How to Recover Data From Hard Drive Failure

This article will examine various approached to dealing with the most unwelcome situation in modern computer life - bad hard drive data recovery. The process to recover data from hard drive failure can be rather straightforward, so there's no need to panic!

Generally speaking there are two types of solutions -- software based, where you can use data recovery software and hardware based, which requires special tools and expertise.

The sad fact is, there is no such thing as a safe hard drive and it seems that everyone that uses computers has to face this fact in one way or another. Here are the steps to solve your problem before seeking out a hard drive data recovery expert.

Do You Need Hard Drive Recovery or is it a Software Problem?

There are two types of hard drive failures -- mechanical or logical. Mechanical is where the actual drive malfunctions and logical is where your computer can't access the file system on the drive. (If your hard drive is clicking or making other strange sounds it's most likely a mechanical problem.) If it's a logical problem your repair process will be smoother, so the first step is to check is to rule out a mechanical problem as that will determine your future course of action.

You'll need to power down your computer and remove the drive, following the instructions that came with your machine. Next, plug it into another computer with a USB universal drive adapter so that you can see if it still physically functions. If it does boot up (usually showing up as a secondary drive on your desktop) then the first thing you should do is back up all of your data as chances are you will have to reinstall your operating system to get it to boot on your original machine.

With Macs the process is less painless as Apple is great about preserving old data while re-installing an operating system, but it should never been taken as fail safe. If you never had a backup of your data in the first place, then do it now. However, if your drive doesn't read on the other computer, it's time to find a:

Hard Drive Recovery Program

You're now at a crossroads. Time to determine how much you really want your data back because it could be an expensive, time-consuming process. Don't lose hope, as hard drives are fairly resilient, but it's now time to temper your expectations as you move forward with a hard disk recovery program.

For either Mac or PC, Prosoft Engineering has a free download of their data recovery program that will allow you to analyze the drive to see if the data is recoverable. Like most other companies, Prosoft's demo will tell you what data you can get back before you drop money for their software. At this point you're still in the realm of low cost data recovery - from $50 to $200. Mac users can try Prosoft while PC users can try GetData's RecoverMyFiles (low end) or Ontrack's EasyRecovery DataRecovery (high end).

If it looks like one of these data file recovery software programs has been able to identify your files on the bad hard drive, then you can start the long, tedious, slow, mind-numbing process of recovering and backing up your data. Did we mention it's slow? It can often take DAYS to get through the whole process, so don't jump too soon with the backup -- make sure you are backing up to a big enough drive! It's also a little safer to do this process on a machine you're not using a lot, so you can let it churn away undisturbed.

But what if one of those demo hard drive recovery programs didn't find anything? All is not lost, but at this point, you need to call in the experts.

Finding a Hard Drive Data Recovery Expert

While it's not necessary to find someone locally (since you can ship the hard drive anywhere for repair) you might feel more peace of mind if you take it to a local repair service. Try a Google search for something like "Hard drive recovery Los Angeles" or "Data Recovery Chicago" where you add in your city name to the search. For Apple users, make sure you specify your computer type in the search, such as Macintosh Data Recovery.

The good news is that the technology for hard drive data recovery has advanced greatly in the last ten years, so even the most damaged drives still have most of their data. As an experiment Popular Mechanics really thrashed two drives up, simulating an earthquake and a flood. (They even soaked one in water and other nasty debris for four days!)

Once they were fully beat up, they sent the drives off to Kroll Ontrack Data Recovery who was able to recover 99% of the data! The bad news is that it would have cost them $1200 had they been real customers. If your hard drive was for personal use, it might not be worth it to get your photos and movie files back, but if it's for work, the cost might be well worth it if you contemplate the lost productivity to not have access to those files.

Most of us have to learn the hard way that hard drives are not secure and get into regular habits of backing up our data. I've learned these hard lessons as well, so now I have three different backup drives to store my work files, email, photos, music and other essential bits of data so that apart from being swallowed up into a hole in the ground, my data is safe. Good luck protecting yours in the future!

New Hard Drive Backup Habits

The most important thing to learn from this experience is to have several backup drives to copy your important files, photos, documents and emails on a regular basis. Why more than one? Because every hard drive is prone to eventual failure. I personally use three different drives for data backup.

Fortunately, there are some great free programs that do scheduled backups to make the process easier. Carbon Copy Cloner is a great app for the Mac. This app automatically backs up specific files and folders three times a week, making the process super easy. Best of all, I know that if my Apple hard drive crash happens, restoring my data is just a few steps away!

The fact is, if you don't make a habit of regularly backing up your files, history will repeat itself and you'll find yourself in the same situation all over again.

So memorize and repeat after me... "I will back up my files every week! I will back up my files every week!"