We’ve All Been There…Or Someday WILL Be
Your computer freezes-up so you restart it. Then, as you’re put into a never-ending restart loop, your palms start sweating and your heart starts pounding. You fear the worst, and rightfully so. Your hard drive has crashed and you never backed up any of your data. All of your pictures, documents, financial records, programs and licenses, music and movies are gone. You’ve spent a good amount of time collecting that data and now it’s all gone!

We won’t tell you not to panic. YOU SHOULD PANIC! Just don’t be irrational.

The same thing has happened to us, before, but it will NEVER happen again, as long as we have something to say about it. It’s a lesson that most of us learn, the hard way. No matter how many times we’re told to “backup your data, backup your data, backup your data”, we never listen until it’s too late.

Data Protection Tips

• Store computer equipment in a safe environment. Your computer should be in a dry, cool, controlled environment that is clean, dust-free and secluded.
• You should backup your data regularly. Back up data at least once a week with reliable discs or other storage devices, always verifying that the correct data is backed up.
• Use an uninterruptible power supply (UPS). In the event of a surge of electricity or lightning strike, an uninterruptible power supply protects the computer from becoming damaged. In addition, a UPS has a battery backup that keeps the computer running, allowing you to save the data and avoid data loss. If UPS is not a viable solution, a surge protector is also a good investment.
• Run a virus scan regularly and update it four times a year. Computer viruses are one of the worst enemies to data protection. Good anti-virus software tests their system for sequences of code unique to each known computer virus and eliminates the infecting invader.
• Be aware of strange noises. Should you hear strange noises or grinding sounds, you should turn off your computer immediately and call an expert. Further operation may damage their hard drive beyond repair.
• If you do experience data loss, you should contact Angelo PC or contact Ontrack Data Recovery, directly.

Tips for Successful Data Recovery
There follows a number of tips for safeguarding data against additional damage in the event of data loss. Perhaps the most important tip is to never assume that data is irrecoverable. Professional data recovery services offer the expertise and tools required to recover data quickly and successfully.

Physical Damage
Physical damage can manifest itself in many forms including clicking, grinding, whining, spinning or other strange noises. If you suspect physical damage, these tips can help reduce further data loss:

• Do not shake, disassemble or attempt to clean any hard drive or server that has been damaged – improper handling can jeopardize the data recovery process.
• Never attempt to operate any visibly damaged devices.
• Turn off your computer immediately – further operation may damage data beyond repair.
• Do not use recovery software since it may destroy what was otherwise recoverable data.
• Do not place a fire-damaged drive in refrigerator to cool media and do not try to remove hard drive – you’ll need to ship the entire computer for recovery.
• Never attempt to dry water damaged media by exposing it to heat. Instead, place the media in a container that will keep it damp before shipping.

Physical damage, no matter what the cause, requires “clean room” attention.

Non-physical Damage

• You may see messages such as “No OS found”, “Corrupt Volume” or you may simply be missing files and folders.
• Shut the computer down immediately.  The longer a damaged hard drive is left running, the more data can be irretrievably lost.
• Do not run “CHKDSK” or “VRepair”.

Angelo PC has partnered with OnTrack® Data Recovery to provide our customers with the best option for data recovery services.

***If you’ve simply deleted files, accidentally, and need them recovered, turn your computer off, immediately. Do not use it. The more the computer is used, the less chance there is for successful file recovery.