Data Recovery Helper

Backup But Where To

2009-03-03T17:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Lynn Chan

We all know we have to backup regularly, but those backups files can get huge. Add that to your existing your files and your notebook computer hard drive seems to have shrunk overnight. No matter what size hard drive you have on your notebook computer, space is a premium. Besides, it's not exactly a good idea to store your backups on the same hard drive since you can't retrieve it -- rather defeats the purpose of backing up don't you think? So what do you do, what are your options?

Backup to an external hard drive. This is probably the quickest, most cost effective option. You can often get a removable drive on sale or with rebate for a low price too. You can get one with hundreds of Gigabytes of space too. They can be easy to hookup to your notebook computer. However, do remember that they are hard drives and hard drives can fail. You may find the external backup fails before your notebook computer does.

Online backup. This is actually a good idea because physical disasters can happen to your home. And when that happens, you will always have a copy in a place not affected by the disaster. This is why businesses usually have one backup in the premises and one (or more) off premises. The good thing about online backup is, it's accessible from anywhere with an internet connection. So if your notebook fails when you're away from home, you can still retrieve your data.

Many of these services are reasonably priced and they provide you with everything you need to get the backups safely transfered. But because your data will be on someone else's system, choose a reputable company, one who is not only established but takes customer data confidentiality very seriously.

Network attached storage. This would make more sense if you have several computers. They allow you to not only backup several computers' data into one location but also ability to share or retrieve files from that central area. You can also achieve a similar effect equipping an older computer with a large hard drive and use it just for storage or backup.

Backup to CD or DVD. This is considered the safest for long term data integrity. External drives and network storage can still crash and prone to virusses. CD's and DVD's are also inexpensive. But backing up to disks daily is chore as you'll find yourself having to manually pop in the disks. It becomes even more hard work when you have a lot of files and your backup spans several disks. The other problem with this method is, backup utilities that come with your operating system cannot backup to a CD or DVD drive. So you'll have to fork out extra cash to buy a third party backup software that will.

No backup solution is one hundred percent and what you choose of course will depend on how you work. If your data is really important to you, try not rely on one backup source. Create two separate sources if you can afford to, just in case.

Lynn Chan helps new owners learn proper notebook care and use. Start taking care of your investment, with this free course 5 Days To A Healthier Notebook Computer http://www.notebook-computer-infocenter.com/5days-to-a-healthier-notebook.html

Computer Data Backups Test Now Or Cry Later

2009-03-02T17:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Joshua Feinberg

If you're like most small business owners, your computer data backups are one of those things that you rarely pay attention to. Computer data backups are kind of like flossing your teeth and eating low-fat, high-fiber foods everyone knows what they're supposed to do but how many REALLY do these things religiously?!?

Unfortunately when it comes to your computer data backups however, complacency can be very dangerous. Of course, it's always a good idea to have a local computer service company that you can rely on for advice on selecting and maintaining your computer data backups. But, unless you're prepared to put a full-time PC support person on your company's payroll, it's really important that you get some basic understanding of the major issues with computer data backups.

So here's a compilation of some really crucial tips on computer data backups that I've put together, after nearly 15 years of helping small businesses protect their valuable computer data files.

Test your computer data backups regularly and monitor their log files.

To be effective, computer data backups must be highly automated to ensure that jobs are launched consistently and correctly, but your computer data backup system also needs to be watched over diligently to make sure it continues to function reliably.

Unfortunately, monitoring the computer data backup system generally isn't a priority until something goes wrong. By then it's too late. Like the article title says, "Test Now or Cry Later!"

People have a strong tendency with a computer data backup system to set it and forget it. Automation clearly has many benefits, but a totally hands-off approach can be very dangerous if no one is overseeing your computer data backup process.

Test and Then Test Again: VERY Important with Computer Data Backup Systems

With any newly installed computer data backup system, don't assume everything works correctly right out of the box. Even more important, don't take for granted that your backup system will continue working indefinitely. You need periodically to restore some folders and files from your backup media to validate that your computer data backup system still works.

If your automated computer data backup routine is configured to include a verify run with each backup job, testing a sample restore job monthly should be adequate. However, if you have an extremely low tolerance for risk, you may want to simulate a sample restore job once a week.

The Hazard of Moving Parts and Open Design with Computer Backup Systems

Why do you need to take these precautions if you're purchasing a reliable, business-class computer data backup system to start with? Typically, a tape drive or other backup device is one of the few components in a PC or server that still have moving parts.

As a result, it's more prone to mechanical failure. In addition, because a backup device generally is open, as opposed to the sealed design of a hard drive, it's easy for the inside of the computer data backup system device to attract a significant dust buildup in a relatively short period of time.

Sample Restore Jobs and Cleaning Tape Heads of Computer Data Backup Systems

Testing a tape for a sample restore job is also a great time to clean the heads of the backup drive if your backup system requires this kind of maintenance.

Restoring a few hundred megabytes (MB) of data to a scratch directory and running a head-cleaning tape should take no more than 15 to 30 minutes.

When running a test restore job, always restore the data to an alternate server folder path, so as not to disrupt the use of any shared folders.

Building a Computer System Backup and Restore Procedure Checklist In times of crisis, the most crucial issue becomes how quickly you can get the data back onto your system, undamaged. So, as you build your computer data backup system, be sure to document your test procedures into handy checklists.

This documentation also can be great for cross-training and crucial for avoiding panic during an emergency. Be sure you have a hard copy of this documentation next to your system and stored off-site with your backup media.

Watching the Log Files of Your Computer Data Backup System

In addition to running test restore jobs, you must inspect your computer data backup system log files daily. When the backup system is first installed, take time to get familiar with the way log files look when everything is working. This way, if something goes awry, you'll be better prepared to pinpoint the nature of the problem immediately.

As network operating system (NOS) suites and backup software have become more sophisticated, it's now possible to monitor backup system log files remotely and more proactively. In most cases, the backup system log files are just plain text (.txt) files.

Many third-party tools and utilities, as well as those included with Microsoft BackOffice Small Business Server (SBS) and Microsoft BackOffice Server, can automatically e-mail or fax a backup system log file at a preconfigured time.

Automatically and Remotely Monitoring Tape Backup Log Files

Many computer consultants have their small business clients' log files automatically e-mailed to them daily, so the consultants proactively can watch out for potential problems with the computer data backup system.

However, don't think this proactive monitoring is limited to professional consultants. If your company has one or more branch offices you support from a centralized location, you also can use a similar method to monitor backup system health in remote locations.

For greater flexibility, you can set up an e-mail alias so the computer data backup system log file automatically is sent to you, your second-in-command and perhaps an external computer consultant so you are all kept in the loop. Also, this way, monitoring continues even when you're out of the office or on vacation.

The Bottom Line

If your small business depends greatly on its computer systems, backing up your data is not optional and it is not something that can be casually brushed to the back burner.

Use the computer data backup tips in the articles to help you become a more IT-aware small business owner. And remember, when it comes to computer data backups, "Test Now or Cry Later". The choice is yours.

Joshua Feinberg is a 15-year veteran computer consultant, an internationally recognized expert on small business computer consulting. He has appeared in dozens of business and IT trade publications including American Express OPEN Platinum Ventures, Entrepreneur, Inc, SCORE, Small Business Computing, and USA Today. To learn more about Joshua's money-savings tips for small business PC support, visit his site at http://www.PCSupportTips.com

Know What Youre Dealing With Essential Information You Must Know Before Paying For Data Recovery

2009-03-01T17:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Alex Bezborodov

Know what you're dealing with

The world of data recovery is a big mystery for most consumers and even some IT professionals. This is largely because hard drives themselves are complex devices and their technological specifics are not generally well known. Data recovery companies thrive on their customers' lack of information and often get away with charging obscene rates for any recovery, regardless of complexity. I hope this article will be a helpful resource for consumers and professionals alike. I provide some basic information about data recovery by shedding some light on how hard drives work, how they can fail, what are the chances of successful recovery and how much the user can expect to pay. This information will enable the user to make an informed decision when choosing a data recovery company.

A bit about Hard Drives

A computer hard drive stores data on metal oxide platters which spin up to 10000 revolutions per minute. An actuator arm contains the 'head' which reads and writes the data in the form of magnetic charges one millionth of an inch above the surface. Any given drive can have multiple read and write heads and each head can 'crash' independently. A head crash occurs when the read/write head comes in contact with the platters of the disk (more on head crashes below). As manufacturers strive to cram more space on hard drives without increasing their physical size, the data gets written increasingly closer together, making for very difficult recovery should one or more heads crash. The brain of the hard drive is its controller board and this is unique for each individual hard drive. One other detail worth a mention is the service track of a hard drive. This is an area located on the outer part of the disk platter and it contains the drive's firmware zone. The firmware of a hard drive is the information used by the computer to communicate correctly with the drive. These are the main components that make a hard drive work, now let's talk about what can go wrong.

There are many ways in which a hard disk can fail

Hard drives are extremely fragile and can suffer failures in many different ways, leading to a loss of data. The five most common types of drive failures are: logical errors, mechanical failure, electronic failure, firmware corruption, and bad sectors, or any combination these. Least severe of these is usually data loss due to logical errors.

Logical errors are often the simplest and sometimes the most difficult problems to deal with when recovering data. They can range from an invalid entry in a file allocation table, a simple problem that needs little work; to severe issues such as the corruption or loss of the entire file system. Logical errors can be spotted when files become inaccessible, there is a delay in starting up the computer, and programs do not run properly. Logical errors are often seen as simple because there is nothing wrong with the physical drive leading users to try recovering it themselves by using third party software. This is quite risky, however, as running such software on a damaged drive can result in total loss of data. The most effective way to prevent logical errors on your hard drive is to regularly use the Disk Defragmentation tool in your operating system.

Recovering a drive with logical errors can be simple and quick, however if the problem requires manual bit-by-bit reconstruction of the data, it can also be quite complex and time consuming. Normally, logical errors are in the lower end of the price range as they do not require manual disassembly of the drive, however there are cases when logical failures end up in the higher end of the price range. The bottom line with logical errors is the sooner they are caught and the less a user tampers with the drive, the better the chances for a quick and thorough recovery.

Mechanical failures are often much more serious than any other failure and frequently lead to a partial or even total loss of data. The most common type of mechanical failure is a head crash, which is when the read/write head comes in contact with the disk platter. Head crashes can be caused by a variety of reasons, including physical shock, static electricity, power surges, and mechanical read/write failure. Mechanical failures are detected by a constant clicking or grinding noise coming from the drive. If you suspect mechanical failure, you must immediately shut down your computer and call a data recovery company for advice.

Mechanical failures are usually the most severe and most challenging to recover from. All mechanical failures require physical disassembly of the drive. The replacement of a read/write head is one of the most complex and costly procedures that can be performed by a data recovery engineer, especially with larger capacity drives. The chances of recovery depend entirely on how much damage the drive has sustained, however they can be quite good. A crashed head does not mean that all your data is lost! Once again, the sooner you catch a mechanical problem and turn off your drive, the more of your precious data is likely to be rescued.

Electronic failures are most common after a power surge or due to some other electric problem, and the most common type is control board failure. A power surge can knock out the control board, making the drive undetectable in the BIOS. Because each drive is fitted with a unique control board, recovery of this type is relatively complex. However, the good news is that normally once the control board issue is fixed, the data is usually 100% recoverable.

Recovering a drive that has suffered from an electronic failure can be time consuming, mainly because the specific problem takes some time to diagnose. Once diagnosed, though, the recovery is usually not tremendously complex and would probably land in the mid-range in terms of price. Most of the time, we are able to achieve a 100% recovery from drives that have suffered an electronic failure.

Firmware corruption is caused by logical problems or physical damage to the firmware zone on the disk platter. When the firmware becomes corrupt, the computer is often unable to properly communicate with the hard drive, and drive is not recognized in the BIOS. Fortunately, when the drive fails due to firmware corruption, the data is usually fully recoverable once the drive has been repaired.

Recovering a drive that has suffered from Firmware corruption is possible with the use of our proprietary technology. Because the firmware information is isolated on the outer rim of the disk, most of the data can be recovered successfully. The complexity of recovering a drive that has suffered from firmware corruption depends on the amount of damage suffered by the service track on the disk's platter. Expect the cost of this type of recovery to be in the mid- to high-price range.

Bad sectors are a common fate of all hard drives.

Eventually, all drives develop areas that are no longer functional and when this happens, they are isolated by the operating system. Bad sectors are very much like bumps in the road, areas which are avoided by the read/write head and which are no longer accessible to the user. If mission critical data exists on the drive, we recommend to backup as soon as possible, as the formation of bad sectors often indicates the impending demise of the drive. Finally, and most importantly, do NOT under any circumstances run the ScanDisk or Chckdisk utilities when data becomes inaccessible. These utilities are designed to fix only file system errors and not any other types of errors, so if your hard drive has suffered from bad sectors, these utilities only make things worse.

Bad sectors are accessible

We are able to recover drives with bad sectors using our proprietary mirroring technology. The process often involves manual mirroring bit-by-bit, which can be time consuming. The price of this type of recovery will generally be in the mid-range of the pricing schedule.

I hope the above explanations are of some use to all computer users. The basic fact is that data loss happens to everyone. Every hard drive crashes, and often when you least expect it to. Backup is essential for end-users and business users alike, and there are many excellent ways to back up your data. But if you've lost data, attempt to understand the problem before calling a data recovery company. Be informed, save your money, get your data back.

For more comprehensive information on preventing data loss, visit our website tips section.

Alex Bezborodov is the technical writer for Accurate Data Recovery, specializing in data recovery solutions and research. Let ADR bring your data back to life!

External Hard Drive Data Recovery

2009-02-28T17:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Diana Osan

There are a number of ways to store data. You can store the files on hard drives, removable disks, DVDs or CDs, just to mention a few. However, contrary to the popular belief, no matter how these storage products might be, any electronic or mechanical device is subject to break down. No matter how new or old the device is, it can fail to function normally, and there's nothing you can do to avoid it.

Given that fact, a hard drive failure is then very common and there are many non-failure related causes of lost data, including accidental file deletion, as well as fire and water damage. If for instance, you are using a normal method of retrieving data which only fails, an external hard drive data recovery is perhaps the process that may suit your data recovery needs.

In the simplest terms, external hard drive data recovery refers to the process of recovering data from external hard drives like USB or Firewire when the data is no longer accessible through normal means. In some case, the external hard drive data recovery can be a simple process, but the truth of the matter is, external hard drive data recovery may require exhaustive and detailed work just to recover the lost data. But, again, just like the normal methods, external hard drive data recovery involves the same general process for salvaging the inaccessible files.

Usually, what takes place before the actual external hard drive data recovery is the evaluation process. The external hard drive is then evaluated and the external hard drive data recovery experts will provide an initial determination of the extent of the damage, as well as the potential for external hard drive data recovery, and the work involved to save the data needed. Note, however, that some external hard drive data recovery companies today charge fees for the evaluation of the external hard drives. But there are some that offer the external hard drive data recovery evaluation process for free.

In addition to the evaluation, it is usual for every external hard drive data recovery company to conduct an estimation of the entire work that will be involved. Aside from that, the amount of data to be recovered as well as the steps to be taken and the cost of the external hard drive data recovery service are commonly considered. This is the reason that almost all of the companies offering external hard drive data recovery offer quotes of what it will really cost to get your data back.

Once the evaluation and estimate are done, the experts offering the external hard drive data recovery service will usually wait for you approval to proceed with the actual external hard drive data recovery. They won't proceed with the recovery process unless you have given your approval. And, once the approval is made the external hard drive data recovery then begins, and the company works their best just to return the important files back to you. What is nice to know about most of the external hard drive data recovery services is that they even repair the damaged hard drive. If all else are settled, the restored data will of course be returned to you on media of your choice as soon as possible.

http://www.y-capture.com is the publisher and writer of this article on data recovery. At http://www.y-capture.com you will find all the information you need on data recovery to protect yourself from loosing all your favorite data and memories that is stored on your computer. So to protect yourself or your business, go to http://www.y-capture.com bookmark this website because all you need to know about data recovery and how to protect yourself is there. constantly updated and reniewed by pro's.

The Solutiong To Finding Your Lost Files Data Recovery Companies

2009-02-27T17:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Robert Bromm

When the worst happens to your computer and all your files disappear, never worry! There are a number of quality data recovery companies that are able to restore your critical files quickly and easily.

Instead of tearing out your hair over a stubborn computer that is holding that essential file hostage, let the worries slide away and send off your hard drive to a data recovery company. These companies work their magic and recover files of all sizes in a remarkably quick turn around time. This service is essential for any individual or business that has fallen onto hard times with their computer.

Most data recovery companies operate over the internet and occupy cyberspace as they would a store front. If you find yourself in need of a quality company to find your files, look no further than the World Wide Web.

A simple search of search engines will produce hundreds of quality companies eager to solve your every problem. Before you send off your hard drive, carefully evaluate the chosen company to ensure it is legitimate and reputable. Using an incorrect company may result in further headaches and a loss of money for services not rendered.

Upon your search for a data recovery company, investigate their capabilities and services. Choosing a company that will best serve your needs will ensure the greater success in the end. You may need to compare services versus charges for these data recovery companies.

The old adage, "you get what you pay for" could not be truer when it comes to regaining your lost files. If you are taking the trouble to send off your hard drive in an attempt to reclaim critical files for business or personal reasons, then you should be prepared to spend the appropriate amount of money to get the job done. However, just because one data recovery is more expensive than another one does not mean the pricier company is more successful.

When choosing a data recovery company to reclaim your files, consider contacting individuals who has used their services in the past. This recommendation to use or to avoid the company may be an excellent method to choosing a company.

Also, contact the company directly and explain your specific situation. A representative for the company will be able to discuss the possibility of the recovery of your files and the estimated cost of their services. You should be sure to inquire the expense if the company is unable to recover the lost files. Many companies offer to return your hard drive without charging for their services if they are unable to deliver your compromised files.

Whichever data recovery company you entrust to regain your lost files, be sure to keep the company's contact information if you are pleased with the services rendered. Having this resource can be invaluable if a similar fate befalls your files in the future and you need a reputable source to recover these files as quickly as possible. If you are pleased with the data recovery company, be sure to tell other individuals in your predicament.

For more information on Data Recovery, visit http://www.datarecoveryaid.info.

Corrupt Access Database Recovery

2009-02-26T17:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Anurag Singh

Access databases are the most easily prone database to get corrupted. Generally an error occurs in the binary file format of any database which results into unusable database. The .mdb database corruption is very common, minor and generally unknown to the user. The user eventually comes to know about it when this corruption gets worse. The most common causes of access database corruptions are hardware failures, software crashes, JET software crash, multi-user access, inefficient database design, virus attacks, password protections, unexpected system shutdowns and power failures.

You can definitely prevent the access databases from being getting corrupted by following some simple measures;

Perform backup of the corrupt file as soon as possible before using any recovery utility on the damaged file.

Restore database from the previous backups - Regular backups should be performed of your database design and data in order to avoid the potential problems caused by database corruption.

Use of In-built Access 'Compact and Repair' feature - Like other MS Office (Word, Excel..) MS Access also has a useful in-built feature called "Compact and Repair". To access the feature;

1. Open the new database

Note: It is not necessary to open a new database, this feature can be accessed even if there is no database opened.

2. Click the Tools menu and select Database Utilities > Compact and Repair Database option.

3. The Database to Compact From dialogue box will be displayed, select the appropriate .mdb file and click the Compact button.

4. The corrupt Access database will be repaired.

Note: Be cautious while performing recovery through this method as this recovery procedure can at times make the case more worsened. Always take backup of the corrupt file before applying this method.

Use of MS Jet compact Utility

JetComp.exe has been developed to fix minor corruptions of the Access databases. This method of recovery is much secured than the in-built Compact and Repair feature of MS Access.

