Fix Computer Problems

Data backup and recovery is one of the most overlooked parts of a company’s information technology. If your company does not have an adequate backup system, you are putting your digital assets at great risk. There are affordable backup and data recovery systems in every price range, so even companies with limited budgets can afford an elementary system at the very least. Also many computer services firms now offer backup and data recovery systems as integral parts of their managed IT services.

Some things to consider when thinking about your backup and disaster recovery solution(s):

1. What do I do if I delete a file I need?
2. Where is my email stored and is it backed up?
3. What if my computer crashes? Even if my data is backed up how long will it take me to rebuild my computer to a working state?
4. Is my data all located in the same physical space?
5. Will a catastrophe wipe out my backup solution i.e. an earthquake?
6. Does my business rely on any one system for important functions? How long can my business operate without a functioning system? Does my current backup solution accomodate that expectation?
7. Does someone in our company know how to retrieve information off backups?
8. Are my backups tested so I know they work?
9. Are my backups monitored so I know if they are ever failing?
10. Is the backup data media (i.e. hard drives or tapes) transferred in a secure, controlled manor since it contains all data for my entire business?

This list covers about one-fourth of the questions that one should review when it comes to a practical backup and disaster recovery system so if you haven’t asked yourself these questions, start today!  If you are confused, contact a local computer services provider which should be able to assist your company.

Technorati Tags: backup, computers, Data Backup, Data Recovery, Information Technology, IT

Don’t Panic! You’ve been busy working on that deadline project for weeks and you suddenly find that you have accidently deleted a major document that is essential and full of days or weeks of research results, what do you do? Some people will try data recovery software to start with but this can harm your data surprisingly enough.

There are some important rules to adhere to when using data recovery software for recovering lost files:

Firstly and a big mistake many people make is not to install the software on the same computer you have been using, why? If you have deleted the file when you install any further software or save anything back to the disk, as the operating system will use what it considers free space to load the program you could end up overwriting the document or part of the document you are trying to recover.

Secondly, has your drive been making any strange sounds recently, if the answer is yes your hard drive may be failing so a recovery company would be better suited to recover your data to be on the safe side.

Thirdly whilst in all probability your prime focus will be to get your data back as soon as possible avoid the temptation to suddenly dive right in and purchase some software straight away. Most file recovery software will offer a free trial so at the very least you can do a scan to see if the document is actually still recognisable on your hard disk or even recoverable for that matter.

When you have found your lost data using software you need to put it somewhere.  Now this point is very important: Never recover the file to the media that it was lost from doing so can cause the data to be lost permanently as the software is not intelligent enough to determine whether the area that the file is written back to is the same area that the file was located originally.

If the recovery software has already reserved a disk area to write files back to some of the data can get overwritten especially if the drive is heavily fragmented.

If your data is simply too valuable to trust in the hands of software, particularly if you are not familiar with the data recovery software and the manner in which it works, it is sensible to contact a data recovery professional.

The cost of data recovery is nowhere near (or shouldn’t be ) the cost it used to be due to advances in technology and often you will find that once you deduct the cost of any software purchase and deduct the time to learn what you are trying to do the extra cost of having your data recovered by a professional is not too bad at all.

And lastly, if you choose to use a data recovery company, it is always worth ascertaining what will happen if the drive fails during a recovery process, will they be able to fix it themselves in a proper clean room environment or will they need to send it away to another data recovery company?

If they do not have the facilities for hard drive recovery and repair and there is any sign of mechanical failure then a main data recovery services company will be your best option.

Technorati Tags: computers, Computing, Data Recovery, Data Recovery Software, Data Recovery Utilities

We would all like to think that we are immune to a system failure and that our trusty computers will just keep on going without a hint of a problem. Sadly regardless of whether you’re are a home or business user, systems are prone to boot up failures and these often result in unexpected data loss of varying degrees.

If you have been here before then at least you will have a vague or depending on your experience a deeper level of knowledge here, but for many potential data loss scenarios are a new computing horror to overcome, so what typically should we be looking out for?

Computer starts up but never reaches the login window: When this happens there are a number of potential problems that can be to blame, these range from hardware issues relating to the hard disk drive, down to driver incompatibility or the loss of important system files. Sometimes the problem can be resolved by booting up in Safe Mode, however, not always.

Computer starts to become slow: When we first get our new computer there is very little on it when it comes to programs and games for example, and over time the operating system due to the way it is designed becomes cluttered. Registry repair utilities can help operating system problems but data loss is always a risk. In extreme circumstances a total ODS re-install is the best option.

Virus or Malware infection: Computer viruses and other Malware applications, if not properly handled from the start, will inevitably lead to situations whereby a full reinstall is the only option to truly remove all trace of the malicious software from the system.

So we come back to how we handle a problem when it arises. How do we prevent data loss when we inevitably have to reinstall our current operating system or upgrade to a new one?

The Key, wherever possible, and where there is no hard disk drive fault requiring professional data recovery services is simple: Backup! Sounds simple enough if the drive is working fine, but not enough people do it.

External hard drives can be purchased in most computer shops now days and a quick search online for online backup will also give you a number of remote back up options.

So what can you do if the worst has happened to you? One simple technique that has helped thousands of people recover data that would otherwise be at risk due to the unpredictability of the reinstall process is to use a USB caddy and hook the drive in question up to a fully working, (and fully protected) machine.

You can find more great advice on remote data backup and USB data recovery here.

Technorati Tags: Data Backup, Data Recovery, Online Backup, Remote Data Backup