Lost Data

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Before I go into more depth about the subject of Data recovery, first a brief warning and a piece of advice:

You should note that when something is deleted from your computer; (even IF you have emptied the Recycle Bin (or Trash on a Mac); the deleted files aren't REALLY deleted in the true sense of the word. Essentially, what the operating system does is MARK the area on the disk where the files are as being AVAILABLE to write new data onto. Therefore, provided that you have not loaded (or downloaded, or installed) a lot of new files onto your computer, there is a good chance that we can get it back for you. Consequently, PLEASE NOTE: If you have got data that you accidentally deleted and urgently need back, do NOT put ANY new files onto your computer UNTIL we have had a chance to look at it for you. If you DO, then you reduce the chances of us being able to restore your files. In fact, the best thing to do if the files really ARE very important to you, is to shut down your computer and do not start it again until we can get there. Then call us immediately.

Here is a list of the most common causes of Data Loss with the MOST common at the top:

1. Hard Drive failure (Note: 70% of the time we can save your data)
2. Laptop Theft/or lost (statistics say 20% of all laptops get stolen)
3. User Error (i.e. Accidental delete or just simply LOST somewhere)
4. Letting some one else onto your computer with bright ideas (as they say, a little knowledge can be a dangerous thing). Advice: say NO!
5. Technical support helpline suggests you do a full system restore (NEVER agree to this). It usually involves formatting your hard drive.
6. Virus damage
7. Break in to your home or Office
8. Accidentally overwriting a file with the same name

I will cover these one at a time:

1. Hard Drive Failure
Your Hard Drive is a small (6 inches by 3.5 inches) rectangular shaped device inside the computer upon which the Operating System, your programmes, and documents are stored. It contains an electromagnetic platter which spins at high speed, and is read by a "stylus" much like a record player. After the Power Supply and cooling fan for the processor, the Hard Drive is the next noisiest thing in your computer. You will hear it "ticking" and "spinning" away - particularly when your computer is starting up. Some hard drives are just plain noisy (and even annoying). They also generally get noisier with age.

Hard Drive failure is more common than people realise. Indeed it is the MOST common cause of data loss. Hard Drives (like all "consumer" items) are mass produced. And so there are always going to be a percentage of them that fail. As to WHEN they fail; that really depends upon the following factors:

a) How old the drive is
b) How much use the computer has had
c) How much data is on the drive
d) How much Memory (RAM) is in the computer
e) A Warrantee (factory) fault (i.e. Within the first 12 months)
f) Power cuts and surges
g) A blown Power Supply
h) Unknown Factors

a) Hard Drives like ANYTHING with moving parts, have a limited lifespan. Typically 3-8 years. Older drives (in my opinion) are more solidly built than newer drives. This is true of MOST computer parts. One only has to pick up an older desktop machine to feel the weight of it, and then compare this with a new machine to realise the parts are lighter and so therefore less sturdily built (Although this will vary from machine to machine - but it is a general trend). One could put the argument that computer parts have improved, and therefore THAT is why they are lighter. I would say, yes, computer parts HAVE become "better", but at the same time, the overall build quality (driven by economic factors) has DECREASED.
Note: In my experience, percentage of Hard Drive failures has increased in line with reducing prices.

Therefore, if your hard drive is ALREADY 3-5 years old, it may last another few years. However, if your hard drive is only a year old, you might want to consider that it may not last much longer than another 2-3 years. But this will ALSO depend upon the other factors listed above.

b) It stand to reason that if you only turn your computer on in the evening, check your emails and do a bit of surfing, then your hard drive will likely last longer than if you work from home and are on your computer ALL day.

c) Similarly, if your Hard Drive is literally crammed full of loads of programmes, downloads, etc; it stands to reason that the hard drive will be spinning a lot more and accessing more of the disk. It is therefore a good idea to uninstall any programmes you don't use and indeed clear off ANY data you don't need from time to time.
Note: Memory (or RAM - Random Access Memory) are small chips (1 inch by 4 inches) inside your computer which only hold data when your computer is turned on. Memory is much FASTER than a Hard Drive and it is the Data stored in Memory which you are actually interacting with when using your computer. The only time you are interacting with the Hard Disk is when you SAVE or LOAD something. Basically what happens when you turn your computer on is that the necessary PARTS of the Operating System (Windows or Mac OS) LOAD INTO MEMORY. The same applies when you open a programme. IF this were not so, things would be a LOT slower. Although, in actual fact, memory is a required part of how a computer works.