Import tables in new Database

You can create a new database and transfer all the data and table by implementing different methods:

1. Using the 'Import Wizard' to transfer all table structures to new database.

2. Recreation of the table structures in the new database manually through SQL and VB coding

Send the file to Access File Repair Company

If practice of all the above measures does not provides satisfactory results then you can send your file(s) to Access database repair company such as ourselves:

Kernel Recovery for Access is MS Access database recovery and repair software which comprehensively recovers the corrupt .mdb databases and files. The Access recovery software while repairing the damaged file creates a backup copy of the original file as a template to restore the lost database structure. The software effectively recovers lost table and data structures, memo data, OLE data, table relationships, original date format, password protected databases and converts MDE database file to MDB database file.

Kernel Recovery for Access is a user friendly application which supports recovery from MS Access 2003, 2000, XP, 97, 95 databases.

Nucleus Data Recovery (P) Limited is the industry leader in data recovery products and hard disk recovery software tools, which includes file repair, file recovery, database recovery, backup recovery and email recovery products. The technologically advanced company provides world-class data recovery products and data recovery services to promote the data safe world.

The Kernel Recovery software range supports recovery from Windows (95, 98, ME, NT, 2000, 2003, XP), Apple Macintosh, Linux, Novell, Unix operating system and FAT, NTFS, NTFS5, HFS, HFS+, NWFS, JFS, EXT2, and EXT3 file systems.

Clinical Data Management

2009-02-25T17:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Max Bellamy

One can readily have no problem in accepting the fact that understanding the value of information in the day-to-day operations of a firm is a fundamental criterion in the formation of an effective data processing and management strategy.

Clinical data management is just another branch of the overall tree of data management. There are a number of clinical data management service providers who offer their client's companies a comprehensive portfolio of clinical research based on the data that has been processed. These services include project management, clinical monitoring, medical monitoring, and the attainment and management of data.

Clinical data management is gaining an important place in the field of data processing and management services. As time is rolling by, more and more health and medical companies feel the urge to switch to clinical data management for various electronic drug development solutions. These kinds of drug development solutions enhance the effectiveness of pharmaceutical companies by merging the day-by-day planning and implementation of clinical trials with powerful data-integration and analysis.

Clinical data management, being the method and structure in place for monitoring data, is an excellent way to keep all financial and health information in order in a clinical situation. You can link and cross-reference bits of data for the purpose of creating knowledge, rather than just raw information. A clinical data management program or company will save you time and money in the long run, allowing you to focus on the actual workings of yout clinic, rather than the specific details of quantity and so on.

Data Management provides detailed information on Data Management, Data Processing And Management Services, Data Management Software, Clinical Data Management and more. Data Management is affiliated with Data Recovery Services.

Compact Flash Memory And Data Recovery

2009-02-24T17:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Bharat Bista

Flash memory gets its name due to its microchip arrangement in such a way, that its section of memory cells gets erased in a single action or "Flash".

Both NOR and NAND Flash memory were invented by Dr. Fujio Masuoka from Toshiba in 1984.The name 'Flash' was suggested because the erasure process of the memory contents reminds a flash of a camera, and it's name was coined to express how much faster it could be erased "in a flash". Dr. Masuoka presented the invention at the International Electron Devices Meeting (IEDM) held in San Jose, California in1984 and Intel recognizes the potentiality of the invention and introduced the first commercial NOR type flash chip in 1988, with long erase and write times.

Flash memory is a form of non-volatile memory that can be electrically erased and rewrite, which means that it does not need power to maintain the data stored in the chip. In addition, flash memory offers fast read access times and better shock resistance than hard disks. These characteristics explain the popularity of flash memory for applications such as storage on battery-powered devices.

Flash memory is advance from of EEPROM (Electrically-Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory) that allows multiple memory locations to be erased or written in one programming operation. Unlike an EPROM (Electrically Programmable Read-Only Memory) an EEPROM can be programmed and erased multiple times electrically. Normal EEPROM only allows one location at a time to be erased or written, meaning that flash can operate at higher effective speeds when the systems using; it read and write to different locations at the same time. Referring to the type of logic gate used in each storage cell, Flash memory is built in two varieties and named as, NOR flash and NAND flash.

Flash memory stores one bit of information in an array of transistors, called "cells", however recent flash memory devices referred as multi-level cell devices, can store more than 1 bit per cell depending on amount of electrons placed on the Floating Gate of a cell. NOR flash cell looks similar to semiconductor device like transistors, but it has two gates. First one is the control gate (CG) and the second one is a floating gate (FG) that is shield or insulated all around by an oxide layer. Because the FG is secluded by its shield oxide layer, electrons placed on it get trapped and data is stored within. On the other hand NAND Flash uses tunnel injection for writing and tunnel release for erasing.

NOR flash that was developed by Intel in 1988 with unique feature of long erase and write times and its endurance of erase cycles ranges from 10,000 to 100,000 makes it suitable for storage of program code that needs to be infrequently updated, like in digital camera and PDAs. Though, later cards demand moved towards the cheaper NAND flash; NOR-based flash is hitherto the source of all the removable media. Followed in 1989 Samsung and Toshiba form NAND flash with higher density, lower cost per bit then NOR Flash with faster erase and write times, but it only allows sequence data access, not random like NOR Flash, which makes NAND Flash suitable for mass storage device such as memory cards.

SmartMedia was first NAND-based removable media and numerous others are behind like MMC, Secure Digital, xD-Picture Cards and Memory Stick. Flash memory is frequently used to hold control code such as the basic input/output system (BIOS) in a computer. When BIOS needs to be changed (rewritten), the flash memory can be written to in block rather than byte sizes, making it simple to update. On the other hand, flash memory is not practical to random access memory (RAM) as RAM needs to be addressable at the byte (not the block) level. Thus, it is used more as a hard drive than as a RAM.

Because of this particular uniqueness, it is utilized with specifically-designed file systems which extend writes over the media and deal with the long erase times of NOR flash blocks. JFFS was the first file systems, outdated by JFFS2. Then YAFFS was released in 2003, dealing specifically with NAND flash, and JFFS2 was updated to support NAND flash too. Still, in practice most follows old FAT file system for compatibility purposes.

Although it can be read or write a byte at a time in a random access fashion, limitation of flash memory is, it must be erased a "block" at a time. Starting with a freshly erased block, any byte within that block can be programmed. However, once a byte has been programmed, it cannot be changed again until the entire block is erased. In other words, flash memory (specifically NOR flash) offers random-access read and programming operations, but cannot offer random-access rewrite or erase operations.

This effect is partially offset by some chip firmware or file system drivers by counting the writes and dynamically remapping the blocks in order to spread the write operations between the sectors, or by write verification and remapping to spare sectors in case of write failure.

Due to wear and tear on the insulating oxide layer around the charge storage mechanism, all types of flash memory erode after a certain number of erase functions ranging from 100,000 to 1,000,000, but it can be read an unlimited number of times.

Flash Card is easily rewritable memory and overwrites without warning with a high probability of data being overwritten and hence lost.

In spite of all these clear advantages, worse may occur due to system failure, battery failure, accidental erasure, re-format, power surges, faulty electronics and corruption caused by hardware breakdown or software malfunctions; as a result your data could be lost and damaged.

Flash Memory Data Recovery is the process of restoring data from primary storage media when it cannot be accessed normally. Flash memory data recovery is a flash memory file recovery service that restores all corrupted and deleted photographs even if a memory card was re-formatted. This can be due to physical damage or logical damage to the storage device. Data even from damage flash memory can be recovered, and more than 90% of lost data can be restored.

About the Author:

Bharat Bista
Digital Image Recovery
Bharat Bista is an Independent SEO consultant, specializing in Search Engine Optimization and eCommerce advancement. In addition is a professional business article writer in compound subjects.

Things You Can Do With Your Computer To Prevent A Loss Of Data

2009-02-23T17:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Gregg Hall

Have you ever experienced a hard drive failure that wiped out your files? Whether we like it or not, our hard drives are not as stable as we would want it to be. There will be times when our hard drives would malfunction causing damages to our data. There are many things that could cause our hard drives to malfunction.

The most common causes of hard drive crash downs are viruses, overheating, power surges and natural disasters that we do not really have the power to fully control. There are so many viruses that could destroy your hard drive totally. Some of these viruses may be able to pass detection from your anti virus software. When viruses breach the security of your computer, you have a big problem on your hand. Depending on the type of virus that attacks your systems, you could lose a lot of files. On the other hand, power surges and over heating are also very common causes for computer failures. There have been many cases where computers would break down due to these factors and files could be lost in the process.

In order to protect your files, you must always make it a habit to save them on some back up storage places like your USB drive, your external hard drives or in CD or DVD format. Note that although there are many data recovery software programs available in the market nowadays, there are times when the damage on your hard drive is such that the software could no longer recover the important files. You must always remember that data recovery software have their limitations. If the hard drive is totally dead, even the most powerful data recovery software available in the market could not bring it back to life.

When your hard drive fails, note that it is always best to consult a professional when trying to recover sensitive data from your computer. If you really do not know what you are doing, do not attempt to recover data in the event of a hard drive failure. You could cause more damage than good to your hard drive if you try to perform some procedures that you really are not familiar with.

It is better for you to bring your computer to a technician when you experience a hard drive failure. In most cases, the computer technician will still be able to reconstruct your computer and recover your files. However, there are also cases where the files are so damaged that they are virtually useless to you. In the end, the best option for you to maintain the integrity of your files is to create back ups. It is best for you to be ready for any events that could really compromise your data.

Gregg Hall is an author living in Navarre Beach, Florida. Find more about this as well as a hard drive recovery at www.internetcomputerrepair.com

What Is A Ups Battery

2009-02-22T17:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Joseph Then

There can be a power surge and outages at any time, which can cause you to lose unsaved data and important items on your computer. This can be frustrating and in some cases devastating. There are ways to protect your computer from power related disasters. All you have to do is get a UPS battery; this will be the best way to protect not only your computer but also your sanity if you use a computer quite often.

A UPS battery is a device that keeps your computer running with power in the event of a power interruption. To do this put a battery that provides power to your computer or other important electronics. When you loose power to your computer, UPS batteries will provide power to you for a short time to enable you to save the data you were working on at that time. You will usually have about fifteen to twenty minutes to complete the saving and shut down your computer properly.

If you have business documents and information on your computer, it is essential that you have one of these batteries hooked up to your computer. Not only will a UPS battery protect your computer from power outages, it will also help with power surges. Surges can harm your computer and do a lot of damage. It should make you feel better knowing a backup battery is protecting your computer.

UPS batteries are not expensive at all. They usually run anywhere from thirty to fifty dollars for a good one. You can buy these batteries almost anywhere. They are defiantly an investment to anyone who lives on their computer. It does not matter if you have business or personal information on your computer; it is worth saving with a UPS battery.

They are compact so that they will fit almost anywhere. You can have them under your desk, or on top of it. UPS batteries will plug into a normal three-prong outlet. They are reliable and safe for most home electrical systems. There is really no reason not to have a battery backup and surge protector like a UPS battery hooked up to your computer. It will be a device that you may never need to rely on, buy why take the chance? It is worth the few dollars to save your precious work.

For more information on the batteries, please visit =>http://www.rechargable-nimh-batteries.info

Data Backup Solution Why You Need A Backup Plan In Place Part 2

2009-02-21T17:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Joe Duchesne

In the first part of this article series, I talked about the three main threats to the data on your computer. I talked about the need for a data backup solution that protects your data properly. In this article, I'll outline the most common data backup solution options available to you.

A simple data backup solution

A simple way to backup your data is to save everything to CD. By burning your vital information to a CD-ROM, you can have another copy of your data if something goes wrong with your computer. Burning your data to a CD-ROM will provide rudimentary data backup protection. There are some problems with this approach however.

Burning your files regularly to CD requires human intervention and effort. It isn't automatic. You have to take time out of your schedule to do it. People get busy, things happen and before you know it, you haven't done a data backup in over a month then BAM! Your data is lost.

The second major threat to using CD's as your data backup solution is that there are limitations to CD media. The first is that they won't survive a fire. If your place or office burns down and you've stored your CD's on site, your data is gone too. The second problem with CD media is that the media itself degrades over time. A recent study found that even CD's that were advertised to last for 100 years were loosing data after just two or three years.

Burning your data to CD is certainly much better than doing nothing but it has limitations.

Saving Data to a Web Server

With the advent of inexpensive online data storage options, it is now possible to archive your most crucial data online. This option potentially protects you from theft and it is an off site option so it protects you from fire. The only way theft could risk your data is if your computers are not password protected by default and you choose to save all your passwords automatically in your applications. If this is the case, someone who gains physical access to your computers could certainly gain access to your data. This issue aside, saving your files to a web server is certainly an option.

The limitation to this data backup solution usually revolves around the cost for the web server storage. While it is usually cost effective for up to 2 GB of data, it isn't appropriate for backing up an entire hard drive worth of data.

In House Hardware Data Backup Solutions

Another data backup solution is to equip your computers with RAID compatible motherboards and install multiple hard drives in each computer. This option protects your computers from hard drive crashes. It will usually require the services of a computer hardware technician to setup. Done properly, it can pretty much protect you from all hardware failure type data loss.

This solution doesn't usually protect you from theft as the extra hard drives for RAID storage are usually installed in your computer or in other equipment on site. It usually won't protect you from fire either so this method does have its limitations.

Use a combination of all three data backup solutions

For maximum protection, you should consider using a combination of all three data backup solutions for maximum protection. Burn critical documents to CD on a regular basis. Get a web hosting account with lots of storage and upload critical files to the web server. With this option however, keep in mind that unless the data is encrypted on your end, an administrator of the web server could potentially access all your data.

Finally, along with burning a CD and using an off site web server, get a qualified computer technician to install a RAID system in your computer systems. If cost is an issue, get at least one of your computers installed with a RAID capable hard drive and at least one other hard drive.

Using these three data backup solutions, you will minimize the risk to your data and to your livelihood.

Joe Duchesne is the webmaster of GreatComputerInfo.com a computer hardware information site. Reprint freely as long as you maintain the live keyword rich links in this resource box.

Infile Delta Enhances Offsite Secure Backup Technology

2009-02-20T17:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Lee Morrell

We are all aware of the benefits backing up to a remote location. However the greatest problem with backing up data via the internet is explained as follows:-

Large files x low bandwidth = Massive backup time.

In-file delta helps to greatly reduce this issue. Files up to 300GB can use In File Delta technology. This basically means, after initial file backup, only changes in that file will be sent to an offsite location. This makes offsite secure backup more usable for large databases like Microsoft Exchange.

Here you can learn what in-file delta technology is and how in-file delta can be used to backup large database files (e.g. a 10GB Outlook.pst file) without uploading the whole database file everyday.

In-file delta technology is an advanced data block matching algorithm which has the intelligence to pick up changes (delta) of file content between two files when one of the files is not accessible and use the delta information between two files to rebuild one file from the other. Are you with me so far? Using this algorithm, daily backing up of large file (e.g. a 10GB Outlook.pst file) over low-speed internet connection is made possible because it requires only the changes of information since last backup to be sent to complete the backup of a large file (here we assume that the full backup of the file has been saved on the backup server already).

This is what would happen to the backup of a 10GB Outlook.pst file when it is backed up by PerfectBackup OBM with in-file delta technology. The whole files (10GB), along with its checksum (128-bit) file, are backed up to the backup server. This can be done directly through the internet or indirectly using the seed load utility on a removable hard disk. When backup runs again later (normally the next day), PerfectBackup OBM will download a checksum listing of all data blocks of the full backup file from the backup server and use it to pick up all changes that have been made to the current Outlook.pst file from the first full backup.

Changes detected are then saved in a delta file which is uploaded to the backup server. (This delta file is assumed to be small because the content of all PST files doesn't change lot of even after it has been updated)

Subsequent backups of this 10GB Outlook.pst file will go through step ii and step iii again. As explained, only a small delta file will be uploaded to the backup server.

With in-file delta technology, daily backing up of large file over low-speed internet connection is now possible

Example 1: If you are adding 200MB to Outlook.pst everyday, the first delta backup will upload a 200MB delta file and the next delta backup will upload a 400MB delta file. This will go on until Day 50 when the delta file required to be backed up reached 10GB. This delta file size (10GB) is now is 50% of the Outlook.pst which is now 20GB (remember that you have added 100MB to this file everyday). If the [Delta Ratio] is set to be 50% (default), the whole Outlook.pst file will be uploaded again.

Example 2: If you are adding 50MB to Outlook.pst everyday, the first delta backup will upload a 50MB delta file and the next delta backup will upload a 100MB delta file. This will go on until Day 100 because it is the [Maximum number of delta] (default) allowed in this backup set and the whole Outlook.pst file will be uploaded again.

All delta files are generated with respect to changes made since the last full backup file (i.e. differential backup). This means that only last full backup file and the last delta file are required to restore the latest snapshot of a backup file. This means that other intermediate delta files are only required if you want to restore other snapshots of a backup file.

In-File delta does differential backup rather than incremental backup. It is designed this way so that a corrupted delta file would only make one particular version of a backup file non-recoverable and all other backups created by other delta files of the same file would still be intact.

The full backup file, its checksum file and the last delta file uploaded (if more than one delta files have been uploaded to the backup server) are always stored in the data area. This means that these files are not affected by the setting of the retention policy and will always be kept on the backup server. This is done this way because all these files are required to get the latest snapshot of the backup file and they should not be removed from the backup server by the retention area cleanup routine. All other intermediate delta files are stored in the retention area.

To evaluate the PerfectBackup software free of charge for a month with in-file delta, please visit http://www.perfectbackup.co.uk/products

Backup Schmackup Im Afraid Very Afraid

2009-02-19T17:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Teena Hughes

"Why should you be afraid?", I can hear you ask.

I just got an email from my friend Miche who said,

"My laptop is sick at the hospital. Hard Drive failure. Am praying data can be retrieved."

Her exact words.

Ohhhh : tremors of fear running up and down my spine!

Why?

Because ... and I have to be honest ... I haven't *backed up* my laptop for ages!

Oh I can hear your derisive laughter, your looks of scorn ... I can feel your disbelief.

Me - of all people - admitting this. My friends call me "TechieGirl"!

Well, the best part of my friend's scary dilemma is that it's forcing me into action!

I'm dusting off the cd burner and plugging into the power, plugging it into the USB slot - now how *hard* was that? I've got a stack of blank cds gathering dust on my desk ... why not use them?

Hmm ... why not do a *big* backup on the first of each month, and a *mini* backup every Monday [or Tuesday or Friday ... whatever works best for you]?

::::: Plan it! :::::

OK - stick with me here - open your online Diary or Appointments Database or hard-copy Diary and make an appointment *with yourself* - which part of the week could you devote say a half hour to, to do a quick backup? What about when you sit down to open the mail, or read a report, do your return phonecalls? If you work from home, why not start the backup as soon as you get out of bed so it'll be done by the time you've had your walk, eaten your breakfast, and showered.

I can hear you saying, "Oh it'll take too long ... I'll do it later ... tomorrow ... next week ... next month ...". And then one day I'll be getting an email or a call from you saying, "If only I'd backed up the computer ..."

Imagine losing all your documents, projects, databases, passwords, software settings, names, addresses, phone numbers, email names, website links - YIKES! I'm scaring myself again!!!!

If I lost even *one* thing in that list above, I'd be in BIG trouble - REAL BIG trouble.

::::: What do I backup? :::::

Good question. The most important thing NOT to backup is your software.

You do have all the original cds, don't you? And you made copies of those cds when you bought the software, right, as a *backup* in case the original cd failed? Didn't you? Yeah, I thought so ... no-one bothers to do that, but it's the one thing which could save your hair from going white overnight after your computer dies.

MUST backup:

* LOGINS, ALL passwords, FTP access codes, banking details, etc. Where do you currently keep this info? Please don't tell me it's in a little book on your desk ... oh so easy to get lost, to get put in someone else's pocket, to go walk-about. You should have a password-protected spreadsheet or document, or even better - a password-protected database. I have a database which I open as soon as I create a new login, or add myself to a mailing list, or join a new news group etc - paste the info in *as* you create it, to ensure you'll *never* forget it. Sure, you sometimes get confirmation emails with this data ... but if your computer has *died* ... get the picture? You can't access the emails!

