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Popular File Recovery Techniques and Related Software

Saturday, 2 March 2013

Nowadays we store all our personal information, photographs, letters, videos and audios in digital format, meaning we store them in hard drives of computers, compact discs, flash drives and removable discs. Although we trust our hardware to keep the information safe for retrieval anytime we want, there are occasions when they are lost and we are left without a clue where to find them. Not always hardware or software is responsible for lost files. It is possible that we deleted the file accidentally.

The Simplest of File Recovery Techniques for Hard Disks

Retrieving deliberately deleted files are relatively easy. All that you will have to do is look into the recycle bin folder and restore them to where they originally belonged, straight and simple as that. But don’t forget, that often we empty the recycle bin itself, which means this technique will not work any longer. However, you can still lay your hands on lost files, though you must be a little knowledgeable about DOS (Disk Operating System).

Most operation within the computer takes place without even our knowing about it. What we consider as lost for good remains on hard disk for infinite time, which simply means they are recoverable. One of the common methods that computer users used before the advent of programs like Windows and Linux was to supply the last few letters of the file name preceded with ‘?’ and search for the file, and you will have recovered the file. Please note that this technique will not work if you format the disk. There is simply no way to recover lost files from them.

Recovering Files from Damaged Hard Disks

You computer’s hard disk where all your files are stored is a delicate device. Everything here is precision built and tolerance-limit is within a couple of hundred millionth of a millimeter. They are usually very sensitive to electrical voltage fluctuations, dust particles, humidity (read moisture) and high temperatures. Ideally, computers must be stored in a cool dry ventilated place. That however never is the scenario. Hard disks break down either due to aging or mechanical failure. Aging is foreseeable, and data can be transferred to another storage disk but mechanical failure is unpredictable, though they show symptoms at onset.

Opening hard disks and reconstructing the device for total recovery is the last technique one may want to attempt. Most often, that is not feasible even at workshop level. The only option available therefore is to leave it in the hands of specialists, preferably the manufacturer. What the manufacturer will actually do is open the hermetically sealed hard disk and reconstruct a new hard disk by copying the data from the disk platters. The procedure is expensive and may be several times the price of a new better hard disk itself.

Reconstructing your hard disk in the manufacturer’s factory is not fail proof either. It presumes that your hard disk platter or the read head has been damaged. If the platters are burnt or broken, recovering data is a matter of chance. Before you send your hard disk to the factory, make a fair assessment of the cost to the worth of your data contained. Results are seldom guaranteed, because there are too many unpredictable variables to recovery.

File Recovery Using Software

Most file recovery software work on the same principles that are deployed for manual recovery. The only difference being they do it faster and meticulously. You can run them as many times as you want and consider using many different options. In short they save you time. Though, often, your recovery software may be capable of defragmenting your hard disk, it is better you do it as maintenance routine. The main advantage to you is your computer will run faster.

Here are two popular files recovery software you can consider using.

Recuva:

Recuva is one of the best known file recovery software. It is free and simple to use. At the most basic level you can use it for recovering files you deleted deliberately as well as accidentally. Besides hard disks, Recuva can be used on iPod, flash drives, and external hard disk, and memory cards as well. Primarily it is intended for use on 32-bit systems, but there is also another version for the 64-bit Windows. You can download a free copy from http://www.piriform.com/recuva/builds .

Glary Undelete:

What makes Glary preferred software for recovering lost files is its user-friendly interface. Most users like it because it will show up a list of files recoverable and folders view like Explorer with which most of us are familiar. The only irritant is it has to be downloaded and installed on your computer. The other irritant is it will ask you to install a bar on your browser, but you can decline.