The hard disks found in today's desktop computer systems are more robust than ever. However, if you take the time to view the specification sheets from any hard disk manufacturer, you will find an entry for MTBF (Mean Time Between Failures) measured in power-on hours. Hard drives fail. To be unprepared for a hard disk failure is negligence. Hard drive recovery should not be a planned event. Backup your data. Keep a backup of your data off-site.
Too late for backups - my data is gone
Don't panic! The truth is, your data is probably still on the drive. Most computer users don't realize that when they delete a file, format or even repartition a drive, the data is not erased. Instead, the pointers that allow the operating system to locate the data are removed. In the majority of cases a complete hard drive recovery is possible.
Stop what you're doing! The moment you realize that you have lost data you should stop working on your computer. More precisely, you want to ensure that nothing is written to the hard drive that might destroy your chances of recovering the lost information. Do not run hard drive diagnostic tools such as scandisk -- they are virtually guaranteed to destroy data and make file recovery more difficult.
Whether you call us or a competing firm, it is vital to your chances of success that you follow this advice.
We can successfully recover data loss caused by:
- lost boot sectors (Windows says bootable drive does not exist)
- accidentally deleted files
- reformatted hard drives
- repartitioned hard drives (fdisk)
- virus infections
- defective disks (motors, electronics, media)
Our process and a promise
JC Kelly Microsolutions uses a non-destructive process to attempt file recovery. We will provide you with a free estimate of both the cost and the probability of successful data recovery. We work on a simple philosophy -- no data recovery, no charge.