* CLIENT documents / projects / websites (if you're a developer), in fact ANYTHING which could cause grief if you lost it or didn't have a copy of it. If you've printed a lot of this stuff, what would you need if you had a *fire* and lost all your paper files? Think about that. Hard. Now make a list and maybe have a backup cd for each Client or group of clients, depending on your business.

* EMAIL software folder which should include ALL your emails. You do *keep* all emails don't you? Please tell me you're not one of those people who deletes emails as soon as you read them (business ones I mean). Have you ever considered that emails are a form of *database*? I can search my Eudora software for any word or phrase and in a nanosecond I have a list of emails relating to that item (all neatly filed in their email folders ... but that's *another* article!). I *love* Eudora's features! Getting back to business, emails with historical information on projects are invaluable to see who said what and when they said it. It's a timeline, tracking resource, for a project's life.

* PHOTOS, personal, professional - unless you're using them all the time, these can be kept on CDs on a regular basis. When you download from the digital camera, save to cd straight away and save space on your hard drive [note to "self" : follow own suggestion]. If you have photos related to a project or client, save them to the Client cd you created earlier, if there's space.

* FINANCIALS. All your spreadsheets, MYOB or whatever other software you use to track financials. Every document which the tax department might one day want to see ... for the past 7 years. Business plans, budgets, everything relating to your business which you'll need to continue to *be* in business.

* FAXES - do you use online faxing like I do? Where every incoming fax comes into my inbox as an email? From now on, whenever one arrives, put it into a folder called FAXES or save with your client data. Faxes are also a record of what's transpired - another form of database. Plus if you use this kind of fax service, you're saving trees. :o>

* INSURANCE. Keep quotes etc on your computer? You'll be needing these.

* DATABASES - all of them. A must. Trust me, you'll kick yourself if you need one of these you didn't bother backing up.

* COMPUTER DESKTOP. OK - what's still sitting on your desktop which hasn't be put away or filed yet? Probably a bunch o'stuff - clear this up before you backup, make your job that little bit easier.

* EXCEPTION to the SOFTWARE RULE above - if you've bought any software online, or downloaded any software or programs of any kind for which you did not receive a cd, then back it up. If you've still got the Installer file, save that - it'll save time.

* BROWSER Settings - go through your browser Preferences screens, take snapshots (like printscreen) of those settings - it'll save you a TON of time if you have to set up your email and ISP settings at a later date.

* PDFs : have you downloaded any pdfs or purchased any ebooks? Are they all in the same download folder, or in a PDF or eBook folder? You'll want to save these.

Oh boy - I just looked at my hard drive - 222 folders of stuff - I need to do some serious sorting and computer *housekeeping* before I do a backup, otherwise it'll take forever to sift through all that stuff! So here's the list of things to do:

* tip : do it in bite-sized pieces, baby steps, little chunks each day

* make a list of things you want to backup - think about your client info etc

* do your computer housekeeping, put things away in folders, then put those folders in main folders to tidy up your own special filing system - do this on one day so it's not too overwhelming

* on the next day, make sure you have spare cds - you might need a few, depending on how much filing needs to be done; go buy cds if you need to. Consider buying Read Write cds, rather than the regular cds - if you want to be able to add info to cds later.

* if you've got an internal cd burner in your computer, you're a lucky dog - if you've got an external one, plug it in and make sure it works

* when you're ready, start the software you need to backup (usually Toast or something similar)

* be prepared for this to take at least an hour, maybe more if you've got a ton of stuff, but *don't * put it off! An hour spent now could save you *weeks* of worry and work in the future!

* when you've done the first *big* backup, pat yourself on the back, you've accomplished a very important business task!!!

While you're feeling smug and proud of yourself, think about when you should do your next backup. How much work would you be ok about losing? One day's worth? One week's worth? How about a month of work? Whichever is the one you choose, make *that* the amount of time before you do your first *mini* backup. Don't be afraid to set other backup procedures for times which suit you, your projects, your clients.

The main question you need to ask yourself is,

"How much work would it be OK to *lose* without it affecting me or my business?"

::::: DON'T FORGET :::::

Label your cds. How are you going to file them? In a cd box? Will they be in a hard plastic shell or sleeve? Where would it make sense to *see* the client name on the cover, when it's in the box? How easily would you be able to find a cd in that box? You can write on cds with thick permanent markers, or if you're really keen, you can print onto cd labels (available from many stationery companies).

Keep 2 backup copies.

If you don't work at home, it might be worthwhile keeping a backup copy of the backup - one at work, one at home. Just in case.

Now that I've scared myself silly, I'm off to dust the cd burner and make a latte - don't expect me to reply to your emails over the next few hours, I'm doing a backup!

© Teena Hughes is the Director of Build A Website Tonight, a website where you can build your own site online - with no skill - no fear - with no additional costs to update your site. Teena has been involved in the I.T. industry for over twenty years and has written many articles and ebooks, and loves to help people get their business started.

http://www.BuildAWebsiteTonight.com

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How To Protect The Data On Your Laptop

2009-02-18T17:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Alex Fir

Every year, hundreds of thousands of laptop computers is being stolen. Every passing day we hear a story of a missing laptop with sensitive data on it.

What can average user do to protect the data on his or her laptop?

To begin with, you can buy a lock. Locking cables are used to secure your laptop to a motionless object. A good number of locking cables cost from $20 to $70. You can find more advanced and therefore costly models that come with an audible alarm.

You should register your laptop. If you fill out your laptop's warranty card, the producer will have a record of ownership. You can also register your notebook with property protection programs.

Your next option is to lock down boot-up. You can set your laptop to ask for a password before loading the operating system. Select a password made up of letters, numbers and symbols.

Seagate hard drives protect data using encryption technology. It makes information useless to anyone who does not have the code. The technology can also erase data on the drive instantly.

Absolute Software of Vancouver, B.C. offers a service called CompuTrace LoJack for Laptops. Stolen laptops, using installed software, quietly report their location to Absolute Software the first time they are connected to the Internet. The company contacts local police cops to coordinate recovery. The service costs $50 a year.

Inspice Trace is a package that offers remote data destruction. It erases irrecoverably the contents of the drive in the event it is stolen. The Inspice Trace software also tracks the location of a stolen laptop.

You should also consider biometric security devices such as fingerprint scanners. They allow only authorized users to use the laptop.

Alex Fir shares a wealth of information on his website Laptop Computers Center. To read about lightweight laptop computers as well as best multimedia laptop visit his site right now.

The Best Data Recovery Choice For You

2009-02-17T17:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by John Simpson

The best defense against a loss of data is a really solid and faithful backup routine of important files to reliable media. It's also a good idea for the media to be removable and portable if possible so that even if something happens to your whole computer for any reason, the data is protected by being in a totally different physical area.

OK, so that is the best solution to data loss. But what if you have not been backing up your drive like you should and now you find yourself confronted with the daunting task of getting all the important files back that were on your computer before the emergency happened? (By the way, you can take some comfort in knowing that quite a few people find themselves in this situation. You are not alone.) What are your choices at this point?

Well, basically there are two ways of recovering data from a damaged disk, either by using a data recovery service or a data recovery software package. Either can do the job, but there are some factors that should go into your decision about which one to use. First, are you pretty computer savvy? If you are then maybe data recovery software will work for you. If not, do not try this method at all. The other is how much time do you have to spend on retrieving this data? If you have lots of time to put into it, then consider doing the job yourself with a reputable software package. If you don't have much time to devote to this endeavor, don't waste both time and money with the software option.

If you have decided upon using a data recovery service, you should know that the odds are that you will get a good portion, if not all of your data back. The generally accepted success rate in the industry is around 80%. Much of the success will depend on the skill and determination of the data recovery specialist who will be working on your drive. They all have sophisticated software tools to work with, but data recovery is not as simple as just plugging in a piece of software, walking away and coming back when it has found all the files. It often requires a specialist who is a bit of a detective, andnot easily discouraged, to get back a good portion of data, especially on drives with physical damage.

Don't be surprised to get two quotes for data recovery from some companies either. One for logical data retrieval that is much easier to handle and will be a much lower figure, and one for physical damage which is far more challenging and therefore rightly costs more. You will also find that cost quotes will often vary considerably. It is usually best to choose somewhere in the middle of the pack toward the higher end. The reason for this is that some companies engage in a bait and switch tactic that indicates that they will cost less initially, but when they actually receive the drive they wil claim that upon review the cost will be much higher. It's best to avoid messing with these companies at all.

So if you have lost data and have no backups to fall back on, data recovery can still be done. Just use the guidelines presented in this article for choosing the data recovery method that will work best for you.

John Simpson
All About Data Recovery is a website that provides free information, tips and resources for finding the best data recovery, data retrieval, and file recovery options for your data loss situation.

Evaluating The Best Hard Drive Recovery Software

2009-02-16T17:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Diana Osan

Have you ever experienced turning on your computer to find that a virus has wiped much of your hard drive clean? Or, perhaps you've even been deleted an email out of your trash bin only to find out that you badly needed the information within it for work? Have you ever spent hours on a document only to have the power go out and in the end discovered that you failed to save the work and lose everything you'd worked on? Well, all of these are very real problems commonly encountered by real people. Luckily, a number of best hard drive recovery software were developed as equally real solutions for all of these problems.

It's often claimed and noted that through the best hard drive recovery software, you can recovery files that were encrypted and compressed. Yes, you heard me right. The best hard drive recovery software is capable of doing that, and you can even perform data recovery on accidentally deleted emails, from hard drives located within the network, or create image files of your hard drive for a much easier data recovery.

It is much interesting to know that with the latest generation of best hard drive recovery software, you can easily recover files that have been erased from your recycle bin, or those that have become damaged. The best hard drive recovery software can even recover files that are stored on a failed hard drives, DVD or CD that has developed bad partitions.

However, finding the real best hard drive recovery software can be difficult with lots of hard drive recovery software out there claiming to help recover everyone's lost data. So to determine which best hard drive recovery software is best for you, you should first consider its feature set and other properties that the claimed best hard drive recovery software possesses.

Here are some things to consider when evaluating the best hard drive recovery software:

Feature Set

Note, in the first place, that the best hard drive recovery software provides you with a number of data recovery tools, including the ability to retrieve data from multiple sources, like those that are deleted from the recycle bin, from damaged files, from partially deleted hard drives, from disks with bad sectors, data lost due to virus attacks, and data lost due to power outages. The best hard drive recovery software also supports a wide range of file systems.

Ease of Use and Installation

The best hard drive recovery software is easy to use and install. The beginners should be able to easily install and quickly learn how to use it without spending too much time in the help of the section. This is basically one real asset of the best hard drive recovery software.

Data Recovery Effectiveness

Another thing to note when choosing the best hard drive recovery software is the fact that the best hard drive recovery software must do a good job recovering lost data for if it doesn't, it is pointless.

Search Capabilities

The best hard drive recovery software should offer a wide range of search tools, allowing the user to find lost data by name, date created, or extension.

Help or Documentation Capabilities

Experts often say that the best hard drive recovery software should come with lots of help support tools, including FAQs, help manuals and contact information for the technical support of the manufacturer. This is perhaps considered due to its technical nature.

Why You Should Not Attempt A Quotdo It Yourselfquot Data Recovery

2009-02-15T17:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Andrea Stone

Data recovery is a highly specialized and complicated procedure. Care must be taken to prevent the disturbance of the fragile components that reside in a hard drive or other media. For this reason, data recovery can be expensive. Many people receive a price quote from a data recovery company and in an effort to save costs, they decide to take matters into their own hands. This can be a fatal mistake for your data. By taking matters into your own hands, you could cause damage that can make the data irretrievable even by a data recovery company. Listed below are some common techniques that can cause permanent data loss:

Do Not Run Partitioning Software on the Failed Media

Using disk repair software can cause irreversible data loss. Most of these utilities write to the disk which can cause your data to be overwritten. The steps taken by most of these utilities are very complex. It only takes one incorrect option chosen, and you could damage the file structure of your disk beyond repair. By using these utilities, you are taking a significant risk with your data.

Do Not Reformat the Failed Media

This is crucial as reformatted disks make data recovery very difficult. A reformat allows the master boot record to be overwritten. It is important not change partition information or initialize the disk if prompted.

Do Not Open a Failed Hard Drive to Attempt Recovery

Many people do not understand the delicacy of the internal components of a hard drive. A hard drive should never be opened unless in a clean room environment. Inside the drive, there are platters which hold the data. These platters are made of either light aluminum alloy, glass or ceramic and are coated with a magnetizable substance. There can be one or multiple platters depending on the disk capacity. The disk platters are very fragile and sensitive to dust, debris and fingerprints.

It is also very easy to scratch the surface of the platters, which could permanently damage them. The platters are attached to a spindle that turns the platters simultaneously. A motor also exists to ensure the platters are spun at a set speed. The actuator arm houses the read-write heads which are present to access the data on the platters. These heads never actually touch the platters. The spinning of the platters creates air pressure which lifts the read-write heads off the platters, enabling them to access the data. It only takes 0.5 micron of dust on the platter surface to disturb the functionality of the drive. This is why a hard drive should never be opened unless done in a clean room by a data recovery company.

Do Not Freeze or Heat the Failed Hard Drive

Many people have read about freezing a failed hard drive in order to recover the data. Beware of doing this as condensation can cause the drive to be ruined causing permanent data loss. On the flip side, you should also not attempt to heat a hard drive using the oven or microwave oven. This will also cause the drive to be ruined causing your data to be permanently gone. Once again, the internal components of a hard drive are extremely fragile. An extreme change in temperature can cause problems.

Do Not Physically Abuse the Drive

Some people have read about tips others claimed have worked including hitting a hard drive or dropping it on the floor in order to cause the parts to begin functioning properly again. This is not advised as it can break the internal components or scratch the surface of the platters which can destroy the data residing on those platters.

Data recovery is more successful when trusted in the hands of a data recovery company. It is important that you do not take chances with the data you are trying to recover.

This article can be freely published on a website however it must not be modified in any way including the author bylines, and the hyperlink must be made active as shown below.

Andrea Stone is employed with ReWave Hard Drive Recovery, a worldwide data recovery company. Visit the company's Data Recovery website for more information.

Business Continuity And Disaster Recovery Business Impact Analysis

2009-02-14T17:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Robert Mahood

Business impact analysis is a critical part of the business continuity planning process. This step quantifies data and gets into the real world issue of potential losses that can negatively impact your business. It is used to understand the most important impacts and how to best protect your people, processes, data, communications, assets and the organization's goodwill and reputation.

Organizations often think in terms of disaster recovery. Business continuity and the business impact analysis is more focused on keeping the business up and running and less focused on recovery after a disaster. The business impact analysis also is not focused only on the potential disasters, but on all potentially critical discontinuities. Key elements of the Business Impact Analysis are to identify critical business functions, establish the maximum acceptable outage time for each of these functions and then to determine the impact of not performing those functions. This can be measured against regulatory, legal, financial, operations or customer service requirements.

Once the adequacy of security and controls is evaluated and critical business functions and outage times are defined, the business continuity planner needs to develop an understanding of the probability of threats factored by the severity or impact and to start to develop a cost benefit analysis of the largest impact and highest probability threats.

It's virtually impossible to create an absolute value and prioritization of threats and impacts. Generally, a relational system is used to drive out the key priorities. Often, each threat is evaluated according to its probability and assigned a 1, 5 or 10 rating. Then, each threat is evaluated according to its impact on critical business functions and on the business overall. For example, a discontinuity in a critical business function of less than one hour might receive a value of 0. A discontinuity of one to eight hours might be ranked a 1, eight to twenty four hours might be ranked a 2 and over 24 hours might be ranked a 3. Obviously, these rankings need to be developed on a company specific basis. Probability factored by impact creates the relational prioritization list.

This approach to risk evaluation and control allows management to start to quantify the risks and potential impacts on the organization in a thoughtful and analytical way. This results not only in higher quality decisions, but also provides an audit trail that demonstrates that management is paying attention to its risk management responsibilities. These responsibilities might be established by regulatory or legal bodies, demanded as a contractual commitment by customers or simply expected by shareholders as sound and prudent management. The key corporate goals are to protect people, protect assets, protect data and to protect the brand and reputation of the organization.

About The Author

Robert Mahood has significant technology and management experience in data communications, internet, storage, disaster recovery and data recovery. He is currently the president of Midwest Data Recovery. www.midwestdatarecovery.com

bmahood@midwestdatarecovery.com, 312 907 2100 or 866 786 2595

When Your Computer Fails A Disaster Recovery Strategy For The Homebased Business

2009-02-13T17:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Pamela Bruce

If you are self-employed and work from home, you wear several hats, so to speak: you may be the marketing manager, accountant, receptionist or PR person. You are also your own technical support department and therefore responsible for safeguarding your data.

You should be clear about two things:

1. Sooner or later, disaster will strike. It does not have to be anything as dramatic as storm, fire or flood - an overheated motherboard, a malfunctioning hard drive or a computer virus can be enough.

2. The cost of backup hardware and media is trivial compared to the value of your data. Imagine that you lost your customer list, your product database or other crucial business data. How would your business continue?

Here are some tips for implementing a disaster recover strategy:

Buy an external hard drive. These hard drives, which connect to your computer via the USB 2.0 or FireWire port (check which port your computer has) have fallen dramatically in price. Some of them are about the size of a paperback and can be easily transported. Most come with a backup program that lets you schedule automatic backups for your data.

Put all crucial computer-related information in a folder. This includes the customer support numbers of hardware and software manufacturers, serial numbers, warranty documents and configuration information. The last thing you want to do is to hunt for these items while you are desperately trying to get your computer working again.

Back up data and store the media offsite. Having an external hard drive is great, but what would happen in the case of theft, flood or fire? You should regularly (let your calendar program remind you) back up important data on CD-Rs or DVD-Rs and store these elsewhere, such as at a friend's house or in a safe deposit box at your bank.

Back up data online. There are numerous companies that will store your data online for a fee, but it might even be enough to use a web-based e-mail service such as Gmail, Hotmail or Yahoo Mail, as these now offer very generous storage quotas. Just mail important files to yourself.

Have extra hardware. If your main computer fails, you can just move the external hard drive to your laptop and continue working. It might also be useful to keep an old computer around as a backup machine, as long as it still runs the programs you need to use. This way, you do not have to run out and buy a new computer right away, if your current one fails.

Pamela Bruce lives in Austin, TX. She is the owner of Love Beads Unlimited and sells the sterling silver and Swarovski crystal bead jewelry she designs and creates both in her eBay store (http://stores.ebay.com/LOVE-BEADS-UNLIMITED) and on her website at http://www.lovebeadsunlimited.com, where you can also download the free e-book "A Consumer's Guide to Buying Bead Jewelry Online".

Cloning Your Hard Drive And Saving Every Bit Of Data

2009-02-12T17:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Michael Cottier

They cloned a sheep once, and that sheep had every thing similar to its clone source, except of course it's memories. With your hard drive on the other hand, you can copy its memory, every last bit of it, and restore it on a completely different hard drive.

Cloning your hard drive is something that a person needs to do or at least wants to do, once in their life. The fact is hard drives go bad sometimes, and other times people plain old just want to get a new one with more storage capacity. Either way, wouldn't it be nice to be able to get a new hard drive and make it have the exact same data as your old one, so you could pick up right where you left off?

Think about it, that means you wouldn't have to reinstall your operating system, put all of your important data on it, or even set all of those pesky little preferences back to the way you want it. They would already be done, because you just made a clone of your old hard drive, and all data will be exactly the same. So how can you accomplish this?

The best way to clone your hard drive, and easiest, is to use a good hard drive imaging software. If you plan to use cloning software, all you have to do is insert the disk, follow its instructions and then it will start the cloning process. You may be wondering where you save your data image too. Well believe it or not, you can actually save it on the hard drive that you just made the image from, but of course if more then half is being used by data, it will not fit.

Your other option then is to store it on a DVD, if it can fit, or the hard drive you actually plan on copying it to. That is what you want anyways right? The reason that is not the best option though, is because you would have to open up your computer and attach it to the same IDE cable that you current hard drive is attached to.

