| Data Recovery Over Hard Disk Failure | | | | *Bad Sectors |
| Hard Disk: An Introduction | | | | It is a portion of the Hard disk that cannot be used |
| Hard Disks are used to store information. All | | | | any more. If a part of the disk get bad sector which |
| information on computers are stored in files. Visit | | | | contains data then those data is to be recovered |
| here | | | | before use. When you format a disk, the OS will |
| Hard disks store the majority of information on | | | | mark all the unusable sector as bad sector, however, |
| today's modern computer. Hard disk drives (HDDs) | | | | this does not affect the overall performance of the |
| can be critically damaged by static electricity, shock, | | | | disk as the damaged space is considered unusable. |
| and other factors, often resulting in failure or the loss | | | | Hard Disk Data Recovery |
| of valuable data. In many cases it may become | | | | *Replace the (Circuit Board) PCB |
| necessary to recover information from your hard | | | | Upon a Hard Drive circuit board failure, it is possible to |
| drive. Such retrieval is quite possible. | | | | get back the data by carefully replacing the PCB of |
| Hard Disk Failure | | | | the hard drive. |
| *Physical Failures | | | | *Replace the Firmware |
| Physical failure occurs from sudden switch off, power | | | | Hard disk firmware is the information that is used by |
| failure, sliding them off desks and cheap components. | | | | the computer that allows it to correctly interact with |
| As for data loss, data is only magnetic impulses on | | | | the hard disk. It may be replaced or updated by the |
| the surface of a hard disk. And ridiculously small bits | | | | matching firmware. |
| of magnetism at that! When the magnetic impulse | | | | *Replace the Head Stack |
| fades, or changes position, trouble starts. | | | | There are common situation that may be due to |
| Drive Alignment Drift is another cause of problems. | | | | head failures. There is a small chip located in the head |
| Mechanical devices are subject to wear and tear, | | | | stack that is called PREAMPLIFIER. Working with |
| heat and cold, loosening tolerances etc. | | | | preamplifiers always includes some difficulties, |
| The small changes in the read/write heads wouldn't | | | | because, practically, they can not withstand static |
| matter usually, as data still gets written in the same | | | | discharges. If re-soldering is needed, one should |
| place as it will be read later. However, there is some | | | | follow a number of rules to protect a preamplifier |
| data that hardly ever gets re-written, and that is the | | | | from static damage caused by careless finger |
| Sector ID Headers. | | | | touching. Although this task is very risky and it should |
| *Logical Failures | | | | be done in a high secured lab specially created for |
| Master Boot Record Failure | | | | this task. |
| Technically, when the Master Boot Record is working | | | | *Move the disk to another Drive |
| correctly, the master boot code scans the partition | | | | In some cases complete functionality of the Hard |
| table for the active partition, finds the starting | | | | drive may be disabled while only the internal disk |
| sector, loads a copy of the boot sector from the | | | | plate is without any damages or errors. In those |
| active partition into memory and then transfers | | | | situations, it is possible to move the disk to another |
| control to the executable code in the boot sector. If | | | | drive. |
| the master boot code cannot complete these | | | | *Spin-Stand Testers |
| functions, the system displays a message similar to | | | | Hard drive manufactures and their head media; |
| the MBR error. | | | | preamplifier and read channel suppliers do have very |
| *Boot Sector Failure | | | | accurate, very expensive "magic machines" called |
| The boot sector is a region of a hard disk, floppy | | | | Spin-Stands. These are used for testing and |
| disk, and other similar data storage device. It is | | | | experimenting with heads and disks. They are used |
| loaded to memory and executed as a part of the | | | | mostly by researcher and development departments. |
| bootstrap sequence. The boot sector contains a small | | | | *Magnetic Force Microscopes (MFM) |
| computer program that is loaded on the operating | | | | Magnetic force microscopy is a powerful tool for |
| system into memory and transfers the control. | | | | high-resolution magnetic imaging of most data |
| Most boot sector failure occurs by the defection of | | | | storage media. As the density of magnetic media is |
| boot sector virus. Boot sector viruses are usually | | | | higher, the bit becomes smaller than the wavelength |
| spread by infected floppy disks. In the past, these | | | | of light, so optical techniques can not resolve it. |
| were usually bootable disks, but this is no longer the | | | | General MFM is capable of imaging the magnetic |
| case. A floppy disk does not need to be bootable to | | | | domain of several tens of nanometers. Also, MFM is |
| transmit a boot virus. Any disk can cause infection if | | | | almost simultaneous with measuring the surface |
| it is in the drive when the computer boots up or | | | | characteristics of topography and roughness of the |
| shuts down. | | | | same area with sub-angstrom vertical resolution. |
| *Accidentally Deleted Data | | | | Recovery Softwares |
| Some time some how you may delete a file thinking | | | | *SpinRite 6.0 |
| we don?t need it any more, but in a week or or two | | | | SpinRite is a stand-alone DOS program designed to |
| you may realize that it is a needed one. It happens | | | | refurbish hard drives, floppy disks and recover data |
| to the best of us, but fortunately there are ways to | | | | from marginally or completely unreadable hard drives |
| get these lost files back. | | | | and floppy disks and from partitions and folders |
| When it comes to data on your computer, it is | | | | which have become unreadable. |
| almost impossible to accidentally remove it beyond | | | | *Ontrack data recovery software |
| recoverability. Even if you are intentionally trying to | | | | Ontrack Data Recovery offers the industry's highest |
| completely wipe a file from your hard drive it is | | | | quality and cost-effective do-it-yourself data |
| exceedingly difficult. | | | | recovery software solutions for almost any data loss |
| *Cross Linked Files | | | | situation covering servers, desktops or laptops for all |
| A file system error that corrupts the contents of an | | | | media, operating systems and file types. Ontrack's |
| existing file by writing data from another file into the | | | | EasyRecoveryTM family of products is unmatched in |
| same cluster. Running Scandisk or a similar program | | | | its ability to recover/repair from all causes of lost |
| cleans up the problem, but one of the files is no | | | | data. |
| longer usable. | | | | |