d) The reason the amount of Memory (RAM) has a bearing on Hard Drive life is because of a thing called "Virtual Memory". VIRTUAL Memory was introduced years ago when Memory was still relatively expensive. Beraing in mind my description of Memory above; BEFORE Virtual Memory was invented, you could ONLY load up (work with) as many programmes and/or bits of the Operating System as you had memory for. This could be problematic if you tried to load a programme which was bigger in size than you had memory for. For the computer would then either "hang" or just refuse to open the programme.

Virtual Memory was a solution to this. The way it works is that the Opearting System "allocates" a portion of the hard drive to be used as "pretend" memory. It is designed in such a way that this portion of the disk and the REAL memory, are constantly interacting. When a limit to the amount of programmes that can be opened is reached, the Operating System will "swap" parts of the system and/or programmes you are not right then using, to the DISK, thus freeing up the REAL memory for what you ARE working on right now. Thus, why this virtual memory is also called a SWAP file.

But of course (as we have already established), the Hard Disk is much slower than Memory, and so this is not an IDEAL solution. The IDEAL solution is to have as MUCH memory as you need to be able to load programmes. It stands to reason therefore, that if you have only, say 128MB [Megabytes] of Memory, your Computer will be "swapping" a lot more to and from the disk than if you have 512MB Memory. Advice: Find out how much memory you have and make sure you have at LEAST 512MB. Your computer will run faster and your Hard Drive will spin less and last longer. Note: It is not necessarily the case that putting massive amounts of Memory in your Machine will speed it up yet further. Virtual Memory is an essential part of modern Operating Systems, and so there is a LIMIT to how much REAL memory will actually make a difference - depending upon which programmes you are using.

A final note about Virtual Memory: Virtual Memory is essentially a legacy system. In my view it is NOT a good thing, although we are of course "stuck" with it. For sure it DOES mean that you can open as many programmes as you like and KEEP them open. But as they are being swapped back to disk ANYWAY, it is almost (to my mind) the same thing as re-opening when you come to access them again. However, the evolution of programming being such that the drive is always towards bigger and bigger programmes, MORE functionality (much of which the average user never uses), and essentially more bells and whistles; there is simply no way (at least at the present time) that the amount of memory you can put in your machine will EVER catch up with the constantly growing demands for Memory Space.

It's a shame really, for I do personally believe that a machine could be built which does not even HAVE a Hard Drive; which contains EVERYTHING that it needs in "Flash" Memory; which has programmes on it which ONLY contain the most commonly needed facilities; which boots up in seconds rather than minutes; and NEVER crashes. But of course the problem with a machine like this is that you would never want to upgrade it. Not good for the computer industry. Plus, I would ALSO likely be out of a job. :) In addition, the FACT of the Internet means that we are ALL forced (whether we like it or not) to constantly upgrade our programmes and machines. Without which, we would fall behind, not be able to visit websites (without the latest browsers, plug-ins, etc); and so on. I am certainly not AGAINST this constant progress - marching forward. Although I do believe that a lot of so called "improvements" are CHANGES that don’t always ADD to the usability of a programme. A common example is Microsoft Word. What a HUGE monolith of a programme this has become. Is it actually any better NOW than it was 10 years ago? What do MOST people do in MSWord? Write, and spell check. Okay, so you can now do tables and insert pictures. But the way it handles this is not actually very good. There are actually other programmes out there which do a much better job with combining text, tables and images. Why cannot we have Word Pad or Text Edit with a spell check for the great MAJORITY of users? Those who really NEED to combine text and graphics would be better off with a good DTP (Desktop Publishing Programme) in ANY case. Something (DTP), MSWord TRIES to be, but fails at.

e) A Warrantee (factory) fault (i.e. Within the first 12 months)
This is where you get your new machine and you use it for a few weeks or months and BANG! - The Hard Drive dies. This is more common than you might think.

To be continued...