Then you would have to partition and format the new drive, and then and only then, you could start the immediate transfer of data from one hard drive to another.

Long process huh? Thought so, but don't worry, you still have some other options. You could also use RAID technology, which stands for Redundant Array of Independent Disks. RAID basically works like this; you have two hard drives in your computer and they both are at least the same size and are attached to the same IDE cable. Then, whenever data is written to your main hard drive, it is also written to your backup one.

This means that you would have an always, up to date hard drive clone at all times. So if anything should happen, you can just boot from your other hard drive, and presto, you're in like Flynn.

On a final note, you need to understand that RAID won't help if you have a fire, tornado or some other disaster that might destroy your entire computer. For this reason, I don't really recommend anybody uses RAID, but instead do a backup weekly and store it on some kind of external storage device.

External storage devices can range from zip drives, DVD-R's, external hard drives, and anything else that can store large amounts of data, but not be in your computer. If you do that, and store the external data in a safe place, then you will forever be safe guarded against virus attacks, disasters, and anything else that might come your computers way.

Get the software that you need to clone your hard drive, on Michael's hard drive image software page. Also, learn more about computer customizing at his helpful web site.

Back Up You Writers

2009-02-11T17:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Mitchell Allen

Take it from a programmer who lost seven days of criminal records. Take it from a game designer who tweaked version 1.0 one time too many. Take it from a Windows XP user who has no idea why Bill Gates likes to freeze PCs for no reason.

Just like living a healthy lifestyle requires discipline, you must develop good backup habits. You already know you should, but here is why you don't:

Lazy (It's the number one killer of productivity)
Busy (anaerobics are great, but don't neglect the cardio!)
Over-Confident (sure, you're young, now)
Clueless (you went to McDonald's again?)

Now, I realize that you are running a business, so you have specialized software to handle different aspects of your business: contact manager, accounting package, schedulers and database managers. Each of these programs have some kind of backup capability.

However, ask yourself one question: what is easier to replace, contact information, or the 15,000 word article you spent two days researching?

Backup Fundamentals

As the previous question should make clear, different files have different anxiety levels attached to them. The first thing you should do is to decide whether it is more important to be able to replicate your current working environment or to be able to retrieve mission-critical files.

Replication

After a total computer failure, the ideal scenario would be to load a few CDs, punch a few buttons, wait about an hour and voilà, your system is ready for you to resume work as if nothing had happened.

There are packages that you can purchase which claim to restore your PC to any particular point in the past. There are also systems for cloning your PC. This whole-earth approach, while effective, is so broad, that it is beyond the scope of this article. At any rate, you'll still need to recover individual files in a disaster. So, read on.

Mission-Critical Recovery

This dire-sounding phrase (which I made up, because it sounds techno-geek) simply means that you can retrieve your files even after a total disaster. Disasters include mechanical failure, theft, operator error (Oops!), fire, and believe it or not software upgrades.

Assuming you have decided to focus on mission-critical recovery, your next step is to decide whether the backup plan should revolve around your current working environment and habits, or whether you should adopt new organizational methods to facilitate backups. The choice is up to you. The only thing you should keep in mind is that, if the backup plan is too complicated, you're not going to bother.

On the one hand, if your work is scattered all over the hard drive and you elect to have a backup plan that revolves around this current plan, it will probably be a time-consuming task to not only set up the initial backup plan, but also to maintain it.

On the other hand, you may have the most efficient organization possible, but if you pair it with an arcane backup plan, you're probably going to decide it's too much trouble.

A Plan

In my experience, it has been helpful to take a middle road. My productivity is keyed to my organization, so I can't just scrap it. However, by researching backup plans and understanding the goals of each solution, I have been able to gradually evolve a plan that works for me. One thing I have never solved to my satisfaction is synchronizing files between workstations. If this is important to you, the best advice I can give is to treat your backup solution as if it were a network drive. This is imaginary, but it helps me to visualize being able to access my files from any computer.

Backups have to solve a host of problems in order to be useful:

automatic
archive
restore
catalogue and report
compare
recycle
media-independent

Automatic

There is something comforting about knowing your files are backed up on a regular schedule. If you don't know how to set up task scheduling, it is a good skill to learn.

Archive

In today's gigabyte world, most backup solutions involve a second hard drive. Even if you can't imagine ever filling it up with backups, you have to remember, that hard drive is still a mechanical device, subject to failure. Unless it is offsite, it is also subject to the same disasters as the primary drive. You need to archive your backups to a more permanent medium, such as magnetic tape or CD-R.

After you have archived the data, you can reclaim the hard drive space on both drives.

You really should find a place outside of your home to store archives. Use your imagination. I've kept backups in a safe-deposit box!

Restore

This is obvious. The most annoying part of restore operations comes when you are attempting to retrieve a file without the original backup software. If the backup is in a popular format such as zip or tar, you may be able to retrieve the needed files. So, keep in mind that proprietary solutions are not the best solutions.

Another aspect of restoration involves the directory structure. Where should the restore file go? You may want to compare versions, so it would be a mistake to overwrite the version on your primary drive. The best solutions leave this choice up to you.

Catalogue and Report

What good is a backup if you can't find the file when you need it? My all-time favorite is a stand-alone product that has nothing to do with backups. It's called WhereIsIt and it can store a huge amount of information. No matter where I put a file, if I catalogued it with this package, it will tell me where it is. It has a powerful report generator that can provide all kinds of useful information about catalogued files. Here's how I use WhereIsIt. Every Saturday, I get a reminder from Outlook to run it. (I believe it has some kind of scripting language with which I could automate the task, but I never bothered. It's easy enough.) I click the backup button, select the external hard drive and the program does the rest! The catalogue resides on my primary drive for quick access.

Compare

There are many programs that will let you compare two versions of a file. Pick one that will do what you need. As a programmer, I find BeyondCompare to be indispensable. It compares folders to folders or files to files. It allows me to use a built-in FTP program to upload files from my hard drive to the web. (There's a plan!) The bonus for me is that BeyondCompare will synchronize folders. So, I have set it to automatically backup the contents of My Documents to the external hard drive. This is done once a night, using my infamous Tower of Hanoi backup scheme.

Recycle

You do not have unlimited resources to maintain backups indefinitely. At the least, you will run out of shelf space for your CD-Rs. Your cataloguing and report capabilities will become over-whelmed or, they will become so voluminous as to be nearly useless. In more severe instances, your backup media will become too small to hold the data.

Time is the final arbiter of the value of files on your hard drive. When the file is no longer needed, it can be deleted. This will keep it from taking up valuable backup space. However, determining how long to keep archives is more problematic. When I worked at the police department, the CD-Rs were kept for thirty days and then shredded. This was a simple decision, because every backup was a full backup.

Media-Independent

Remember 100MB Iomega Zip disks? As a replacement for floppy disks, these media were the perfect bridge between miniscule storage and expensive (at the time) compact disc technology. However, the computer world continued to scale up its storage demands and the 100MB became as futile as the floppy. A good backup solution should be flexible enough to write to any medium. In addition, the files should be recoverable even without the presence of the original backup software. In other words, proprietary solutions may not be suitable for mission-critical recovery.

Of course, we don't live in a perfect world. The best backup solution for me is the SanDisk Cruzer Titanium USB key. It has 512MB of storage and several proprietary packages for backing up my critical files. I am willing to put up with it because I don't rely solely on the key. At 512MB, it is wholly inadequate to be my primary backup solution.

My media-independent solution is ZipBackup. As the name implies, it creates the popular zip file format. I have many choices between full, incremental and differential backups. With task scheduling, I run this program four times a day.

Information Overload!

You don't need all that stuff. I do. I am not a freelance writer. You are not a programmer (if you are, you need all that stuff!)

The preceding information just helps you to get a grip on the scope of the wonderful world of backups. Now that you have the background, you can wipe all the minutiae from your short-term memory and focus on the following:

If you are using a PC with drag and drop capabilities, you can backup your work!

You spend all day on your computer. I don't know if you have any idea that you can drag a folder to the icon for your cd writer. It's not the easiest way to do things, but it works.

A better way to do this (Windows XP) is to select the files, right-click and highlight Send To and choose the cd writer. You can go all over the hard drive, right-clicking and sending files until you have all of them waiting to go. Then, just follow the wizard's instructions.

After a couple of days of this drudgery, you may decide to rearrange your file organization to accommodate this new right-click backup solution.

At that point, you're well on your way to understanding the problems and rewards of backing up.

Mitchell Allen is an advocate for cross-networking: synergistically linking multiple social networks in order to increase membership exposure.

He writes for fun and profit at WritingUp.com

He maintains The Vertical Blog Tunnel Network at the social network, http://www.Ryze.com

Interior Decorating Ideas

2009-02-10T17:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Max Bellamy

Creativity is the core of interior decorating. You need to let loose your imagination, aesthetic sense, and intelligence, and cull out as many ideas as possible. Interior decorating can be compared to poetry, as both are vast and simply do not seem to have a definite end. You can go on and on and on.

There are several styles of interior decorating. You can browse through them leisurely, compare and contrast their features, advantages and effects, and then select the best option. Broadly speaking, interior-decorating Ideas can be obtained from catalogs, brochures or promotional advertisements released by interior decorators or designers.

Before deciding to adopt any particular idea, its feasibility, affordability, and flexibility needs to be determined. You should never go just by appearance, but consider the appropriateness of the idea. Interior decorating can be obtained from various styles belonging to different areas. The most popular among them are colonial, post-colonial and Georgian.

Primarily, interior-decorating Ideas can be either contemporary or exotic. It depends on the individual's taste and perception of beauty.

The field of interior decorating is undergoing constant change and growth. It can also include insect and pest-control measures like termite control.

Interior decorating ideas can prove very useful when combined with scientific principles. A small example for this can be seen from a study made by Michigan State University Extension, which found that among the materials used for flooring, slates retained the maximum percentage of heat. On the other hand, bricks absorbed the least percentage of heat.

Interior decorating ideas communicate to the guests too. Hence, the theme of an interior decorating Idea should be to adorn a building in a suitable way. Interior decorating does not stop with mere decorating. It should be an ongoing activity and take into account maintenance, repair, and preventive measures too.

Interior Decorating provides detailed information on Interior Decorating, Interior Decorating Ideas, Home Interior Decorating, Office Interior Decorating and more. Interior Decorating is affiliated with Home Interior Designs.

Let Your Hard Drive Cool

2009-02-09T17:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Vitali Priadkine

No matter what we do with our computer, storage is an important part of our system. Nowadays, we have been holding more and more information on our PC. Most computer users no longer keep their documents, letters, music, photos, pictures, etc. in hard copies, but store them on different data storage devices, preferentially the most popular one the hard drive, counting on it's reliability.

There are many reasons for the hard drive failures. Of course, when you lose your data, you think less about the causes of its loss, but more about the data, itself. However, if you were to learn about the cost of the hard drive data recovery, you would rather prevent it, especially, from the most common reason of hard drive damage overheating.

In old drives, the rotating speed was low, so the overheating problem did not exist. However, most recent hard disks, with a speed of 7200-10000 RPM, heat up during their work, and the temperature inside rises up to 70 C and above. Of course, hard drives are now manufactured with internal temperature sensors, computers have fans, coolers, and other gadgets to prevent overheating, and software utilities indicate the temperature of your hard drive. Contemporary hard drive models are able to operate at 50-55 C, but we should point out that the hard drives are more sensitive to high temperatures than any other computer parts. The fact that the hard drives carry your precious data is indeed important, as well as its ultimate loss would be a disaster to you. There are data loss situations when even the most advanced data recovery companies can't guarantee that you will receive you data back.

Why is overheating critical for a hard drive? The best way to understand how a hard disk works is to take a look inside the drive to see the internal work of each part in relation to overheating.

The Platters (magnetic physical media).

The platters (disks) carry the data. They are made from light aluminum or optical glass and ceramic, and are coated with a magnetic layer. When the drive heats up, the platters expand, changing their size and geometry. This destroys the magnetic layer on the surface where the data is stored, and creates defects and micro cracks. Physical damage of the surface leads to the appearance of "bad" or unreadable sectors.

The Read/Write Heads.

The read/write heads of the hard disk are the interface between the platters on which the data is stored and the electronic components that make up the rest of the hard disk. The heads read from and write data on the platters. The read/write heads do not make contact with the media. This distinguishes hard disk drives from floppy disks, VCRs and tapes. Drive heads float over the surface of the disk without ever physically touching the platters. When the air inside heats up, the distance from the platters to the heads gets smaller, which increases the possibility of a head crash.

The Head Actuator.

The head actuator is a device attached to the heads, and is responsible for their moving around the platters. All modern drives have a voice coil actuator, which controls the position of the head over the correct cylinder. Since overheating is a cause of damage of any parts of the drive, the actuator is not an exception. Therefore, the head actuator failure directly affects the hard drive performance.

Controller Chip.

The circuit board(s) attached to the outside of the HDA (Head Drive Assembly) provides control of the movement of internal parts. Modern models have SM and VCM (Spindle Motor and Voice Coil Motor) controller chip soldered into the board. It is obvious that even a small temperature jump, for example, in the summer time, can lead to the burning of SM and VCM controller chip. Taking into account the importance of your data, you can imagine how unpleasant would be the consequences of such.

We explored the problems that can occur from an overheating hard drive. What is the optimum temperature that will prolong the drive life (and that of your data!) and how to maintain this temperature? Most used 7200 RPM hard drives generate more heat than 5400 RPM drives. Ideally, a hard drive should run under 40 C. If it runs under 50 C it is probably still acceptable. If it keeps working at 60C you will have a problem and if it still keeps working at 70 C you will have a REAL PROBLEM. As we can see, the excessive heat is not tolerated by a hard drive.

What can we do to maximize the hard drive's life?

It is essential that the drive must be properly cooled and ventilated. Even if your system has embedded coolers and fans, additional coolers installed in a way of cooling the hard drive directly, will improve the drive's reliability. Just invest a small amount ($5-$35) in a cooling solution for your hard drive, and you will prevent the computer data recovery issue. There is a bunch of coolers that you can find at the computer stores.

By keeping your drive cool, you do not only increase the hard drive's stability, but also eliminate drive's crashes.

Vital Data Recovery - Montreal, Quebec, Canada (http://www.vitaldata.ca). Vital Data is data recovery company, which specializes in recovering data from hard disk drives and other media. Vital Data Recovery offers the most technologically advanced hard drive data recovery available.

Ensuring Instant Access To A Data Recovery Specialist

2009-02-08T17:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Christopher J Enders

The services of a data recovery specialist is undoubtedly something you desperately need when you have a need to have data recovered. However, it is not usually necessary or cost-effective to have a data recovery specialist on staff, unless of course they serve multiple roles because data recovery tasks are necessary only in the event of a catastrophe or hardware failure.

If you have a staff member that has data recovery expertise and could serve as a data recovery specialist when needed of course that is beneficial but not necessarily a necessity. Outsourcing to a data recovery specialist is usually the best and most effective way to salvage your data if data recovery services are needed.

It is important; however, to have a well thought out data recovery plan when you have a business such as an internet business that is highly dependent on electronic data for its operation. In order for the services of a data recovery specialist to be beneficial or even possible, regular backups of data must be made and stored in a safe location so that in the event of a catastrophe - a natural disaster or a fire - access to data for the purpose of restoration is possible.

Without backups, a data recovery specialist can sometimes retrieve and restore data from devices such as computer hard drives, mainframe computers, tape backups or similar technology even if there are no backups to be used for restoration. However, without backups that are kept safe by being stored in a remote location, there is always potential that your data will be lost forever and that a data recovery specialist won't do you a bit of good. When you lose data, your service to your customers declines and the very existence of your business as you know it is threatened.

A good data recovery plan for an internet business should certainly identify a data recovery specialist that is easily accessible in the event of an emergency that requires the services of a data recovery specialist. It should also contain contact information for the data recovery specialist who hopefully is available twenty-four hours a day even on weekends and holidays to ensure that customer service is not jeopardized by extensive downtime.

The data recovery plan should be updated frequently to make sure that the data recovery specialist specified by the plan is active and available. It is a good idea to list more than one data recovery specialist whose credentials have been approved in case, for some reason, the preferred data recovery specialist cannot be reached when needed.

In addition to identifying a data recovery specialist and an alternative data recovery specialist, a data recovery plan should contain procedures for day to day operations to ensure that PCs and databases are backed up regularly.

The importance of backups to data recovery is often recognized, but sometimes the need for keeping backups stored in a safe, remote location is overlooked. On site backups are fine if the problem that creates the need for a data recovery specialist is related to hardware failure, but other events can actually damage the backups as well as the primary storage devices for your data.

Automated, offsite backup services that are accomplished electronically are an excellent solution for ensuring that your data recovery specialist has access to unaffected, up-to-date backups of your data if your primary place of business is subjected to fire or natural disasters.

Choosing a backup provider that is in a different geographic area is also a great idea, especially if you live in an area that is prone to natural disasters. If you can find an automated backup service provider with an on-staff disaster recovery specialist coordination of your data recovery plan can be simplified.

Copyright Christopher J. Enders. Are you at the end of your rope, fed up and confused by all the scrambled internet marketing advice you're getting? Whether you are new to internet marketing, or a website owner who wants to make more money from your website, learn the proven strategies that will sky-rocket your internet business at http://BiznessTips.com

Online Backup Your Computer Is Being Held Hostage How Much Ransom Will You Pay

2009-02-07T17:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Andrew Sperry

According to the US National Archives, "31% of PC users have lost all of their files to events beyond their control." Look at the person on your left. Now look to the person on your right. If it's not one of them IT'S YOU. It hurt didn't it!

And if its not you, you know a guy, right? While not all of us have lost an entire computer full of data we all play in a world where our data is increasingly valuable and increasingly vulnerable. Think of the value of your data Word files, Excel spreadsheets, Quicken data, emails, contacts, appointments, accounting information, budgets, proposals, pictures, music, and on and on. If somebody held a gun to your computers figurative head what would you pay to not pull the trigger?

Before answering, remember that you pay for insurance in most every area of you life. That insurance provides you the luxury of calling an agent behind a desk somewhere to make problems go away. Ahem, "Allstate, it's me. I just drove my car into a lake and I need a new one." Or, "Geico, can you get the little green fella' on the line. My house just went up in flames and I'm thinkin' remodel." Pay your deductible and you're back in business.

But what about your computer? You're at Starbucks sitting down to enjoy your freshly brewed Caffè Mocha when you realize they didn't give you one of those cardboard finger saver sleeve things. While you're at the counter trying to get the attention of the guy in the apron your laptop walks out of the place under the arm of some highly caffeinated punk who just scored big. You know the feeling you get when you can't find your wallet? Multiply by 10. Your ENTIRE LIFE was in that computer.

Go ahead; call your friendly neighborhood State Farm agent. You'll get your computer back. Pull some software CDs out of your desk. You'll get your programs back. Now just reload the copies of all of your data (you know, the files you make with you computer hardware and software that is almost as unique to your life as your DNA).

Say what?

You don't have copies?

Oh, I see. So let me get this straight. You know you should have made copies. You even know that you could have printed hard copies or backed them up on CD or to another form of "storage media" but you didn't. And may I ask why not?

Hold on there; let me write these excuses down as you make them up so I can pass them on to my other friends who drop the ball on this one:

· I don't have time.
· I don't know how.
· I kind of know how but I'm not really sure its working so what's the point?
· Not only do I not have time, but my backups are out of date a few minutes after I make them anyway.

All legitimate excuses. None of them, however, are going to bail you out.

This just in there are now THREE things certain in life:

1. Death
2. Taxes
3. Data Loss

Maybe you're not a coffee drinker, but your data is still susceptible to the four leading causes of data loss:

· Disaster theft, fire, hurricane, earthquake, etc.
· Virus Attacks
· Computer Hardware Failure
· Human Error (oops!)

So how do you prevent data loss?

