the data on it is accessible after the repair. Two, have a qualified data recovery firm access the information on the drive and rewrite it to new media. Usually the latter is the best choice. Once a hard drive fails it is never quite right. And of course most failed drives are already obsolete. For these reasons we place our emphasis on the need to recover data more than the idea of repairing the drive. The process to recover data from a physically crashed computer hard drive is fairly simple… if you are in the business of doing so.

Because the magnetic platter enclosed in a computer hard drive is mean tot be kept completely isolated from dust and moisture computer hard drives must be disassembled in special cleanrooms. These are dust free environments where humidity is also controlled. Once disassembled a data recovery technician has several choices. He may attempt to repair the failed drive long enough to download its data onto other media such as an external drive or writable disks, or if the damage is too severe he will need to magnetically copy all the information on the hard drive platter itself. This data must them be reconfigured into standard file formats so that you can load it onto your working computer. The entire process is somewhat delicate. And even after the raw data is recovered special proprietary programs must be used to reconstruct the information.
Still the need to recover data is great, as we cannot afford to permanently lose crucial financial and personal records.

It was mentioned earlier that sometimes that which appears to be a hardware problem can often be a software dilemma. Not always is our hard drive fried and overheated. Not always is there a frozen head or burned out motor to blame. More often than not our computer hard drive has suffered what is know as a logic crash. This is a situation where files that are essential to running or computer have gone missing or been corrupted. The symptoms of a logic crash can mimic those of a physical one easily. Logic crashes occur when a processor becomes over worked and data is not transferred. They happen when a computer lose power during a rewrite of data. Sometimes applications can conflict with each other creating a series of faulty files. And, there is always the possibility for file damage caused by any of the thousands of traveling computer viruses.

Hard drive failure caused by a logic crash is repaired differently then that resultant from physical failure. The objective to recover data is the same but the process to do so is far simpler. A hard drive that has failed due to a logic crash must still be removed from the computer. But as the unit is still physically operable it need only be connected to another working PC that has a powerful program to recover data installed on it. That program can scan the entire hard drive quickly, find missing or damage files and then repair or replace them. Once the faulty files are found and fixed the hard drive will be as original and will work when replaced in the computer. The key to data recovery of this kind is to have the most powerful program to recover data available.

Such data recovery software will also rescue lost files from all kinds of digital devices and toys. iPods with lost tunes can have their songs undeleted. Digital cameras with deleted pictures can have photos restored. Zip drives, smart cards, firewires, and any kind of digital storage device made are candidates for data recovery using a quality program built expressly for that purpose.