ELM Bulletin - February 27, 2009
Recovering Data From a Dead PC
In last month's ELM Bulletin (Recovering a Dead PC) I discussed the methods by which an apparently dead computer could be recovered. This month I discuss how to recover your data if the computer itself isn't working.
INTRODUCTION – Although to many people a computer is a mysterious "black box," readers of the ELM Bulletin know that data stored on a computer it is saved to hard disk drives. These can be on your own workstation, connected by a USB cable to your computer or on a network server; data stored in any of these locations will often survive all but the most catastrophic computer failure. This ELM Bulletin concerns itself with recovering data from a hard drive on your broken workstation. (An external hard disk can be connected to an other computer to recover data and recovering data from a failed network server requires extensive IT support.) Even if your computer isn't working it is likely that the failure has not affected the the hard disk. In this case you should be able to recover all data from the hard drive using the Simple Solution. If the computer has suffered severe physical damage then the hard drive has most likely also been destroyed, but don't give up yet, it may be possible to recover at least some data by using the Expensive Solution.
SIMPLE SOLUTION – If the computer doesn't work but the hard drive still does your data can be recovered very easily. All that needs to be done is to carefully take the hard drive out of the computer and install it in an external hard disk enclosure. Most electronic retailers sell these enclosures for around $50.00. Once the hard drive is in the enclosure simply connect the enclosure to an alternative computer and the hard drive should show up as a removable disk on that computer. You can use Windows Explorer (My Computer in XP or Computer in Vista) to browse this removable disk, find your data and copy it to where you need it to be so that you can continue working on it.
EXPENSIVE SOLUTION – If data has been deleted from the hard drive or the hard drive itself has been physically damaged, it may still be possible to recover some data from the hard drive though a specialized data recovery service. These services will take the hard drive, place it in their own equipment and copy as much data as possible to the media of your choice. Starting prices are upwards of $1,000.00 for this service so it is usually only justified when the data itself is of high value. These are costly services but they are lifesavers when something terrible happens to your computer and you absolutely positively have to get your data back. I've been there.
WARNING– Working with hard disks is not to be taken lightly and is best done by an IT specialist. For those of you trying the Simple Solution on your own the best warning I can give you is this: Do not give the hard drive any physical shock. A hard disk is a mechanical device containing metallic platters that spin at several thousand rotations/minute separated by a mere thousandth of an inch from the heads that read the data from the hard drive. ANY significant movement can drive the read heads into the disk thereby rendering the Expensive Solution as your only recovery option.
As always, please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions about this or any other issue.
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Peter Rhebergen Telephone |
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