| External Hard Drive Recovery refers to the retrieval | | | | Various programs exist to correct these problems, |
| of lost data on a computer's external hard drive. Data | | | | and most operating systems will have a rudimentary |
| loss is a very misunderstood concept, and very little | | | | repair tool for their native file systems. |
| information has been made available to the public | | | | Many computer users rely on back-ups and |
| about data loss. The little information that is available | | | | redundant storage technologies in the event of data |
| is inconsistent, and due to mixed messages, users will | | | | loss, and for many of them these back-up and |
| find it difficult to evaluate their data loss situations, | | | | storage plans worked okay. Back-up software can |
| and will make educated decisions to try and recover | | | | become corrupted, and users accidentally backup |
| it. | | | | corrupted or incorrect information. Backups are not |
| Most data lost on a hard drive is not lost at all, the | | | | infallible and should not be solely relied upon. |
| user has simply been unable to access it. Because | | | | Laptops, desktops, personal computers and digital |
| users are not aware of their options, many gigabytes | | | | cameras and all spinning magnetic media can fail from |
| of data have been lost and the user has given up | | | | the following:o Invalid disk systemo BIOS error |
| any hope of recovery. | | | | messageo Noisy hard drive disko Logical corruption to |
| Physical damage will always cause some data loss, | | | | the file system |
| and in most cases the logical structures of the file | | | | In data recovery labs, highly qualified engineers look |
| system are damaged as well. Logical damage must | | | | closely at all components both internally and |
| be dealt with before any files can be recovered. | | | | externally. If a failed component is discovered it is |
| Logical damage is mainly caused by power outages | | | | replaced and the hard drive retested to functionality. |
| which prevent file system structures from being | | | | This is then moved to a cloning and imaging |
| completely written to the storage medium. This can | | | | department where an image is created of the media |
| leave the file system in an inconsistent state, which in | | | | from the beginning to the end of the user data area. |
| turn can cause a variety of problems such as infinitely | | | | Typical errors of a hard disk can include overheating |
| recursion directories, drives that report negative | | | | of the spindle motor chip which is self evident by |
| amounts of free space, system crashes or an actual | | | | visual inspection of the PCB. |
| loss of data. | | | | |