You may not give disk recovery very much thought but when you are suddenly faced with the problem of needing your files recovered, it's like the most important thing in your life. Just think about it: Everything digital picture, document, and maybe even that wedding video lies on that failing hard drive.

Do This And Say Goodbye

Every new computer comes with a restore disk buried deep down in one of those boxes. Then when a problem arises the manufacturers ask you to get it out. Watch out! Most uninformed computer users believe this restore disk is capable of restoring lost data. However, the only thing this CD is capable of doing is restoring the original computer settings that were on your system when you purchased it. It will not recover any additional software or data that is installed or saved.

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. If you don't maintain an adequate back up of the data you store on your computer, you risk losing it forever. This means, you must recover your data before reinstalling your system to its original settings.

The Software Fix

If you encounter a data loss situation which disk recovery software can fix, the job may not be as difficult as you think. 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; they instruct you step by step until the system automatically rebuilds your files. 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 the initial steps are complete, then you can reload your system using the manufacturer's restore disk. 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. If it's what it takes to get your data back, it's well worth the time and cost-reduction compared to services.

The Professional Disk Recovery Service Side

Disk recovery software sometimes just doesn't come through, especially if your hard disk drive has physical damage. Like it or not, disk recovery software can end up failing, especially if your hard drive is physically damaged, and fails from the onset.

If you are seriously considering in-lab recovery services, it's very important to choose the right company for the job. I stress this point because taking about drives, replacing parts, and even going to extreme measures to get your data recovered is not for the computer maintenance technician. A good place to start is to look for a company which only offers computer forensics and disk recovery services and software.

Reviewing The Possibilities

In at least half of all cases, hard disk recovery software works; plus it's cheaper. But unfortunately it doesn't work in every case; that's when a disk recovery service needs to be considered. But when you are dealing with a complex data recovery issue, you will pay more for the skill and expertise required to recover your data the right way.