YOU DON'T. It's going to happen. The real question isn't, "How do I prevent it?" It's, "When it happens, how do I get it back?" The answer is simple THE INTERNET.

That's assuming your have joined thousands and thousands of computer users who are subscribing to online data backup services. The concept is quite simple: load a small software utility onto your computer that constantly runs in the background and tell that utility where you keep your critical data files. From that point forward any time you create new files or make changes to existing files, the online backup utility sends copies of those critical files to its highly secure off-site data storage facility. WHEN you lose your data you simply retrieve your copies over the Internet.

Ta-da. Aren't you smart?

With companies offering this service now for just a few dollars per month, this is indeed the cheapest insurance you can buy for any aspect of your life. So what do you say? The gun is at your computer's head. The ransom is $3.00.

Your move.

About The Author: Andy Sperry is a freelance writer and CEO of online backup service provider The Backup Agent (http://www.thebackupagent.com).

Offsite Backup Services Are Essential

2009-02-06T17:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Chris Robertson

Although you may not list it in on your IRS form, information is your business' primary asset. From your customer database to your financial records to your proprietary product information, information is the key element to maintaining both the day-to-day operations of your business and its long-term viability.

Unfortunately, as the sophistication of technology increases, so do the risks to your business. Viruses, hackers, and natural catastrophes can all attack your business information. At best, this renders your business inoperable for several hours or days. At worst, the loss of business information can cause you to go out of business.

Lest you think that information loss could never happen to your business, statistics reveal that the problem is pervasive and, oftentimes, devastating. During any given year, over five percent of PCs will have some type of data loss, and almost a third of PC users have experienced the loss of all of their data at some point in their lives. Almost two-thirds of companies that experience catastrophic data loss go out of business within six months. Of those companies that test their back up tapes, more than three-quarters have found problems with the tapes.

In order to minimize your company's exposure to the risk of data loss, you should create an organizational culture of security and implement a security program that helps the company prevent and recover from data loss due to viruses, hackers, and natural catastrophes.

Just as you would store your most precious documents in a bank safety deposit box, you should store your company's most important data with online backup services and use secure offsite backup.

According to SERVARE, the premiere company for online offsite backup services that are secure, affordable, and automated, you should consider backing up the following types of data:

* Databases and information that allow you to serve customers and maintain your market competitiveness. In other words, if you lost this data, you wouldn't be able to fill customer or supply chain orders or provide client services.

* Information that manages your revenue generation, such as accounts receivable, and vehicles for customer ordering and payment acceptance.

* Data that controls your cash flow, such as your accounts payable and supplier payments.

* Data that, if lost, could result in additional expenses, such as employee downtime and late delivery penalties.

* Proprietary information that could be stolen or compromised.

* Data that is affected by governmental regulation, such as the Freedom of Information Act.

SERVARE's online backup services protect your business' information from data loss by utilizing advanced file encryption before transmission; quick, safe, and secure transmission to their online backup servers via a secure high-speed Internet connection; automated backups; flexible recovery capability; and scalable storage that grows as your need for storage grows.

With an offsite backup, you'll rest easier knowing that your information is secure.

Chris Robertson is an author of Majon International, one of the worlds MOST popular internet marketing companies on the web. Visit this Computers Website and Majon's Computers directory.

Experience A Hard Drive Crash Learn How To Avoid Making A Bad Situation Even Worse

2009-02-05T17:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Greg Duffield

If you experience a hard drive crash, it doesn't take much to make a bad situation even worse. In the event of a hard drive crash, in most instances, the data is completely recoverable at first. However, as part of human nature, we often try to avoid the high costs associated with hard drive data recovery in order to find some sort of "quick fix" to a very serious problem. In this report we will go over some of the symptoms of a hard drive crash and the things you can try in the event of a suspected hard drive crash, along with things you should avoid.

What Noise Is The Drive Making?

The first thing to take into account is whether or not the hard drive is making any unusual noises. Often times when there is a problem with the read/write head within the drive or a firmware issue in the logic board a "clicking" sound will be heard. If this is the case, then you should immediately power down the system and refrain from reapplying power. Same thing goes for any unusual sound, whether it's grinding, squealing, our sounds like a "laser gun". If any of these occur you should immediately power the system down, just pull the plug from the wall.

Unfortunately in the situations listed above, there is little that you can do to recover the data yourself. Actually, unless you have a clean room, fully equipped with the right tools and a trained technician there is nothing that can be done. Even hard drive manufacturers avoid this line of work, and many who do offer data recovery services are only sub-contracting the work out to an established data recovery firm.

Never Ever Open Your Hard Drive

If the data on a hard drive has even the most minimal value to you, then it is imperative that you do not open the drive. We often get calls or e-mails from people who felt they had the right equipment and know-how to perform something as serious as a head replacement. Once they've removed the hard drive's protective case, we often times ask them not to send the drive in, because more often than not, the damage is irreparable.

Working with the internal components of a hard drive requires at least a Class-100 clean room. A clean room does not mean a room that you just vacuumed and dusted (believe it or not people say that to us all the time). A clean room is a special work area in which air quality is heavily controlled and it is vital to hard drives during the manufacturing or assembly process. The air in the room is regulated in term of air particles, temperature and humidity. A Class-100 clean room means there exists no more than 100 particles that are larger than 0.5 microns in one cubic foot of air.

Opening a hard drive in air meeting anything less than the standard listed above will mean certain death for your hard drive and any data contained therein.

The Freezer Method

There has been a long running wive's tale about putting your hard drive in the freezer when it crashes in order to revive it just long enough to pull your data off of it. We've run this test for fun on many occasions in different scenarios with junk test drives that we have in our lab. So far we have yet to see this actually produce any positive results. In fact, in one instance we actually began to see the formation of tiny microscopic ice crystals on the platter themselves, which is a definite crash waiting to happen.

See the problem with this theory is, drives are not completely sealed. Regardless of what you've heard or read, all hard drives have a tiny breather hole (usually marked with a label that says DO NOT COVER). This hole not only aids in cooling but it also helps to equalize air pressure in the drive when the platters are spinning. On the other side of this hole is a filter, which keeps dirt and debris from getting inside the drive. However, this filter does not stop heavy amounts of moisture (especially in flood situations) or moisture vapor (such as found in a freezer). This moisture vapor has been known to settle on the platters and when a system is powered up, the read/write head would resemble an airplane flying into a mountain.

In closing, If you've experienced a hard drive crash, it is imperative that you consider the value of the data, before you consider the money you might save by doing it yourself. Data recovery is a specialty, and it requires a number of specialized tools, skills and software to complete successfully. Many times you run the risk of taking data that may be perfectly recoverable and destroying it permanently. If you have any questions, it is best to consult with a recovery firm first. Most reputable data recovery companies will perform a free diagnostic and evaluation on most standard IDE hard drives. Many will even include a list of the recoverable files with that evaluation before you proceed. In some cases, we even work with our customers on a payment plan to help ease the burden of the recovery costs. Of course the best way to avoid all of this is to simply backup anything and everything of value.

Greg Duffield is the founder of ACS Data Recovery, a premier provider of hard drive data recovery services. You can reach them toll free at 1-877-646-0546 or on the web at http://www.acsdata.com

Managed Backup Service Providers Pick Up Where Tape Backup Leaves Off

2009-02-04T17:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Mike Colesante

President John F. Kennedy once said about planning that, "The time to repair the roof is when the sun is shining."

Businesses small and large can take a cue from that line in regards to their data backup recovery plans. For example, if many businesses affected by the Hurricane Katrina disaster last year had planned a remote data backup recovery strategy well beforehand, they might still be in business or well back on track.

To take Kennedy's quote one step further, businesses need to "repair the roof" with the right materials, not unreliable tools that do not make sense logistically or financially.

A backup service provider offers a fully managed offsite backup service that allows you to store a copy of your backup locally on your LAN for added efficiency. This type of managed backup is the answer to the needs of all businesses that require fast and effective restores of data when the sun is not shining.

You may ask: Why not use tapes? After all, they've been around about as long as data backup.

Studies show that tape-based recovery methods are not cost-effective and are prone to complications or outright failure. Remote data backup recovery services, on the other hand, have proven to be faster, more cost worthy, secure, flexible and reliable

Another reason for not using tape-backup is the probability for human error in the rotation and transportation of the tapes.

Consider the following horror story involving a Connecticut bank that occurred in January.

A tape containing personal data about 90,000 customers of People's Bank in Bridgeport, Conn., was lost in transit. The tape contained information such as names, addresses, Social Security numbers and checking account numbers. It was bound for a credit reporting bureau in Pennsylvania via the United Parcel Service. Such an event can have devastating consequences for not only the company, but for all of the innocent customers whose information was lost.

As another example, The Privacy Rights Clearinghouse, based in San Diego, reports that the loss of computer data backup tapes by Bank of America in 2005 affected 1.2 million customers.

Service providers offer a multi-faceted secure data protection solution. Their remote data backup recovery service which helps prevent risks of loss from theft, misplacement, hardware failure, malicious attacks or human error. Through a remote data backup recovery provider, the data is automatically compressed, encrypted and transmitted to a highly secure data center.

The total cost of ownership (TCO) of tapes vs. a remote data backup recovery service provider is another factor that can be very telling for business of all sizes.

Using a large enterprise model, overall tape backup costs are affected by hardware, software, support, staffing, media, and shelved media at the headquarters. A second-site location, which would house the data tapes, requires hardware, software, support, staffing and communications, as well. All of these factors equate to a very large TCO for a company trying to implement a tape backup solution.

The remote backup service provider eliminates the need for media and shelved media, and greatly reduces staffing costs. No longer does a business have to hire personnel (typically non-Information Technology people) to maintain and operate the media and transport the tapes.

These cutbacks can save businesses up to 70 percent of its costs, according to some market studies, and eliminate the probability of human error.

Another consideration is longevity of tape backup. Tapes have a definite limited lifespan, whereas a remote data backup recovery provider lasts as long as you want. A tape itself has an average cost of $50, and depending on its frequency of use, it can have a lifespan anywhere from three months to three years. And don't forget the tape drive must be replaced after extended use. That's another $5,000 or so for a non-permanent backup solution.

Time is money, and the timeliness of the remote data backup recovery service provides will save any business money. The need to wait for tapes stored off-site, or even for tapes to be retrieved and be manageable on-site, will be eliminated.

By using a remote data backup recovery provider, businesses will be afforded considerable recovery advantages such as simultaneous multiple operations like reads and writes, faster access and granular recovery options instead of scanning through tapes.

This leads to another issue which businesses must again plan for when the sun is shining. In the case of databases with high availability - meaning any number of employees can access them - it is incumbent of any business to plan for the possibility of the data becoming corrupted because of human error or, unfortunately, a potentially disgruntled employee.

If the database must be restored from an earlier day or two, it will be faster and more efficient using a remote data backup recovery provider rather than the slower process of tape retrieval.

Some of the other tangible benefits provided by a secure automated data backup recovery plan include the availability of experts who monitor the sophisticated software, technology that supports many operating systems and platforms, payment based on usage (not a set fee), and disaster recovery assistance.

In summary, the time is definitely when the sun is shining on any business - large or small - to have a sound backup and recovery plan. For almost any business, that time is right now. If the sun is not shining, it is best to have the umbrella of remote data backup service provider to return to normal business operations. Using tapes as a recovery plan will make it more difficult and expensive for any business to get through a rainy day.

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Mike Colesante is a writer at Terian Solutions and can be reached at 713-482-6900.

For more information about Terian Solutions' Secure Backup fully automated remote data protection service call 713-482-6900 or visit http://www.terian.com

Why Is Hard Drive Recovery So Important

2009-02-03T17:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Jeffrey Meier

We live in a new technological age, and many of us purchase a computer and use it for everything, in fact it becomes a very important tool in our daily lives. We use it for on-line banking, job resumes, email, music downloads, just about everything. So what happens when the hard drive crashes and we lose everything we have installed on the hard drive? Think that it could never happen to you? You may be surprised to learn it happens all the time. That is when a service called Hard Drive Data Recovery is needed.

First of all most of us do not have any idea on how to fix hard drive recovery problems. We may know the basic recovery attempt using the Fdisk recovery utility. There are some reports that putting the hard drive in a plastic bag, and placing it in the freezer may help. When that does not work however, we are left scratching our heads. Fortunately there are Hard Data Recovery experts, but what most people do not realize is that service can be very expensive. For example one service offers a "look" at the hard drive for $99 with the caveat that a more detailed internal examination will cost almost $500. The question then becomes if the information or data that has been "lost" is worth the cost to recover.

If you have a home based business and there are important business files, or if you have irreplaceable family photos stored on the hard drive, then the answer is simple. For the average person however, if they kept the system software and some minimal backups a new hard drive installed will be okay, it will only cost the time to reload all the settings back to where you like them again, plus software updates and other types of personalization.

So how can you prevent this from ever happening? The first thing is to keep your computer updated with the latest virus protection and software updates. Then the "frequent" backup of the programs is an essential component in hard drive data recovery. I find that using an external hard drive is very helpful, they can purchased with various sizes available and they are very easily connected, for example by USB cable and really make backing up a snap. Sometimes people make copies on DVD's or CD's, but you may be limited by size of files structure if you have many photo's or music files, that may not be practical. Some people use another hard drive, called a dual drive for backup storage of their most import hard drive data. This is usually very safe, as in most cases it is the hard drive with the operating system that is most likely to fail, but as with any computer accessories it is subject to mechanical failure at anytime as well, it is just not as likely.

So the most important thing for hard drive data recovery is to maintain copies of your most valued information and programs. You should considerate it as data insurance. As they say, you can pay now or pay later. If you have ever had to rebuild your hard drive, you know what I mean when I say it is well worth it to protect your computer and all your data. To the computer it is just code, but it could be precious memories to us.

Jeffrey Meier of Jam727 Enterprises offers detailed information about Data Recovery at http://www.jam727.com/datarecovery.htm For additional information we also recommend http://www.harddriverecoveryinfo.com/ for detailed articles on Hard Drive Recovery.

How To Go About Data Recovery If You Have A Hard Drive Crash

2009-02-02T17:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Gregg Hall

DWG (Design Web Format) files require a separate recovery procedure. Linked to AutoCAD, Design Web Format files are rich in graphics. Therefore, a specialist in disk recovery may not have a clue into saving your DWG files.

If a file is lost during a hard drive crash, it takes a specialist to retrieve the damage. An Intel CAD system cannot fix the damaged files on hard disks or storage mediums. The repairs have to follow a unique course of action.

If your hard drive does crash, stop using that computer immediately. Hopefully, you have a back up. If not, do not attempt to run any data recovery program that came with the computer. Usually, this type of program writes over the original data. Using one of these programs can erase your important files.

The first step is to allow a hard disk recovery company to restore your pertinent files. Contact a reputable company immediately. They will probably ask you to bring your computer to their location. Although, there are a few companies who come right to your home. At-home computer services will charge more. With any luck, the few of your DWG files will be repaired, however many more will still need attention. Missing files or data out of sequence will keep these files from working properly.

To find out which files were saved by the hard disk recovery firm, you can run an Intel CAD program called AuditDWG. This will tell you which files were repaired.

Once the company has done what it can, you will probably need to talk to a specialist in DWG file recovery. Often, the first company you deal with will put you in touch with a specialist. This person will then come in and try alternate methods to retrieve and recover your missing information. In some cases, the hard drive will need to be mailed out for repairs. It is a better option than losing your files permanently.

Even after taking these steps, there may be issues that could not allow the retrieval of your files. If there is damage to the hard drive, you may suddenly have bad sectors that prevent the recovery of information. There really is little you can do if this occurs. Try running Acad, but this will not always work.

When the damage is extensive, you may have to personally rebuild certain files from scratch. Though time consuming, it really is the only way. Not words you want to hear, but at least some files were recovered.

DWG files can be a pain to recover during a hard drive failure. Remember that you are not the first to experience this problem, and you will not be the last. There are experts who are ready to help!

Gregg Hall is an author living in Navarre Beach, Florida. Find more about this as well as a hard disk recovery at www.fastcomputerrepair.com

Why You Need To Back Up Your Computer Regularly

2009-02-01T17:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Paul Wilcox

Computers are now an integral part of our lives. We use computes for just about everything and much of our work and personal information ends up stored on our PCs. However, no matter how reliable computers may seem there is always potential for data loss and because of this it is vital that we backup our data.

No matter if your computer is five days old or five years old, backups are important. Anyone who has had a failed hard drive can tell you that without backups you can lose not only work, but irreplaceable data such as digital photographs. If you have a backup your data is safe and sound and ready to go once you get your computer up and running again.

There are many ways to lose computer data in addition to hard drive corruption. Your data could be lost due to computer viruses, fires, floods, power surges, and theft. Keeping your data backed up means that you donít have to start over.

Determining What to Backup

You don't need to back up every file on your computer. Many are system files that can be restored by installing your operating system again, and come with any new computer. You want to focus on files that you have created and are irreplaceable in the event of disaster.

Easy Backups

Most operating systems come with their own primitive backup utility. You can setup a schedule and have your system backup at a certain time every day, week, or month. You can also use a zip utility which compresses your files, but you have to choose the files which can be very time consuming if you have your data in different places on your hard drive.

There are many backup programs available that can give you an easier method of backing up. Simply choose the folders which you want to backup every time, and it will only do so if the date on the file has changed from the last backup. You should only do this with files that do change on a regular basis. If you need to backup your emails you can simply save the messages to your hard drive and backup the folder they are stored in.

Backups can be done on CDs, zip disks, removable hard drives, floppy disks, or key chains which plug directly into your USB port. Choose whatever options are easiest for you and for storage options.

Paul Wilcox writes about internet security software and other related topics for the TechnoSecurity website. Get more helpful information about protecting yourself against online threats at http://www.technosecurity.ca.

Why You Should Back Your Data Up

2009-01-31T17:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Jessica Cander

Have you ever lost an important file on your computer? It is a very annoying feeling, which above the emotional factor involved can have far-reaching consequences if it was a valuable file. Every business and individual will most likely experience the loss of some amount of stored data on their computers sooner or later. This can also happen by mistake, when files or folders are accidentally deleted by human error. Data loss can also be caused by some sort of hardware failure (hard drive issue) or even more drastically an unforeseen accident or natural disaster. The loss of a few files can be a bad experience for most individuals, but it can mean serious trouble when this loss affects entire companies and businesses that may be depending on those files to help them carry on with business as usual.

The only way to forecast the unpredictable so to speak is to be ready for the worst-case sort of scenario. In the field of data recovery, backing up your data and files is this sort of virtual lifeguard. The simple act of backing up information can save you headaches, time and money. As well if the unexpected does come to pass, knowing that you have your most pertinent information stored and filed away allows for a certain (some might say "wonderful") peace of mind.

A backup is essentially the act of routinely creating copies of your (or the company's) important files and storing them on a secure form of media (be it a tape, a DVD, CD, etc). Although a backup plan is critical for the workflow of any good business, there are still many companies out there that don't take the risks of not backing up seriously. As many such businesses and individuals learn the hard way, at some point you are likely to encounter a situation where you will wish you would have only taken the time to backup your files. Whereas retrieving stored data from a CD or DVD is a very basic operation that takes but a few moments and involves no cost factor, recovering data from a faulty hard drive that was not backed up can be a nightmare at best. Latching on to the fact that so many people elect not to (or forget to) back up their data, a multitude of data recovery companies and computer experts have turned the act of recovering lost information into a lucrative business. Worth remembering too is that while it varies greatly from situation to situation, there are times when no matter whom you pay to vigorously search for your lost material, it cannot be retrieved.

Two main types of data recovery exist; they are what are known as "logical recovery" and "physical recovery". The latter is a very costly service, which usually has a starting sticker price of at least a few hundreds of dollars (a whole lot more than a package of writable CDs would have cost). Logical recovery is put into place when a hard drive has accidentally been improperly formatted, or files/folders have been deleted. Several software applications are currently on the market that can achieve a pretty decent job of finding these types of deleted files, but as with any type of data retrieval complete recovery of the missing, deleted or reprogrammed information is very rarely one hundred percent of its original form.

