Disk recovery is one of those things you just don't think about until you actually need to. By the time you find yourself dealing with a situation that demands retrieving one or all of your files, it's important to know exactly what to do. Believe it or not, disk recovery is actually a pretty common occurrence. Most computer encounter recovering files using disk recovery techniques at least once in a life.

Knowing What To Do

Whenever you buy a new computer, it comes with a restore disk. Most people believe that the restore disk will be able to perform as a reliable data recovery tool. The truth is that the recovery disk that comes with your computer will only restore your computer's settings. Specifically, it can't recover any of the additional software or data you have saved the computer's hard drive.

You should also be warned that using the restore disk instead of disk recovery comes with some risks - it can and will overwrite all of the software installed and data saved. This could be a real problem if you don't make a regular habit of backing up all of the data you install on your computer system. You could lose it all for good if you do not recover your data, before using the restore CD.

Initiating The Recovery Process

If you don't know where to start and your hard drive is running OK, your problems can probably be solved easily with disk recovery software. In fact, some utilities are so easy to use that all you need to do to get started is to put in the CD, or floppy diskette, run the data recovery utility, and then attach an external new hard drive to recover the data to.

After everything is complete, use the manufacturers restore disk to reload your system, and copy the recovered data to your newly restored system. Disk recovery does take time, and it isn't something you look forward to, but when you realize that you may be able to recover all of your lost data, it's worth it.

When Disk Recovery Software Flops

Disk recovery software may not work, especially if your hard drive is physically damaged, which prevents you from even accessing the data. Data loss like this means that you need a data recovery expert to get your data back.

If retrieving your data is essential, then finding the right service provider is the the cornerstone for a successful recovery. Make sure the company you choose only offers hard disk data recovery and data forensics. A company that offers disk data recovery as one of several services, may be able to use software to recover data. But they should not be working with a physically failing or damaged drive. Choose an expert data recovery firm, because you just don't get a second chance to recover your data.

Recapping Your Choices

Hard disk recovery software can work in most cases and is very cost effective - not to mention cool when you do it yourself. But there are times when it simply isn't enough. A situation like this requires a disk recovery service, even though it costs quite a bit more.