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Data recovery refers to the process of retrieving data that has been corrupted, damaged, or otherwise lost from a computer hard drive or secondary storage.

The focus of this category is on software that has been designed to assist in this effort. Various data recovery programs, while the same in many ways offer unique options. For this reason, it is important to do the research and to understand the capabilities of the available tools.

This decision might also be guided by the nature of the problem. A common cause of sudden data loss is the result of operating system failures, such as failure of a storage device or accidental damage. Another cause of data loss might be a compromised file system or hard drive crash. Files are occasionally deleted accidentally by users, in which case they may be recovered if not overwritten by other data files.

Of course, data loss is not always recoverable, and losses from physical damage to storage media are probably not recoverable in the average home or business environment, but will require the services of a data recovery specialist.

Logical damage is a term that is used to refer to situations where the cause of data loss is not a physical problem with the hardware. In such cases, there may be software solutions.

For example, data on a hard drive might become unreadable due to damage to a partition table or file system. In such an event, it might be possible to recover at least part of the original data by repairing the damaged partition table or file system, which might be accomplished through data recovery software.

Most computer users understand that deleted files can be easily recovered from the recycle bin or trash can, depending on the system used, as long as it hasn't been overwritten with new data.

In some cases, it may be possible to recover data that has been overwritten, the chances of success are very low. Solid-state drives overwrite data differently than hard drives, and it might be recoverable through data recovery software.

Data can also be lost, deleted, or formatted due to accidental deletion or through situations like a virus attack, and may be recoverable through software. Seemingly more common in the hard drives of a couple of decades ago, another cause of logical failure is a logical bad sector, in which data stored in these sectors cannot be read through normal means. A software tool might be able to correct the logical sectors of the media drive.

Data recovery software may be designed for use by data recovery experts or for home users. Through software, recovery technicians do not always need to have physical access to the damaged hardware, as remote access software tools might allow them to recover the data over the Internet, LAN, or another remote connection.

Another form of data recovery software that computer users of a couple of decades ago were perhaps more familiar with than those today is the restore disk. Using a restore disk, an operating system can be reinstalled on a computer that has already been licensed for it. However, as supplied by the original equipment manufacturer, such disks contain a backup of the original factory condition of a computer and are designed to reformat the hard drive and reinstall the operating system and pre-installed software, overwriting other data that may have been on the drive.

Any software designed to be used to recover from data losses, whatever the cause, are appropriate topics for this category.

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@Disk Editors

@Hex Editors

@Data Recovery Services

 

 

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