The Basics of Computer Data Recovery – Complete Guide

Unlike the old days, data recovery has become accessible to everyone. There were times when you had to be a technical expert to recover lost/deleted data from your computer or other storage devices. It was not a surprise, either, considering how complex the process was. Today, potentially anyone can get their way with computer data recovery. Hundreds of data recovery tools offer easy solutions with maximum results. However, many people still lack basic knowledge about data recovery and how the process works out.

Usually, it is not a problem. You can use the data recovery program without any issues. However, when you come across errors and unexpected messages, you may panic, which is not good. Therefore, it makes a lot of sense to understand the basics of computer data recovery clearly. In this article, we have prepared a brief yet complete guide to the basics of computer data recovery. We shall explain how computer data recovery works and how you can best use these technologies.

What is Data Recovery?

Data recovery is the process of regaining access to the data that you have lost or accidentally deleted. Now, there could be several reasons why you lost the data.

For instance, hardware failure and software errors can cause data loss on storage devices. On Windows, the Blue Screen of Death can cause data loss, which is a big problem. In some cases, everything on the storage device is lost. During other instances, only a few files will be lost. There is also the possibility of accidentally deleting important files from your computer. Depending on your settings, the files may not be in the Recycle Bin. Alternatively, you may have cleared the Recycle Bin before you realized that you deleted something important.

Long story short, you may lose access to important data due to multiple issues. Fortunately, even if you lose access to an entire hard drive partition, there are ways to recover it. And we shall talk about them.

How Does Data Recovery Work?

Data recovery works based on the fact that files/partitions are not completely deleted when you press the ‘Delete’ button. For instance, suppose you have a 1TB SSD on your computer. You seem to have a 1GB file, and you delete the file from the original location and Recycle Bin. Unlike what most people think, it does not get removed from the computer altogether. On the other hand, the space is labeled as ‘free. When a new file overwrites that space, the file is completely removed from the system.

Data recovery works by collecting metadata and rebuilding the actual file from the building blocks. Based on the data recovery method, algorithm, and the type of the recovery solution, the process may provide mixed results. It is one of the reasons why some data recovery programs are more effective than others from the market. In addition to these methods, you can also seek help from professional data recovery tools. They seem to offer better results in sensitive scenarios.

Different Types of Data Recovery

We shall look at the common types of data recovery options out there.

Hard Drive Recovery is the most common option out there. It is because many people want to recover files and folders that they have accidentally deleted from their computer. You can use a number of data recovery tools to regain access to lost/deleted data from your computer. Because the process is relatively simpler, it does not cause much trouble, either. This option works when you have deleted files and folders.

Partition Recovery is the next popular option. It is required when you have accidentally deleted or lost a full disk partition in your computer. Depending on your system, you may have to use different tools here. If you are on Windows, you will need NTFS recovery software, because NTFS is the standard partition style for Windows OS. On the other hand, if you are on Windows, you may need something optimized for AFPS.

RAID Recovery is used in enterprise scenarios where RAID storage is more commonly used. As you can guess, RAID recovery is not as easy as the options we discussed before. We would not recommend messing with a RAID system if it does not work as you expect it to. On the other hand, you should seek professional network help as soon as possible.

Removable Recovery is similar to hard drive recovery. In this case, however, we recover data from an easily removable media source. Again, based on the device, formats other than NTFS could be used. For instance, you can see the use of formats like FAT32 and ExFAT. You may also have to use different tools to enable data recovery from different sources.

Choosing the Right Data Recovery Program

Here are some factors you should consider while choosing a data recovery program for your professional or personal needs.

Recovery Rate

Of course, the data recovery program must be able to recover as much data as possible. Only then will you have an option to choose what you actually want from the list of deleted/lost files or folders.

Compatibility

The data recovery program should also work with different formats and disk types. As we mentioned, you may come across formats like NTFS and FAT32.

Price

Of course, you cannot always rely on free data recovery software. If you want maximum results, you have to pay for premium features, which cost a bit.

Some Common Tips

Here are some of the tips you should consider before attempting data recovery.

• You should always take a full system backup. While data recovery tools are optimized for safety, some things may go wrong. You do not want it to happen.
• You should be careful about the data recovery software you download. Random tools are going to do more harm than good. So, you have to stay away.
• If you do not have success with data recovery on your own, you should not hesitate to contact the professional service providers.

Following these tips will make sure that you can complete the data recovery process without harming your device or other files.

The Bottom Line

We believe this guide on data recovery basics will help you get things done quickly. Of course, there is more to data recovery than what we have mentioned above. However, as long as you want to get the basic tasks done, these steps must be sufficient.