Data Recovery - Drive Failure

If data recovery is to be performed on hard drives, there are two types of issues that could arise - software and hardware, or even a combination of both. Data recovery - drive failure, so to speak, has to be carefully handled. Loss of data can be permanent, otherwise.

If it is a software issue, which presumably most of us will encounter, the likely problems usually include - accidental file deletion, hard drive formatting, corrupted file system, deleted partition etc.

Hardware issues, not discussed in depth here, include drives making clicking or hissing noises, hard drive damage caused by a power surge, and damage brought about by contact with water. External drives may fail after being accidentally dropped, mishandled and so on.

Data recovery normally begins with a diagnostic on the failing hard drive to identify the damage and failing component.  The diagnostic helps to identify the proper method to be used to recover the lost data.

In a software data recovery process, a clone or replica of the damaged hard drive is made. The recovery process will then proceed on the copy or clone, thus ensuring that the source remains intact. 

Data recovery is a very delicate process. The data recovery process must be undertaken with specialized data recovery software. If the damage is severe, the files recovered may be useless.  And its also possible that tools to read the data off the surface in the process of recovery can cause further damage by adding additional bits to the stored content.

The data successfully recovered is moved and saved on to a new media, e.g a hard drive, flash drives or even an optical disk depending on the amount of data involved. 


To quite an extent, available software can ease recovery. But in more serious cases, expert assistance will be the better way to go in the quest for data recovery - drive failure mitigation.