Making sense of the code: Three reasons why IT professionals should recover lost data

A computer may seem simple. Today’s machines can be bought in-store and are already designed to run Internet Explorer out of the box. They will also be pre-configured with a hard drive waiting to store your files. But, data storage and data recovery (if something happens to the files) isn’t that simple.

Why shouldn’t you attempt your own data recovery? Did you know today’s hard drives aren’t just made of a single magnetic head or platter. Hard drives are comprised of several disks and the heads to write data may be damage by abrupt jostling. The concentric rings that data is stored on, known as cylinders, may also become damaged. These cylinders can also be subdivided into sectors or blocks. Why is data loss so complicated to understand? In order to address a sector or cylinder, it may require an algorithm known as the logical addressing algorithm. It may also mean you need a firm understanding of what happens when you want to write 10-20 bytes of data, but the computer instead reads or writes the full 512 bytes.

Which records do you need?

This question may be one that only a certified data recovery specialist can answer.  Many employees who are not IT professionals may not know how to look into the Master Boot Record and it can found in the first logical addressing algorithm or LBA.  It is usually found in the first of these drives. But, how do you know if these files are bootable? If you find the LBA, you will know the drive is bootable.  If it is missing, the drive may not be able to be accessed.

Amateurs may not know about file systems. These file systems are determined by using an algorithm. Did you know the algorithm tells the computer where to store files and how much memory should be used to store records? The trick is retrieving files from your computer. It is best to take the files to a professional who knows whether your files are stored in a NTFS or a FAT32  drive. These files can become corrupted and then files are not recognisable by the computer’s hard drive.  Corrupted files may also keep programs on your computer from being able to open files needed.

Did you know distortion can also keep your files from easily being accessed?  Since the files must be searched in a NTFS or FAT32 drive that cannot be accessed, it may take the skill of a professional to help your OS function correctly. However, many computer owners may not know if a files system is a NTFS or FAT32 drive and without knowing which is which, there is no way files can be retrieved. An untrained professional also may not understand the need for Volume Boot Record, which tells the computer which drive partition to search in order to find much needed records.

Do you know how to access an NTFS or FAT32 to see how much memory is being consumed by your drives? Have you ever had corrupted files in either of these drives?  At Swansea Data Recovery, we also offer our 15 years of experience in many other data recovery services so that your documents stored on Raid arrays and your sensitive data, and more is safe. We can help you recover lost data from internal and external hard disk drives.