Data Recovery from Your Hard Drive with iKURE
It’s a daunting situation when your computer’s hard drive fails, so much so that you might start inquiring how to recover data from your failing hard drive. When you are faced with losing all your files, work, music and photos it can be harrowing, but do not panic just yet! iKURE knows ways to check on the life of your hard drive and attempt recovering your files.
If you have another computer, you can remove the affected hard drive and hook it to the secondary computer drive. To do this for a PC, you will need a universal USB drive adapter, which typically costs about $30. Once plugged in, it should prompt you on how to move forward. For a Mac, you can use a FireWire cable to hook the nonworking computer to a working Mac. Then you will target boot the nonworking computer. You begin the boot by holding the “T” key down as you power it on.
With either method, your hard drive may appear on the secondary computer and show all of your files. This most likely means your hard drive is fine and your operating system may simply need to be reinstalled, however, back up the files in any way you can through the secondary computer before doing the reinstallation. If your files do not show up on the secondary computer, you will need to take larger actions. Damaged data can cost hundreds of dollars to salvage and can take days with no guarantee of success. But on a positive note, most drives are recoverable.
Types of Issues with a Failing Hard Drive
There are two types of hardware failures that can occur with your computer: logical failure and mechanical failure. Logical failures occur when the drive’s components are undamaged physically. The failure could have occurred as a result of a corrupt file system or accidental formatting. When this occurs, the drive has difficulty navigating through its own data.
There are many recovery programs on the market, which can attempt to get your data back if a logical failure has taken place. Many companies offer demo versions of their software that will scan your drive to give you an overview of what will be recovered before you purchase the full version. There are far more options for PCs, including Prosoft’s Data Rescue PC for $199, RecoverMyFiles for $60 and Ontrack’sEasyRecovery for $199. Prosoft’s Data Rescue II for $99 is the top choice for Mac drives.
These software packages all work in similar ways. You must install the software, select the drive that is defective as your source and choose a location to send the recovered data to. This recovery could take days so be prepared. Data recovery programs conduct a “data dump.” This means, even if the program retrieves your data, your files will not be returned in their original condition. Files will be grouped based on their type, so all Word documents will be in one folder, all JPEG images will be in one folder and so on. In addition, the names of the files will be labeled with varying numbers and letters, rather than the names you had designated. You will be in for the long haul to locate which files are which and where they have been placed.
A mechanical failure, on the other hand, means the drive has broken parts, which are preventing it from working properly. Broken drives are usually accompanied by a persistent clicking sound. If you hear this type of noise, there is still a possibility that your data can still be salvaged, but you will not be able to do it without the help of professionals.
Whether you are facing a logical or mechanical failure, iKURE can help you recover files from your damaged hard drive. Stop by one of our three convenient Long Island locations in Hewlett, Massapequa, or Oceanside for help today! If you would like to contact us before coming into one of our stores, click on the button below to send us an email and one of our repair experts will contact you as soon as possible!