Ultimate data recovery complexity sets in when a hard drive has actually suffered some form of physical damage. This could range from dropping a laptop computer, to a fire to water damage such as that caused by a flood. In this sort of situation, where all or almost all of the hard drive has been lost, the customer will usually be charged per Kb or Mb of data that is actually recovered by the recovery service that they turn to for help. In many cases this type of recovery can lead to a bill in the thousands of dollars and many weeks or even months worth of time. Overall data recovery levels are usually at their very lowest when all of the information on the drives has been lost. Just as you lock your doors at night for peace of mind, an act that takes very little time, it is always wise to backup as much data as you possible can on your computer. If there's one thing we can predict in life it is that the unpredictable can, and does occur to all of us at some point.

Jessica Cander is a professional freelance writer who has moved around a lot and contributes to a wide variety of web sites, including the Data Recovery Basics web site.

Advantages Of Offsite Backup

2009-01-30T17:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Lee Morrell

Everyone admits that information is crucial in modern society. If you possess all the necessary information, you can easily set up your business on whichever terrain you choose. Think about all the possible misfortunes that can overwhelm your office: say fire or earthquake for example, or what's worse: thefts. That's why you cannot rely only on the technology that you have in your office: anything can happen with the computers and info devices. Data protection is a well-known problem in today's businesses. It is a problem, though, that can be easily solved with the proper usage of online systems for backing up and storing computer tapes. That's why, using off-site back-up can help you protect all your valuable information. The advantages of off-site back-up systems is that they are NOT situated in the territory of your office. That helps a lot, especially if unexpected things are about to happen.

The second great benefit from using off-site back-up systems, is that they can be used as stores for all the data that you have. You should not restrict yourself when using the online space, so that you can upload all your files in a remote system. In that way, a remote back-up system is similar to a file hosting service.

Not only does offsite back-ups protects your data if your system is damaged: it also eliminates the necessity of tapes. Storing information on hundreds of tapes is to a large extent reduced, especially in small and medium businesses. Online back-up solutions such as DVDs, CDs, outer software are unreliable storage mediums: they can be damaged or can get lost. Off-site back-up doesn't use other equipment and it does not require additional personnel to administer the data. The system works by itself, and you needn't waste time on its maintenance.

Another advantage of off-site back-up systems, is that they can protect your files from many possible damages: for example loss of user data, hardware failures, system burn-outs, database corruption, and even from natural disasters. Backup information can be available at any time that you need it. An online backup service needs no physical shelter, it is on the Internet and it can be accessible whenever you like. A backup system is easy to configure, it offers great security to all the files, and works fast and efficient.

What type of files can you store on your backup system? All kind of. Text documents, emails, financial records, contact records, address books, digital pictures or music: you can store everything about your business, and the space is immense. An automated data backup storage is a recovery solution as well: you can extract anything that you need in less than a second. You can add extra security for your critical data, so that no-one ever hacks the precious files.

A disk-based online backup offers you continuous data protection. You can use the system offline. You can recover the information anywhere you like. You don't need to search through huddles of tape files, as information is immediately restored. All your most sensitive data is double or even triple protected, so that your sleep is sound. Your business can be fully ensures only if you trust the advances of modern technology. That is extremely important if you are setting up a new business, or your enterprise is getting larger and more responsibility is required.

For further information of how we can protect your data, regardless of disaster, please visit www.perfectbackup.co.uk

Data Recovery And Back Up For Email Clients

2009-01-29T17:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Laurence Clunie

Booting issues, virus attacks, or corrupted file systems are very much present in any exchange or mail servers and can cause many of your archived email messages to apparently disappear. Companies which rely heavily on email communication and do not have back ups might find this a pervading problem. But data recovery designed specifically for email recovery can fix this problem.

Here are a few examples of data recovery steps in three of the most widely used email clients:

IncrediMail Email Data Recovery

Select File | Data and Settings Transfer | Transfer from Old Computer... from the menu in IncrediMail email client.
Click on the OK button.
Click Open; then click OK.
IncrediMail Email data recovery process will then start.
Once done, a dialog box will appear, indicating that the data recovery process is finished. Click OK.
IncrediMail will auto-restart to complete the data recovery process.

Outlook Email and Other Data Recovery

Select File | Import and Export... from the Outlook menu.
In the drop-down menu that appears, select Import from another program or file.
Click Next.
Run your mouse over the Personal Folder File (PST) to highlight it.
Click the Next button again.
Using the Browse button, select the backup copy of the PST file you want to recover from your backup location.
On the dialog box, place a check mark on the box that says Replace duplicates with items imported to start the data recovery process.
Click Next.
Once the data recovery process is done, click Finish.

Outlook Express Email Data Recovery

Select File | Import | Messages... from the Outlook Express menu.
Choose the Outlook Express version that you have as the email program to import from.
Click the Next button.
From the dialog box, make sure that you again choose the right Outlook Express version.
Click OK.
Select the folder containing your back up copy of your Outlook Express mail store by using the Browse button.
Click Next >.
Choose which folders to import and the data recovery process will start.
Click Next; then Finish to finalize the data recovery process.

It is a fact that exchange and email servers are a vital aspect of any company. So to protect this fragile part of your company's IT asset base, you need a splendid back up program and state-of-the-art data recovery system that has been tested and proven effective in its job.

Computer Data Recovery provides helpful information on hard drive data recovery, computer power supplies, computer data storage and numerous links to useful computer products.

How To Take Care Of Your Computer Hard Drive To Prevent A Crash

2009-01-28T17:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Gregg Hall

The computer has become one of the most important tools in our daily lives. In fact, there are so many people all over the globe who simply can't live without this technology. These people usually work and communicate through their compute that when their personal computer would malfunction, it would seem like the world have caved in on them.

Technically, all computer hard drives would eventually fail us. These are just hardware that could weaken with age, constant use, mishandling and worst of all, the intrusion of computer viruses that have the power to wreck havoc on our computer systems. However, the good news is that we can actually prevent our hard drive from crashing down sooner than they should. Of course these ways and means of preventing hard crashes is not foul proof as there are always some factors, which we cannot seem to control at all. However, let us look at the bright side of things.

As for viruses that are often deadly when they latch into our system, one can install effective anti virus software that detects the virus as it try to enter into our system. We can install firewalls to create a barrier and prevent intruders from entering into our systems. If we can keep out the viruses from our hard drives, our files will be safe.

Now, viruses are not the only threats to our hard drives. Overheating could also cause our hard drives to malfunction and damage our files. Although in the past, over heating of the hard drive may not be very noticeable as our computers are still using lower speed, the new models of computers are processing data at very high speed that overheating of the drives in now becoming a threat.

Although our present day computers are equipped with built in fans and cooling system, the speed at which our present day computer process data could raise the temperature in the hard drive to about 70 degrees F. Such temperatures could cause computer crashes as some of the parts of the computer would melt under the heat. The bad news about this situation is that is would be very difficult, in fact it is nearly impossible to recover data in hard drives that crash down due to extreme heat.

To prevent your computer from over heating, you should make sure that the cooling system thereof is functioning properly. Make sure after you use your computer for sometime, you will allow the hard drives to cool off. It would also be a good idea to provide additional ventilation to your computer if you are going to use it for a prolonged period of time in a single setting. You may also get one of those monitoring software tools to alert you in case your computer have reached a critical level of heat.

Gregg Hall is an author living in Navarre Beach, Florida. Find more about this as well as a hard drive data recovery at www.internetcomputerrepair.com

Data Recovery Experts

2009-01-27T17:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Alison Cole

Hard drive data recovery is the process of retrieving deleted or lost data from the hard drive of a desktop or laptop. Data is lost due to logical or physical failures of the hard drive. Logical failures can occur due to a virus, accidental deletion of key files or registry components, and, in some cases, even electro-static discharge. Physical failures can occur due to mechanical or electronic problems.

Hard drive data recovery experts are trained professionals and provide data recovery services to clients. These experts have in-depth knowledge about data recovery solutions. When a hard drive crashes, it is removed from the hard drive bay and sent to a data recovery expert. A particular expert is selected based on its reputation and pricing policies.

Recovery experts perform initial checks on the hard drive and make an assessment about the probable cost of recovery. The final recovery process starts only after getting the clients approval. The recovery process starts with making a sector-by-sector mirror copy of the damaged hard drive. Advanced software is used to recover lost data from this copy. Recovered data is stored on a different storage medium and sent back to the client.

Different recovery experts offer different data recovery rates, which can range from $50 to $5000. Some offer flat rates while others have variable rates. On average, charges for logical hard drive recovery costs range from $400 to $600 for standard IDE drives. Physical hard drive data recovery costs range from $1200 to $2000. If it is an RAID or an SCSI hard drive, prices can be as high as $15,000.

To simplify the data recovery process and reduce costs, some experts offer user-friendly hard drive recovery software. This software enables users to recover lost data without physically removing the hard drive. Users are also provided online technical support while using this software.

Recovery provides detailed information on Data Recovery, Recovery, Data Recovery Services, Hard Drive Data Recoveries and more. Recovery is affiliated with LAN Server Racks.

Pc Backup Software Are There Any Good Ones

2009-01-26T17:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Mike Singh

Why bother with backup? Can you imagine what would happen if all of a sudden *poof* everything is wiped off your computer. You had not installed any pc backup software. You could not get into files, retrieve pictures or music downloads and all programs and saved documents were lost. Permanently. Most people dread the thought and yet system crashes, file corruption and emergency disasters do happen to computers on a daily basis. So what can be done about it?

Saving the day

There are numerous commercially available software programs designed to backup your computer. Installing a pc backup software is critical to maintaining your computer and avoiding any unnecessary reinstalls or lost material. Pc backup software will store and save:

* Data entry files
* Emails
* Music
* Photographs
* Financial records
* Billing and invoicing records
* Programs and downloads
* Operating systems

Pc backup software works by protecting, preserving and archiving the data on your computer at regularly scheduled times. Programs can then be restored through the pc backup software program. By using pc backup software you do not have to go through the trouble of reinstalling operating systems and other programs. Wizards and easy to follow step-by-step instructions make pc backup software easy to use for beginner and advanced computer users, whether you are backing up just a few files or the whole system.

What is on the market?

There are multitudes of pc backup software items on the market. As with any program, knowing what you need is essential to determine which pc backup software program will most closely match your needs. A very brief list of pc backup software can be found below:

* Backup MyPC - is available for personal, small business computers as well as small networks. This pc backup software has won awards from PC World Magazine for three years in a row. It offers provides easy to follow wizards to help you automatically set-up your pc for regularly scheduled backups. This pc backup software uses password protection to ensure continued safety and security for your data.

* NovaBACKUP - allows backup to any number of devices such as tape, CD-RW, DVD or disk. In addition to the features mentioned above it also is network friendly and all computers on a network can be backed up from one pc. This pc backup software also scans for viruses while performing the backup and uses open file backup to allow files that are opened to be saved even as data is being entered.

* Norton Ghost - is also an award winning pc backup software. It has been editor's choice for two year in PC Magazine and in 2004 for Bityard. This program works only with Windows XP Home Edition/Professional or Windows 2000 Professional. There is a version, Norton Ghost 2003, that will work with Windows 98 and Me. This pc backup software offers fully automatic backup for everything on your computer.

On http://www.build-computerz.com/ you will find articles on build your custom computers and make your own computers.

How Computer Hard Disk Data Recovery Works

2009-01-25T17:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Steven Harney

If you have ever wanted to know how data recovery works, I will provide you with an overview. Opposite to what you may think, when you erase a single file, it does not undergo the digital equivalent of shredding. Instead, all that happens is the reference to the written document is removed from the operating system index. So the single file still exists but the operating system does not know where to look for it because it has been removed and as such just can't be detected. Even so, data recovery specialists can rebuild the file index that the operating system needs to locate your computers file. When that is executed you can get 100% data recovery. Once you have removed a file, the room on the hard drive can be re-used & the original file will be overwritten.

Do not take the chance of having to telephone a data recovery expert. Back up all your significant files and ensure you retain the set up disks for important applications. It may be a noteworthy idea to get a 2nd computer, network it to your main pc and backup files between the 2 daily. Another good alternative is secure encoded online backup of your data because the data that's stored is off site and will not be impacted by a flooding, fire or natural disaster (or otherwise) in the location of your primary site.

Article by Steven Harney of http://www.hard-disk-information.com (The hard disk information centre)

Get A Full Night Sleep Knowing That Your Data Is Safe

2009-01-24T17:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Stuart Crawford

Reliable Backup Strategies for Small Business

Small Businesses today use technology and rely on the validity of their data just like the big companies do. However, they do not normally have the budgets to have elaborate tape storage or network storage devices to have multiple versions of customer databases, accounting data or any other bits of information that are important to the overall success of their business.

Most small businesses that experience a serious data loss or catastrophe never fully recover or even stay in business. Events in the past few years like Hurricane Katrina or 9/11, have shown the importance of backup and then securely storing your critical business data outside of your office in a secure storage facility.

Here are some basic recommendations so you can sleep at night, knowing that your data is securely backed up and also that you can confidently restore your data when you ever need to. Remember it is not if you need to restore it is when.

Versioning and Saving

One thing that I have found to be effective in my own backup of files, especially this article, is to save versions of the file as you work. If your document or spreadsheet becomes corrupt for some reason, you can always go back to a previous version. Also, ensure you save often. Nothing worse than having a system crash or freeze and you lose hours of work.

Invest in a Server

Most Small Businesses chose consultants or resellers that rarely show the real value that a server can bring to your organization. Microsoft has priced their Small Business Server so that all Small Businesses can put in a server with email services starting around $3,500.00.

What does a server offer?

A server will provide you with a central and secure system to store your corporate data. Permissions can be set on files to prevent unauthorized access, which could lead to data deletion. Most data loss due to deletion comes from accidental deletion or disgruntled employees that are upset with the owner or management.

Also with a server you will have one place to backup your data to tape or disk, your data is not scattered on your computers all over the network. This will also save you consulting dollars due to the ease of administration.

Windows Servers today come with a service called "Volume Shadow Copy" that will take a snapshot of your data periodically throughout the day, giving you yet another level of backup. You can now recover data from your server without paying those expensive IT consulting bills.

Tape or Disk Based Backup Systems

If your company is using tape or disk (hard drive, CD Rom, or DVD) based backup systems, it is important to ensure that you are doing a full backup every evening. This way if you need to restore from tape or disk, you can feel confident that all your data was backed up the night before.

It is important to ensure that you have a GFS (Grandfather, father, and son) backup system in place, you can do this easily with tape based back ups, you need about 10 tapes to make this happen. I recommend have 4 tapes for the Monday to Thursday backups, 4 or 5 more for each Friday of the month, and then 1 tape for your month end. This is a minimum, you can add more tapes if you wish.

Offsite Media Storage

Storing your backup media offsite is critical to the success of your company. I do not recommend taking this home or leaving it in your car, this is not a secure way to store your business data. There are many organizations that have secure vaults and will charge around $60.00 per month for a basic storage plan. I recommend solutions from Iron Mountain, Kestrel or a local organization, in Calgary we recommend Calgary Archives (http://www.calgaryarchives.com)

Electronic Backup

The next level of protection is electronic offsite storage, this is a backup that is done electronically and sends your critical data across the Internet to the service provider's secure electronic vault. Your data is compressed and encrypted at your office and then securely transmitted to the service providers. We recommend the services provided by eBackup (www.ebackup.biz). Their services will backup your critical corporate data, your mailboxes on your Small Business Server and your critical customer databases.

Conclusion

The most important thing about any successful backup plan is to ensure you can restore from these backups. Proper and frequent testing of your backup plan will ensure that you can restore from backup in the event of a loss of data or catastrophic disaster such as fire, theft or critical system failure. Remember, you can never have enough backups of files or enough types of backup. Better to be safe than sorry.

Stuart R. Crawford is the Director of Business Development, at IT Matters Inc. (http://www.itmatters.ca), a Microsoft Gold Partner, Small Business Specialist and Microsoft IMPACT Award Finalist 2005 - Network Infrastructure Solution of the Year. He can be reached at scrawford@itmatters.ca. Stuart is also a business coach specializing in IT companies with execuCoach International (http://www.execuCoach.net).

How To Recover Those Lost Files

2009-01-23T17:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Michael Brymer

Hard Drive Recovery and the recovery of apparently lost files and date can often be restored with some simple know hows or data recovery software. What a great world we live in.

Computers are one of the best tools that has come into the hands of man since the convenience of toilet paper. Your computer offers you the ability to store all your valuable files and data in one convenient place and in most cases makes it portable.

But in the event of a Hard Drive Crash or the the loss of important or valued data, files, pictures, movies etc., that wonderful computer turns into an expensive paper weight taking up space on your desk or kitchen table.

Sometimes we tend to convince ourselves that our lost or deleted files are gone forever and that hours or weeks of work to replace them is required. But in many cases lost files and data, even a Hard Disk Recovery can be done in moments.

Lost or deleted files can be located and recovered. Often you may just find it sitting in your trash. To recover it, simply click and drag it onto your computer desktop. If you would like to replace it back into it's original place or folder simply right click it and choose that.

On occasion, you start up your computer and can't find that file you worked on so hard. Before you start yelling out to your spouse or children a simple search of files on your computer may bring it up. Often we quickly save our files not noticing where our computer decided to save them to. Often they are in a folder we have not thought of. To find that file click on "Start" and use your search function there. Type in part or all of the name of your file and you may just find it !

In the event that you or someone has accidentally deleted your wanted file or data then all is not lost. Data recovery software will search your computer and restore it for you. Imagine a file being like a painting. It is painted over white ready for next use, but the painting, or in this case the data, is still there underneath. You just need to remove the white paint. Data recovery software does the job for you. It scans your computer for recoverable items and asks you if you want to recover any or all of them.

You may be surprised what you find !

Hard Drive Recovery Tools are also available. When your computer starts choking on memory, freezing, crashing to a halt or re-starting itself or you hear strange noises coming from your hard drive then a crash may well be on the way. You'll probably start seeing serious looking error messages, note these done before you click them away.

In most cases free computer support is available. Click your "Start" button, then right click on "My Computer" then choose "Properties" then "Support". It should show you a phone number and times to ring for free computer support. Support will walk you through steps to rectify your problems but may end-up recommending you completely recover your computer losing all files on your "C Drive". Effectively your computer returns to the day you brought it home from the shop.

The good news is that a full recovery of your computer doesn't involve your "D Drive" so placing important and large files there is good advise. It also frees up your "C Drive" which does most of your work and the all the complaining within your computer.

To prevent hard drive crashes and the need for hard drive recovery we are always warned to back-up our files. Unfortunately we often don't or not as often as we should do. Hard drive recovery experts are somewhat available at a cost, but nowadays the simple use of Hard Drive Recovery Software is, luckily, at our finger tips

See more of Michael Brymer's "How To Hands On" MLM Articles and MLM secrets at MLMbuff.com to boost your profit line. If you like listening to streaming radio as you surf the net then Download a Free PC Radio from his Internet-Radio-Download.com website.

3 Simple Steps To Organize Your Critical Online Home Based Business Directory

2009-01-22T17:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Mike Makler

If You are running an Online Work at home Business it is very critical that you create a well organized directory structure. The Obvious advantage of an organized Directory structure is it makes it easy to find what you need. A Less Obvious but More Important Reason is it makes it easy to back up your Online Business Files if they are all in the Same Place.

A very Simple Directory Structure for an Online Business Mimics a File Cabinet. You would have 3 Level of Directories. Your Top level would be the File Cabinet, Your 2nd Level would be the File Drawers and your 3rd Level would be your File Folders.

