recover data

As we become more and more dependent on computers, we must realize that they are not perfect. Unfortunately, most times we do not think about backup recovery issues until important data is lost. Data backup and recovery should be used as a safety precaution and not thought of as a last ditch effort to save information. If procedures are put into place to protect important business information in the first place, then the company can rest at ease knowing the information about their business itself and their clients can be retrieved, if faced with unforeseen circumstances.

If valuable information is lost and no backup recovery system has been put into place to protect the data, then there still may be a way to recover files. Depending on the type of damage that has been done, a professional data recovery service may be able to retrieve the lost information. While there is never any guarantee that information can be recovered, professionals who are skilled in recovering lost information will have a better chance of retrieving the files. It may require specialized software used in data recovery or replacing computer and/or hard drive components. But if steps are taken to properly back up the data in the first place, then these methods may never have to be used.

Knowing that you can call upon professionals to help retrieve data can give you peace of mind, yet having a system of backup recovery can also save you stress and aggravation. If the proper steps are taken to protect your valuable data, then the need may never arise for more drastic recovery methods. It is extremely important to choose a method of backup that will work for your business and then implement the process. Having to recreate months or even years of information would be very difficult, if not impossible. Take the time to research the methods available for backing up data and choose one that works with your company’s system.

Scott A. Moulton, a forensics expert says, “I specifically leave off Spinrite because under the strictest terms it is not data recovery software.”

What makes this so much more interesting is what GRC, the makers of Spinrite have to say about their own product: “If you are not already familiar with SpinRite’s 16-year track record of seemingly miraculous data recovery, or if you’re not sure SpinRite is for you, please take a few minutes to read some true-life stories from SpinRite’s users!” Wow! Two experts in the field of data recovery and hard drive repair are clashing.

Lets see why Scott A. Moulton says that Spinrite does not fit on his list. Scott goes on to say, “Data Recovery/Forensics software almost always recover from a source to a destination. Spinrite does not do that, it refreshes the surface and controls reads to get the maximum amount of data from the sectors and then puts it back down on the same drive.” I can agree with that assessment. You want to image the drive before you do any work on it to prevent permanent data loss. It looks like Scott concurs with that assessment: “However, I would like to first try to get the data from the drive before scanning it and trying to rebuild sectors. There are many reasons for this, but the most important one being that the drive can die in the process of running Spinrite.” True. In most cases, Sprinrite takes a long time to do its work. I have just recently had Spinrite to run on a drive for 80 hours.

So would Spinrite be considered a hard drive repair tool? Scott goes on to tell a story…”Another horrific story I have seen with drives sent to me, is that if Spinrite it runs successfully, people are under the impression that the drive is repaired and is usable again and continue to use it. Big mistake and it usually dies again shortly.” Definitely some food for thought. I can see the average computer user coming to the conclusion that the hard drive is ready for regular use which is definitely not the case.

Scott says something at the end of his article that intrigued me, “But for $80 it is well worth the attempt if you are going to do nothing else.” Based on the argument Scott set forth from the outset, I don’t know if this is the case. I am sure that the data is worth more than $80 if data is extremely valuable. With an ending like this, is Spinrite a data recovery tool or not? Looking at these snippets I bet the answer is found in the first snippet above when Scott says, “almost always”

What do you think? Leave a comment on the blog!

You can see the Scott’s full article on spinrite here