The primary decision to make immediately after losing information from a hard drive is whether you want to attempt using some type of recovery software on your own or send your drive to a laboratory for analysis. One of the things that makes this difficult is that there are many instances in which someone could safely perform their own recovery, as well as cases where a person would be better off paying a professional. The determining factor in how to proceed with your data loss problem is whether the cause of the data loss is a logical problem with the drive or a physical failure. Getting this determination correct will allow you to know how to proceed and prevent what might otherwise have been a recoverable drive from becoming completely unrecoverable.
If your drive continues to work normally and the information that has been lost is due to a logical error (for example, you have accidentally deleted files, formatted a partition incorrectly, or have experienced problems with your file systems) then your best option may be using some form of recovery software. However, if your drive no longer works correctly because of a physical failure (the drive is clicking, dead, not recognised by your computer) then recovery software cannot assist and may actually damage the drive further than the original problem caused.
Just about every decision regarding data recovery is based on one fundamental difference. Is the problem with your drive a logical problem (a software-level issue that occurred with a functioning hard drive)? Or is it a physical problem (an issue with the actual hardware parts of the hard drive itself)? A logical fault involves a problem that occurred with the functionality of a hard drive that still functions properly. For example, you have deleted files, emptied the recycle bin, mistakenly formatted the wrong hard drive partition, or your file system has become corrupted. In each of these examples, the hard drive spins up normally and your computer recognises the presence of the drive. This means that a recovery program can access the drive’s contents and restore the missing files, but it cannot repair a broken drive. On the other hand, a physical fault represents a problem with the hardware components of the hard drive. An example of such a fault includes a clicking hard drive, a non-spinning hard drive, one that isn’t detected, or even having dropped or water-damaged your hard drive.
A good place to start is using software on your own computer to try and find the answer, as long as the drive is healthy. Programs such as Recuva, PhotoRec, Disk Drill, etc., are intended specifically for situations where you’ve deleted files, emptied the bin, formatted a card or lost a partition, and they are inexpensive or free. These types of problems typically fall into the category of “logical” and can often be resolved without having to take a trip to a lab. First, follow these simple steps: recover your information onto a different drive, do not write any new content to the affected drive, and preview your recovered files before committing to save them. If you successfully recover your data, you’ll have avoided spending money to have someone else do it for you and there’s nothing wrong with attempting software solutions when the circumstances make sense.
Once your drive has a physical problem or if you’re dealing with irreplaceable data that you cannot afford to risk losing, then send it to a professional. If your hard drive is clicking or grinding; won’t turn on; doesn’t show up in disk management; was dropped or flooded, etc., you will need to have it repaired prior to being able to access your data. Repairing a physically faulty hard drive requires specialised equipment and donor parts that are available in a laboratory setting, not during a recovery scan. This also includes RAID and NAS arrays along with any other type of situation where your data is truly unique and you only have one chance to recover it. In cases like this, a lab creates a read-only image of the drive so that the original is never compromised while working from the image. This is what a professional offers you...not magic...but they will not compromise your original data.
This option matters since an incorrect DIY move may have irreparable consequences. The first time you run a lengthy scan on a clicking hard drive this may be the “scan” that scores the platter. Each time you disconnect/reattach a non-mounting drive or allow a RAID array that has been degraded to rebuild, you risk overwriting the very data you need to recover. And even when the problem is merely logical, copying the recovered files back to the original drive means you can overwrite those files you were trying to find. While software costs next to nothing and a lab is going to cost at least a few hundred pounds, a poorly executed DIY attempt on a physically failing drive can turn recoverable data into unrecoverable data and there is no budget that can correct that. Therefore, if you are unsure of what to do with your data, the safest thing to do is obtain a free diagnosis prior to doing anything with it.
It all depends on how the failure occurred. If your drive still functions and the loss is logical (you deleted the files, formatted the drive or the files became corrupted etc.), then software solutions are often safe and effective options as a first step. If however, the problem lies in the fact that the drive is clicking, dead or does not show up or has become damaged after dropping it or getting water inside, then software cannot help and could exacerbate the problem and therefore you should contact a professional.
Yes, you can safely execute file recovery software on a good hard drive experiencing a logical fault, provided you recover the data to another good hard drive. You must never copy/write anything back onto the original drive. When attempting file recovery, however, you absolutely must not use software on a physically failing hard drive. Since scanning a failing hard drive causes additional wear and tear on that hard drive, the longer the scan process goes on, the greater the likelihood of causing permanent damage to that hard drive.
When the problem is physical or the user’s data is irreplaceable. Running a piece of software on a failing/failed drive may cause irreparable damage to the potential data that could otherwise have been recovered, and on a “one shot” recovery scenario there is no margin for error. For these types of failures, a lab uses read-only imaging techniques to create a replica of the user’s drive. The user’s original data remains intact while the lab works on the replica, thus preventing further risk to the original data.
Generally speaking, when the user’s data is critical and the drive itself has failed physically, yes, the user should send it to a professional recovery facility, since the alternatives often mean they lose their data forever. While software used for recovering logical losses of data can sometimes be obtained inexpensively or even free-of-charge, attempting a do-it-yourself (DIY) recovery process after a physical failure can potentially render the data unrecoverable by anyone, which no budget can fix. As mentioned above, we offer a complimentary initial diagnostic prior to determining what type of service you need to get your data back.
Logically damaged drives are generally recognised and/or spinning normally but are simply unable to locate and/or access certain files/data (files/data appear to be deleted), and/or the drive is prompting the user to format the drive. Physically damaged drives are those that click or will not spin up, are completely unrecognised by operating systems (and/or other devices), or were dropped or got wet. If your drive is making unusual noise(s) or cannot be recognised by your computer etc., assume it is experiencing a physical failure and do not attempt to run any software on it.
If you are uncertain whether it is safe to run software on your drive, please send it to us first. We will determine whether your drive experienced a logical loss of data that you could handle yourself or a physical failure that needs to go on our bench. In either case, we will provide you with a free diagnostic and you will incur no cost/no obligation until you make an informed decision regarding our services.