Step 1 (File Cabinet)

Decide where to place your Top Level Online Business Directory. I suggest creating a Directory Directly under My Documents called My Online Business. You may want to think of this Top Level Directory as a File Cabinet with many Drawers

Step 2 (File Drawers)

Decide what are your 2nd Level Directories (The Drawers of your File Cabinet). Here are some of my 2nd Level Directories or Drawers

My Programs
My Downloads
My Income and Expenses
My Text Ads
My HTML Ads

Step 3 (File Folders)

Decide what are the 3rd Level Directories or file Folders Here is what a Finished Directory Structure Might Look Like

My Documents

My Online Business

My Programs
- My Ad Trackers
- My Domains
- My E-mail Accounts
- My Free Programs
- My ISP Accounts
- My Moneymakers
My Downloads

My Ebooks
My Programs/EXEs
My Zips

My Income and Expenses

My Income
My expenses

My Text Ads
My HTML Ads

Now when you want to backup your Business Files all you need to do is copy your Online Business Directory to tape, CD, DVD or some other back-up Device.

About The Author:
Mike Makler has been Marketing Online Since 2001 When he Built an Organization of over 100,000 Members

Get Mike's Newsletter:
http://ewguru.com/newsletter

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Copyright © 2005-2006 Mike Makler the Coolest Guy in the Universe

Data Recovery

2009-01-21T17:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Barry Stein

Every person who uses a personal computer will eventually face the challenge of data recovery. Computer hardware and software can be temperamental from time to time. Hard drives and other mechanical components of personal computers and servers do not last forever, and when they fail recovering your data can be difficult, time consuming and costly.

If you are working diligently away on a document or spreadsheet in Microsoft Office and the power goes out, you may still be able to recover the documents you were working on when the lights come back on. This type of data recovery is relatively easy and straightforward. Software manufacturers recognize that power outages are inevitable and unpredictable and most office applications incorporate what is known as autosave features. At set intervals, the documents you have open are saved to a cached file. They remain in that cached state and should be accessible once your power is restored. Simply opening Microsoft Word or Excel will usually bring these documents back.

For instance, when you open Word after a power failure or a software error, you will be presented with a document followed by the word recovered in parentheses. This is the document you were working on at the most recent autosave point. You may still lose a couple minutes worth of work this way, but it sure beats having to go back and retype the entire document.

If the recovered document does not appear automatically, search your hard drive for files ending with tmp. Look for one created close to the time of the power failure or software error and open it. This is most likely the document you had open at the time. If this method of data recovery does not work, you may need to follow the steps listed below.

Of course not all data recovery is so easy and so straightforward. If you delete a file accidentally, it is a simple matter to recover it from the recycle bin. Once you empty the recycle bin, however, things become more difficult. The deleted file still resides on your computer somewhere, but the pointer that tells the program where to find the file is now gone. There are various software tools available that promise to help recover deleted files, and they all have their strengths and weaknesses. Some of the major players are Norton, McAfee and Computer Associates. There are a great many smaller vendors as well.

Even if all these products fail to recover your data, you may not be completely out of luck. Data recovery services specialize in recovering data from failed and corrupt hard drives. These data recovery services have tools and equipment not available to the general public.

Government and law enforcement forensic teams will often make use of these advanced data recovery techniques to investigate cases of computer crime. Businesses also will turn to a professional data recovery service to recover mission critical data from damaged hard drives.

It is important to choose a reputable firm any time you need to have data recovery services performed. The firm you choose should be able to provide references from previous clients. You should make sure to follow up with the references they provide.

The cost for the data recovery service will vary according to the type of equipment and the difficulty of the job. You should get several estimates to make sure you are paying a fair price for the service you receive.

Barry Stein is the owner of aWebBiz.com where he offers cutting-edge tips on all aspects of business. To find more advice, tools and resources to help you succeed in your business, visit: http://www.aWebBiz.com

Barry's Internet Marketing Blog: http://awebbiz.com/blog

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You have permission to publish this article electronically, in print, in your e-book or on your web site, free of charge, as long as the author bylines are included with an active hyperlink to the aWebBiz.com website.

Corrupt Powerpoint Presentation Recovery

2009-01-20T17:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Anurag Singh

PowerPoint presentations are used to educate the audience through presentation of words, images, animations, block diagrams in simple steps which can be easily understood by the target listeners and learners.

MS PowerPoint is the best presentation tool till date and is used worldwide by corporates, instructors, educational institutes, marketing firms, PR professionals to communicate with their audience. But there are always high chances of these presentations being getting corrupt due to virus attacks, unexpected system shutdowns, media corruption or power failures.

There are 'n' number of reasons due to which a presentation file (.ppt, .pps, .pot) can get corrupted and similarly there are several ways to recover back the corrupted.

Whenever you receive a power point file, first perform a check;

Is the file password protected? The file might be secured by a password. In this case try to know password of the file and open it in its respective version of MS PowerPoint.

Is the file received as an email attachment? - If you have received the presentation file as an email attachment, then chances are that it might have been corrupted as the file traveled through cyberspace. In this case you can ask sender of the file to resend the file as a zipped attachment by WinZip or any other compression utility.

You might be using a new version of power point (2003) to access a presentation file created on older version of power point (2002). In this case you have to install the respective version of MS PowerPoint in which the file was originally created.

Some of the solutions and measures which are inbuilt in MS PowerPoint prove beneficial to recover data from the corrupt power point presentation files, which are:

Use of 'Slide from Files' option from the Insert menu:

1. Open a new blank presentation, select the Slides From Files option from the Insert menu.

2. The Slide Finder dialogue box will appear, browse and add your corrupt .ppt file.

3. Click Insert All

Note: If in case the "Insert All" option does not work then select the individual slide and click "Insert".

Open the presentation file in MS Word:

You can recover and repair the corrupt presentation file by opening it in MS Word:

1. Open the MS Word application

2. Click the File menu and select Open

3. The Open dialogue box will appear, click the File of Types menu and select Recover Text from Any File.

4. Browse the corrupt presentation file and click Open.

The repaired file in word will lose all its formatting, a little extra manual effort will have to be applied on to get the original formatting. Save the repaired file and with the help of Send To option in the File menu open it with MS PowerPoint.

Move the file to different place

If you are opening a .ppt file on any removable storage device (floppy disk, USB drive, CD-ROM etc.) then first copy it to your hard disk and then try to access it.

If the presentation file is not accessible then copy it to another drive of your computer system and then try to open it. For example, if the file is saved in C drive then copy or cut and paste it to D drive.

Try accessing the file on different computer system.

Try a Third Party Recovery Utility

If all of the above-mentioned solutions don't prove beneficial in your case of file corruption, then you can take help of the third party recovery solution to recover and repair the damaged/corrupt presentation file. There are many recovery solutions which exist in the data recovery market, but not every recovery tool can provide the complete recovery possibilities in case of deleted slides, master slides, images, animations, sound effects and other corruptions of power point damages.

Kernel Recovery for PowerPoint is such a file repair tool which effectively repairs the corrupt presentation (.ppt, .pps, .pot) and recovers the deleted slides, image objects, text, animation effects, sound effects, auto shapes (basic shapes, block arrows, callouts, flow charts, stars-banners, action buttons, lines and connectors), tables, embedded OLE files, wave sound files, excel files, word files and word art images.

The Kernel PowerPoint Recovery tool outwits other power point file repairing tools by even restoring the animated, media player sound effects which were not easy to recover before. The software is equipped with two modes of recovery viz, Standard mode and Integrated mode. Standard Mode recovers major corrupted presentation files with the complete data whereas Integrated Mode is fast and is useful in the case of minor corruptions which retains formatting.

The Demo version of Kernel PowerPoint recovery software is available for FREE download. You can test and evaluate the features and functionalities of the software. After being satisfied with the recovery results in your case you can purchase the Kernel PowerPoint repair software.

About Nucleus Data Recovery (P) Ltd.

Business Continuity And Disaster Recovery Reducing Your Risk Profile

2009-01-19T17:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Robert Mahood

Like all plans, there is an ultimate goal to achieve. The goal in a business continuity plan is simply that: to continue your business in the face of a disaster or a disruption. A business continuity plan is not just for a disaster. It's also for the smaller things in life, like your friendly neighborhood burglar who decides to borrow all of your computers or the small power interruption, which causes loss of data and downtime or the fire five floors below you, which causes a 5 hour building shutdown. These are a few of the many things, which do occur every day and do happen to companies like yours.

Disaster recovery has traditionally been associated with computing systems and data storage and recovery of data. Different than business continuity, disaster recovery is focused more on after the fact, quickly and effectively recovering from a disaster or disruption.

There are many good sources of information on both business continuity and disaster recovery. Some of the more authoritative sources are: Disaster Recovery International (www.drii.org), Disaster Recovery Journal (www.drj.com), and Global Continuity (www.globalcontinuity.com).

It's, of course, not realistic to think that you can guard against every risk. However, through risk analysis, business impact analysis, selecting effective strategies, documenting detailed recovery plans and testing your plans, you can significantly reduce many of your risks, often in a very cost effective way. You have an important management responsibility to safeguard company assets. Reducing your risk profile through a well thought out business continuity and disaster recovery plan is an effective way to do so.

About The Author

bmahood@midwestdatarecovery.com, 866 786 2595, 312 907 2100

Computer Data Backup Data Backup Solution Will Give You A Peace Of Mind

2009-01-18T17:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Justin Koh

Imagine that you have been working on a file for the entire day and there was a power surge that caused your computer to 'black out'. It would have been a frustrating experience for us as we had put in a lot of time and effort into it. I am sure that many of us would have experienced data loss in some form or another and have learnt to be wiser to backup our data to avoid any form of data loss.

Have you ever thought of a worst case scenario where a fire broke up and destroy your computer or where your laptop got stolen? Should that happen, the first thing that comes into your mind is the thousands of dollars that you spend on your computer or laptop and you would feel very upset about it. However, when you thought for a second moment, you started to realize that what is really valuable are the amount of data that you have built up over the years in it. Though hardware can always be replaced, even at no cost to you if you have insurance, but lost data is gone forever.

Lost data such as the thousands of mp3 and movies that you have downloaded from the Internet, thousands of digital photographs that are impossible to replace are lost in an instant. This form of data loss hits home especially hard when the laptop holds the lifeblood to your business. Imagine all your business contacts documents and contracts that you have painfully built up over the years would be vanished just like that. Your business would be wipe out overnight.

Do not wait for the worst to happen before you start to consider about data backup solution. Having a data backup solution will give you a peace of mind as you know that your data is in safe hand.

Justin Koh is a freelance writer whose articles have appear in most major ezine. You can find more of these at: http://www.backupcenter.info

You have permission to publish this article electronically or in print, free of charge, as long as the bylines are included. A courtesy copy of your publication would be appreciated.

The Need For A Backup Strategy

2009-01-17T17:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Aleksey Rubin

So you’ve decided to backup your data but what is the next step? You must have a backup strategy irrespective of whether you are a home user or a business user. The depth of the strategy is the only variant between these two types of users.

As time goes by people and businesses are facing massive and ever-increasing amounts of data that are difficult to manage and that remain unprotected. In this light, the need for a backup strategy becomes critical. Let me just take email as an example: the 12/2004 issue of Smart Computing reports that 88% of adult PC users send and receive emails. The International Data Corporation reports that 16.8 trillion emails were transmitted in 2004 with this figure climbing to 19.7 trillion this year. According to Smart Computing, American businesses send about 9 billion emails a day. On average, home-users transmit around 435kb in email attachments every day. One other research firm estimates that typical corporations with 5000 employees accumulate 4 terabytes of emails every year. The size of my Outlook PST file for 2004 at work rested at 1.4Gb; at home it was 650Mb! And finally, Dataquest estimates that the total number of hard disk drives shipped in 2002 rests at 212.5m units representing around 8.5m terabytes of storage space.

Home-user data includes documents, audio and video files, scanned images, and digital photos. Businesses have marketing collateral developed and stored electronically, customer information stacked in databases, financial records posted in accounting packages, budgets and business plans recorded on network storage devices. As this list grows, the need for a backup strategy becomes even more obvious!

We usually advise customers to look at 5 key elements of any backup strategy:

1. Invest in good Backup Software: Read the reviews, visit the websites and look out for features and assurances that the product you are buying is reliable, fast and easy to use. Spend time reading the websites of the various suppliers. Some products cost no more than $40 but your data costs much more. Losing your data because the software you have bought is not effective means that you have thrown away an extra $40!

2. Plan Your Backups: Most software packages on the market have schedulers. Use these schedulers. It doesn’t take much time to set up a timetable for backups. Depending on how many times you use your PC you can schedule your periodical backups: at work, I backup every day at 9 a.m.. At home, I backup once a week.

3. Check the Integrity of your Restore: Even though you have backed up, what guarantee do you have that your data can be restored when disaster hits? The best way to ensure full “restorability” of your data is to buy a backup product that has bit-level verification (like WinBackup 2.0). Such a feature makes sure that while the product is performing your backup it checks all the data down to the level of bits and bytes. In essence, the software first back up the data and then automatically performs a test restore to make sure that every single bit has been copied.

4. Check the Integrity of your Backup Medium: You can have the best software in the world and back your data every hour, however, if you do not have a good medium to store your archives, you are doomed. The second best way to ensure the restorability of your data is to choose good mediums and to do regular test restores from them.

5. Check your hard drives regularly and make sure you have good anti-spyware and anti-virus software. There is no harm in checking hard drives for errors and bad sectors as these drives do fail over time.

Data Recovery and Backup Software

Bill Gates Made Data Recovery Easy

2009-01-16T17:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Navneetkumar Kumar

Bill gates provided a ready made option in Microsoft windows, which is very useful for data recovery.

Several time we make mistakes unknowingly and we lost our data, then we need to recover the data. There are so many data recovery solutions available but most of them are very costly. There may be a very easy way for data recovery.

To use data recovery you can back up your files to CDs, DVDs, external hard drives, other internal hard drives, tape drives, etc. They all work, it's just that each media choice has it's own pros and cons regarding ease of use, data storage capacity, and so on. It hardly matter what media you choose for data recovery but the important thing is that it should work.

There are several good backup programs that are very much useful for data recovery job, but Bill gates provided one very good option to do data recovery very easily. Most Microsoft Windows users have a great backup program included with their operating software. If you are a Windows XP user that program is called NT Backup. If it's not already installed on your computer insert your Windows CD, find the folder titled ValueAdd\MSFT\ntbackup, and run the program in that folder called ntbackup.msi. It will set up the backup software for use on your computer in no time and you will even have simple to use wizards that will walk you through doing file backups and restores simply and easily.

After properly installing the software you can be prepapered for any time data recovery. Probably this is the easiest way to recover your data. Whenever you will need this trick will work and the cost of data recovery will be negligible.

Author is an engineer and is running a website http://engineering-updates.com, you can reproduce this article if all the link are alive.

Backup And Recovery Plans An Introduction

2009-01-15T17:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Robin Yearsley

These days most companies secure their data by regularly backing it up onto tape and storing it externally either at the owners place of residence or in a safety deposit box at the bank. They follow a DIY IT disaster recovery plan to preserve their data in the event that a system failure or interruption occurs during day to day operations.

A back up and recovery plan allows them to minimize data loss and interruption to customers.

Some companies however, have taken this IT contingency planning one step further, by enhancing their backup and recovery strategy using expensive disk arrays and mirroring. Some companies feel that by implementing more comprehensive and advanced IT disaster recovery software at the problem they can still manage the processes in house and it will work out just as effective, but still works out more cost effective than engaging external IT disaster recovery vendors.

But at the end of the day, no matter how you look at it; whether it is an earthquake, a flood, a blackout or a hard disk failure that gets you, IT disaster recovery services are always helpful there is simply no doubt about it.

Add to this the risk that the data loss might be as a result of human or software error (which studies show, account for approximately 40% of all IT related disasters), then all your IT Officer needs to do is grab the most recent back up and restore the system.

Fingers crossed this would do the trick. While you can't rely on IT contingency planning for everything, you have to hope that the IT disaster recovery solution you put in place will get you most of the way there.

If your IT infrastructure fails, you do need to know that sometimes your IT disaster recovery management tools may prove insufficient, for example, the back up does not complete, the back up tape you have does not include the most recent data or the tapes are unable to accessed when required.

What ever the reason, things can and do, go wrong with every DIY back up system. So, by conducting and indeed relying on traditional tape or disk backups that are processed in house, you need to understand that you could well be placing your business in jeopardy. If nothing else, do your homework and ensure that any IT disaster recovery plan you implement, provides you with the greatest level of security possible.

If in doubt talk to some local IT disaster recovery vendors and see what IT disaster recovery solution they would recommend for your business.

Robin Yearsley.
Certified ITIL Masters (Managers) Consultant.

Learn More About Business Continuity and IT Disaster Recovery Planning Today.

Visit:-
http://www.ITDisasterRecovery.info

If You Need A Method For Backing Up Your Computer You Should Consider A Cdrom

2009-01-14T17:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Gregg Hall

Computers today are used in every part of life. They are used for communication, work, play and even to buy food. Therefore, when you lose a computer or even just a file from your computer, it is like losing your best friend. You can't back up or replace a best friend, but you can backup files, or your entire computer if desired.

Several back up methods exist. Some computers will automatically back themselves up; you just need to find the folder where the back up is stored. If your computer does not have this function, or you are not sure if the function exists or is working, manually back up your files. For example, after creating an important Microsoft Word document, save it at least twice in at least two different locations.

If however, you lose your entire hard drive, it won't matter how many times you have saved the same document. To avoid this dilemma, save your files on something other than the computer's hard drive. Floppy disks are not commonly used, but they will work for small files. Be ware that floppy disks can be unreliable and often crash just as your computer did.

USB Drives are becoming more popular as a back up tool. A USB drive is a small device that holds large amounts of information. It works like a floppy disk in that you can place files, delete files or move files around within the USB. All recent computers have USB ports that should be able to read any USB device.

CD ROMs are also a popular way to back up your files. A CD ROM looks just like a music CD you would buy in a store, but can hold up to 700 MB of information. This allows for large files or a large amount of small files to be stored on this disk. Once you put information onto a CD ROM, you can not add files or change the files on the disk. This can be one way of ensuring nobody else tampers with your work, but can also be frustrating when you would like to back up a newer version of your work. In this case, a CD RW disk may suit you better. RW stands for re writable disk. On this kind of disk you can add, delete and rewrite files until the disk is full. When using the rewrite option, be sure you do not accidentally rewrite something you wanted to keep the back up of.

Both CD options can be done on most home computers. You will need a CD (possibly two in case the first one ends up as practice!), and a CD burner. Almost all computers sold today, or sold recently, are equipped with a basic CD burner and burning software that is generally simple to use. If your computer is not equipped with these devices, you may purchase a basic CD burner and software for a relatively inexpensive price. Once you have created your back up CD, take care to keep it in a cool dry place where it will be safe from damage.

Gregg Hall is an author living in Navarre Beach, Florida. Find more about this as well as data recovery at http://www.wegetyoustarted.com.

Keep Your Computer Healthy By Repairing Windows Registry

2009-01-13T17:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Wayne Wu

Windows Registry is a database used by Windows operating system to store hardware and software configuration information. Computer problems are often caused by invalid key entries in the registry. Anyone with Administrator privileges can edit the Registry by using the registry editor (regedit.exe) that comes with the Windows operating system. However, great attention must be given to registry editing or repair because changing registry keys could disable the computer in the worst scenario. The registry editor is a GUI-based tool for managing the registry. When you type 'regedit' in the 'Run' dialog box and click 'OK', the system will present a registry view similar to the Windows Explorer view of the file system. In general, the registry consists of 5 Root Keys that contains file associations, all preferences set for current user, settings for hardware, operating system, and installed applications, to name just a few.

Now you see how important the registry is to your computer. Maintaining the registry and stabilizing its growth can greatly increase the life expectancy of your Windows system. With this being said, it is a daunting task to repair registry because there are so many complex registry entries stored in your system. Most experienced technicians tend to stay away from the registry unless there are no other options to resolving a computer problem except editing registry keys.

In view of this, there are many third-party registry cleaner utilities that are dedicated to scanning and repairing the registry. By default, registry cleaner scans the registry for all types of errors. It also allows users to customize settings and scan for particular types of registry errors, like shared DLL errors, missing fonts, and invalid startup entries.

Besides finding incorrect or obsolete information in the registry, most registry cleaner utilities provide backup or restore function, allowing users to backup the whole Windows Registry so that they can use the backup to restore the registry to the current status in case they encounter serious system failure. Some of registry cleaner utilities even have the startup organizer feature that lets users disable unwanted startup programs and manage IE settings with ease.

Moreover, registry cleaner software is able to remove harmful viruses, adware, spyware, and Trojans because these intrusive programs tend to attack PC by creating and modifying registry keys. To sum up, there are so many advantages associated with cleaning registry. If your computer is running slow and even shutting down out of the blue, you should check out websites out there which feature a free scanner that can track down evil program lurking on your hard drive and protect you from possible future malicious attacks on your system.

Wayne Wu has been a freelance technical writer for several years. For more information about Registry Cleaner Software, check out http://www.businessinfo.tw/LP/fixregistry/

Disc And Data Recovery

2009-01-12T17:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by J. Brian Keith

Data Recovery is probably the last thing on anyone's mind when they buy a computer. Most of us never think something will go wrong until it's too late. Data recovery or Disc Recovery services is something we hope we will ever have the need for.

Whether your computer simply crashes or you accidentally delete software that is important or imperative to you, it may seem that your information is lost for good. Although, if you have quality data recovery software already in your system or on your computer, you should feel good in the fact that it has backup, even though things like this can and will happen at times. This can be extremely important for you state of mind and well being when it comes to safeguarding your personal or business information and software.

What many don't understand is that there are numerous reasons things can go wrong on their computer. Whether it is your own personal computer you are responsible for, or a large business computer system, having a method of restoring the information when things go wrong can be of the utmost importance. Your computer could run slow or be packed full of non efficacious adware and spyware that can ultimately destroy your important files, siphon and transfer personal data, this could cause a computer crash. In a blink of an eye, everything that is important to you could be gone. Storms can cause Power surges quickly and without much or any advance warning, that could be all it takes to lose everything.

These are not the only ways you can lose the data that is stored on your computer. Most people think this will never happen to them, it's human nature. So what do we do? Nothing, which means you could lose everything. Disc recovery is an absolute must to avoid these things from happening. Disc and Data Recovery is very easy to install and use and can be virtually self maintaining. So why doesn't everybody take advantage of data recovery? It could be the expense, but it doesn't cost much, more likely they just don't understand the importance or simply don't think about it at all until it's too late. Data recovery is quite possibly the most important thing for computer users. Don't get caught without it!

J. Brian Keith is a contributing author for Data Recovery. Please visit my other sites for Product Reviews and Free Photo Sharing

Avoiding Hard Disk Data Recovery Services

2009-01-11T17:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by James Allen

As a home computer owner, one of the greatest threats to your information and to your wallet, is hard disk failure. When your drive crashes, you will quicky realize how valuable the information you can no longer access is.

And when you start searching for disaster recovery services, you will be surprised how much it will cost to recover that data. Here are a few tips to help you prevent a data disaster on your harddisk.

1. If you have an older hard drive, be sure to run free tools like Data Lifeguard software to check the current condition of your drive. By discovering any problems before they crash your disk, you'll have a chance to copy your information before all is lost.

2. When the time comes to copy your data from one disk to another, remember to keep the old hard disk. You'll want to make sure you have a backup while you give your new drive some time to make sure it is running well.

3. Even on new computers, files on your hard drive can become disorganized over time. Make sure to run your favorite defragmentation program regularly.

4. Partioning your disk can also help improve performance. Make sure to do this from within your operating system if your disk already has partitions on it. This can often be done through your operating systems management console.

5. Do not ignore any problems that crop up. If your computer starts acting strangely, running slower, or giving your error messages, run a scan disk or CHKDSK immediately. Remember, it will be much cheaper to repair your hard drive prior to a total crash!

If you think taking the extra time to follow these steps to care for your hard disk seems time consuming, I recommend you check out the cost of harddisk data recovery. You'll quickly realize the value of these tips!

James B. Allen blogs regularly about disaster recovery planning. To learn more about data recovery and other aspects of disaster recovery, visit James at: DisasterRecoveryData.com.

Document And Data Management Considerations For Private Companies

2009-01-10T17:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Michael Siersema

Increasingly, the need for a written, highly structured document and data management policy is becoming vital to any private company. While the recently enacted Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) rules promulgated by the Securities and Exchange Commission require such a written policy for public companies, there are ample reasons for private companies to also adopt a written document and data management policy.

Various statutes now require most companies, whether public, non-profit or private, to securely maintain written records in regard to certain aspects of their personnel information and business operations. Under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), for example, companies may be sued if a security breach or other mishap results in the unauthorized disclosure of medical records. The controversial Patriot Act requires disclosure to the federal government of certain customer data and can subject the disclosing company to a lawsuit if the customer was not sufficiently advised of the possibility of such disclosure. A proposed amendment to the federal Rules of Civil Procedure would require lawyers representing parties in litigation to discuss document management systems of their clients prior to any legal proceedings. Another proposed amendment to the federal Rules of Civil Procedure would provide a safe harbor for companies that lose information but have otherwise acted in good faith, precluding any sanctions for such information loss. Certain state laws, such as the California Online Privacy Protection Act of 2003, require website disclosure of privacy policies in regard to personally identifiable information (such as name, address, credit card number, social security number, email address, etc.), which should include a statement about the security procedures in place to protect such information.

Prudence also dictates that written records be maintained in the event of employee claims or litigation involving the company. Companies should also be vigilant in documenting incidents involving any inappropriate or improper behavior by an employee. Emails and instant messages are now often crucial in determining court cases. Employee emails are generally considered to be the property of the employer, and the company's HR policy and employee manual must clearly state so. Accordingly, employers should ensure that copies of all employee emails and instant messages are retained in the event of any employee-related litigation. For the same reason, in addition to maintaining copies of executed contracts and written correspondence, companies should retain copies of all emails and electronic document interchange (EDI) transactions with vendors and customers in the event of any litigation with such third parties. Companies should develop disaster recovery plans and test the recovery of all important data and information. Electronic imaging of physical documents should become standard.

In order to ensure that such procedures are in place and followed, company management must create an infrastructure that will be responsible for the implementation and monitoring of such procedures. This must come from the top down in the organization. The Board of Directors or a committee of the Board should review internal controls and written processes designed to ensure the retention and security of all company records and information and avoid misuse or unauthorized disclosure of such records and information. The Board or such committee should consult closely with members of the company's information technology (IT) or finance department and others responsible for company files and records in order to ensure compliance with a clearly defined operations policy for the storage, maintenance, protection and destruction of company records and information. There are numerous sources of guidance for company management and IT or finance departments in this regard. These include the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations (COSO), an independent auditing industry group that has received implicit endorsement from the Securities and Exchange Commission. In addition, the Sedona Principles is a set of best practices for e-discovery and the Control Objectives for Information and Related Technology (COBIT) detailing the IT or finance department's role in information and security controls is recommended reading for private companies, even though it is directed at public companies in the post-SOX era.

Company management must also ensure that the IT or finance department has the necessary resources to properly maintain and safeguard electronic records. Extensive storage capabilities and related software are required for document management, data backup, and email and instant message archiving, as such records must be maintained for an extended period of time. Under SOX, for example, records are required to be stored for seven years and must be non-erasable and non-rewritable. Hundreds of outsource storage companies have emerged to assist companies with their e-document management and data storage needs. It is vital that such software and services include fast and reliable document and data search capabilities as well.

Paper records should be organized logically to facilitate their retrieval at a later date. Ideally, the contents of the files should be logged electronically using database software specifically designed for this purpose (the XML standard has gone a long way in standardizing how to identify data). Companies should also ensure that off-site records can be remotely searched.

Access to company records should be closely controlled and restricted to a limited number of individuals. Just as electronic records have audit trails of who has access and when the data was accessed, paper records should not be open and available for anyone to simply walk in and review them, or alter them.

Finally, a document destruction policy should be included as part of the written document and data management policy. Time periods for purges of electronic data and paper records should be established and followed explicitly. As a general rule, it is not recommended that data or records be destroyed until at least seven years has elapsed since the initial archive or storage of such data or records. However, the appropriate time limit depends on many factors, including the nature of the data or records, relevant statutes of limitation and governmental requirements. Company management should therefore consult with legal counsel and a document management professional before establishing a document destruction policy.

Kent Clayton is a partner and co-chair of the Business Practice Group at Berger Kahn, a full service business law firm with offices in Orange County, Los Angeles, San Diego and the San Francisco Bay area. Michael Siersema is Managing Partner and CEO of Phoenix2000 Group LLC, a technology leadership and advisory services company with offices in Huntington Beach, California, West Lake Village, California and Washington, D.C.

Hard Drive Recovery Experts

2009-01-09T17:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Eric Morris

There are generally three types of experts who deal with hard disk recovery. They are technical support experts, software support experts and data recovery experts. The technical support expert generally deals with physical problems with hard disks, and how to install or uninstall hard disks. They check for malfunctions due to electric or voltage problems. The software experts mainly deal with making software solutions for hard disk recovery. They create customized software solutions and test them. They also make antivirus solutions for the customers. Data recovery experts apply various measures to recover the client's data from the malfunctioned hard disk.

These experts have responsibilities like tracking case activities online in real time, understanding the customer's problem and providing a solution for it. They must know how to tackle all types of hard disks. They must have the ability to support all operating systems like Windows, Mac, Linux, UNIX and all media types, to provide a wider scope of services and better meet client or customer needs. They must remain informed about data storage capabilities and technologies. They must provide accurate, cost-effective data safety and integrity solutions to the customers.

They must be trustworthy, as some of the client's data can be confidential. They must not leak client data to others. They must be honest with their profession. They must be good team members, to create strong customer relationships.

Since the data and information are considered keys to success, these professionals are in great demand in the industry. There is great opportunity to grow in this profession.

Hard Drive Recovery provides detailed information on Hard Drive Recovery, Hard Drive Recovery Experts, Hard Drive Recovery Software, Hard Drive Data Recovery Services and more. Hard Drive Recovery is affiliated with Hard Drive Data Recovery.

A Look At Some Of The Data Recovery Methods Available To You

2009-01-08T17:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Gregg Hall

You have just returned from the vacation of a life time and downloaded your pictures to your computer, typed up the diary you kept while vacationing and drafted many emails to your friends about the trip, now it is all gone, thanks to some incomprehensible computer glitch. Understandably, losing documents that meant time and significance is quite frustrating. However, occasionally not all is lost.

Start at the Recycle Bin of your computer. If your file is there, the recovery will be easy. If not, try a tool that will undelete a file. Although this may find your file, it may not find every part of the file. In this case the file will be corrupt and not likely much use to you. If your file is large, the chance of corruption is higher than that of a small file, simply because more information groups have the chance to get lost. For example, photos are often larger files than text documents, thus lost photos can be difficult to find.

Losing a photo can be slightly more traumatizing because often a photo is more valuable than words, and secondly, photos can be more difficult to recover. Once the deleted photo file is used more than once, a recovery program often does not know what it is supposed to be looking for. Since the program will not help you right away, you need to know what it is you want to find. Do you know what kind of file it was? JPG, TIFF, GIF? The more you know about the deleted image, the higher your chances are of finding the image. Even if you find the image, it is likely to be corrupt. At this point it is difficult to put together your image.

E-mails function in a way not like photos or text files. The chances of getting back a deleted e mail depends on the type of e mail program you have. Most programs have a Trash or Deleted folder. Typically you set how frequently the e mail service deletes everything in these folders. If you have a habit of deleting e mails accidentally, set this option for the greatest length of time possible. It is very simple to recover a deleted e mail from the Deleted folder; a click of the mouse will usually suffice. However, if the Deleted folder has been emptied by your e mail service, it is unlikely you will be able to find and recover the deleted e mail.

Beyond these options are special programs and offered services to assist you with recovering files. Recovery programs exist especially for photos, Microsoft Word and Excel files, e mails and other file types. You also have the option of hiring a human specialist to find your files. You often get what you pay for with all these services. A human specialist can be costly and recommended only for use with extremely valuable files.

After you have spent much time, and possibly money on this project, be sure to save your file and save again. Save on disks, USBs, hard drives and servers if these options are available to you. If this file is changed often, remember to resave the file in all the original locations to ensure you can always access a recent version of your work.

Gregg Hall is an author living in Navarre Beach, Florida. Find more about this as well as data backup at http://www.fastcomputerrepair.com.

Zip It Up

2009-01-07T17:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Robert Hanania

Anyone who has seen the movie' Honey I shrunk the kids' can imagine how useful compression can be. Compression, which has become anonymous with Zip files work off the same idea only with a (add your joke here)'slightly' different technology.

You will find a lot of data compression programs in use today and some are easier and have better features than others, so in this article I will talk about compression in general, but may through in a couple of examples for comparison.

The first thing you need to know is that there can be more than one compressed file; you can have an archive (a multiple of files). The main benefit of this is that the user can:

* Save valuable disk space

* Can send and receive files on the internet quicker

* Speeds up your processor

* Depending on the file compression program can reduce files as much as 90%

The user should also be aware that files can only be opened with the original compression program that compressed it. Think of this as a form of protection, if you will since this is like an encrypted file or archive. Adding a password is another way to insure files are safe from prying eyes and some compression programs let you do this at any level of compression or decompression with the associated commands (update,move,feshien,add). Only individual files can be password protected not whole archives.

Ever since the first personal computers (PC's) came about people found how easy it is to load up there drives with programs and downloads that eat up much of there memory. That's why developers created data compression programs in the first place, to free up hard drive space and increase processor speed.

There are a lot of data compression programs and they are not exactly alike because they use different data compression algorithms. One popular program, for example looks for repeating words or phrases and assigns them there own character or number value.

A lot of users don't fully understand the more advanced features of their data compression programs so they are not really getting there full value. Syntax command lines are a good example of this confusion. There are four basic commands in syntax (the shape of a command line);

* Command: The task to be preformed like add, delete or update.

* Archive: the name of the archive.

* Switch or Option: lets user specify a file option like adding file directories for compression.

* File: name of file(s) to be processed.

A user can compress files four basic ways:

Add files to archive - old files with same name are overwritten.

Move files to archive - upon compression old files are deleted.

Update files - makes sure you have the most recent file version.

Freshen files - almost like update, seeks out the last modified file and adds it to archive.

The above commands have there basic functions but can do other things. Ex. the update & add commands can create and compress files and the Freshen command can create a new archive.

There are only a couple of data compression programs out there that give the user more than one compression method - PKZIP AND ARJ.

PKZIP has what they call an imploding method and a shrinking method; without going into great detail imploding uses less memory (90k), and is very through. This is the default setting. Shrinking is fast but uses a bit more memory (128k), works great for smaller files.

ARJ gives the user more options for data compression. It uses multiple settings (m1 to m4),

This is a tradeoff of prosessing speed versus packing dentisy. There are 2 more options available here but test runs show no significant change in time or compression.

Even with experienced compression users, extracting compressed files with a newer version of a data compression program may prove difficult, so programmers created self extracting files (SFX) to enable beginners to easily use compressed files. This small program may be part of the original program or added after as a separate program.

I realize some of this may sound confusing and for that I apologize, and after all, people will compresses data using only the basic functions and be happy and content because it suits there present needs. In conclusion you can tell there are many options available when using any data compression program and it is well worth the time (got time on the week end?) and effort to learn some of the advanced features if you want to save some serious space on your hard drive.

About The Author
Robert Hanania is a student of the internet, learning about home based businesses and computers. Robert is currently promoting his web page. All are welcome to visit him at http://www.fileanddatarecovery.com.

Do I Really Need To Backup

2009-01-06T17:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Keith Thompson

Okay, computers a machine, right? Okay, maybe not yours. You have this special relationship, but that a subject for another article. Machines break. Software gets fouled up. People make errors. These things happen, and for those reasons alone, you need to back up all your critical data, redundantly, in a couple of different locations.

You can do this using the tools your system provides, or a utility you buy for that purpose, but however you do it, do it! Some more things that can go wrong include disks that turn bad and erase sections of your files, power failures or surges, the aforementioned human error (one of the most frequent causes of data loss!) overheating, water or your beverage of choice, magnetic issues and last but certainly most popular, computer viruses.

How is all this accomplished, you ask? There are many ways to backup your data these days, from DVD's to CDR's to ZIP drives, to portable hard drives, as well as offsite internet backups. All have their pros and cons, but the cold hard facts are that it's becoming increasingly easier to back up your critical data.

Don't let that lull you into a false sense of security regarding your sensitive data. Either do it now, and frequently, or start preparing an epitaph for your lost files!

Keith Thompson is the webmaster at Data Recovery Service, offering the latest and most affordable http://www.data-recovery.giftsforbiz.com, data recovery solutions.

Leave Data Recovery For Your Computer To The Experts

2009-01-05T17:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Gregg Hall

Computers seem to run our lives. We rely on computers for our banking needs, tax preparation services, weather forecasts, contact with friends and family members, shopping, customer support, and more. If a computer crashes, it can be crippling to a business or individual.

During some occasions, a computer can lose vital information. In order to recover the information, it is necessary to attempt a process called hard drive data recovery. Unless you are extremely knowledgeable about computers, you should never attempt to retrieve lost information by yourself.

If you are working from a computer system that is having troubles, attempting a disk repair from programs on your computer is often worse. These programs take a computer system and begin rewriting information into damaged files and folders. This can cause endless problems.

To have data recovered, you will either call in an expert or take your computer to a computer repair organization. Look for insured and licensed experts, as you know they will have the quality your computer deserves. They will do a scan of your system to uncover the problem or problems and then give you the diagnosis.

Often, you will find the cost is extremely high. Computer repairs are not inexpensive. It is worse if you attempt to fix the problem yourself. What starts out as a simple recovery, can turn into a troublesome issue. Instead of having an expert revamp a percentage of your hard drive, you will suddenly be facing a hard drive failure. If you think a simple recovery is expensive, wait until you are paying for a full system restore.

Hopefully, you are intelligent enough to know that pulling apart a hard drive by yourself is never a smart idea. Hard drives are full of minuscule pieces. One missing piece can mean you need to buy a new computer. The pieces inside are clean, magnetized, and delicate. Even the tiniest speck of dust can cause a hard drive to fail. Never take the hard drive apart.

For the same reason, hitting your computer can cause irreparable damage to a hard drive. The drive is full of magnetized plates that are used for storage. There is also a motor that makes the computer run. Damage from hitting can destroy your computer. Hard drives are expensive and troublesome to replace. Do not allow damage of this nature to occur.

In times of computer trouble, you must rely on an expert. Though the price might seem steep, it is often far cheaper than requiring a brand new computer. Today's computers rarely come with full software versions, so the money in programs alone will usually top the amount you would have paid by having an expert fix your computer.

Gregg Hall is an author living in Navarre Florida. For more on Fantasy Football or other fantasy sports news go to www.fantasysportsdesk.com

Back Up Your Website

2009-01-04T17:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Aleem Khan

We often don't realise how heavily reliant we are on technology until we lose it. If your cell phone goes missing, laptop is stolen or Internet connection goes down for a day, that's when you realise how vulnerable you are to human imperfections. I say human imperfections because machines are not perfect because they are built by humans. Data is entered into machines by humans and humans make mistakes. So while the machine may be doing what it is told to do, without someone to tell it, it really can't do anything.

Back up your life

Hurricanes and other natural disasters have taught many people that sometimes it's not only your gadgets that need backing up. Sometimes your life needs to get backed up too. So while this article will focus on backing up your website and e-mail, you may want to also use the opportunity to back up other items that are crucial to your life. A photocopy of your passport, bank accounts, deeds, serial numbers and other documents are good to keep in a different geography. One of the lessons preached following the infamous Hurricane Katrina was precisely that. Should a natural disaster decide it's going to pass your way, you would have a back up of important documents stored safely in a different geography. A friend, relative or even a company that specialises in storage might be a wise choice to leave in charge of these photocopied documents.

Having said that, let's look at how you can back up your website and e-mails by going through some easy-access back up media:

CDs

They are now extremely cheap retailing for only a couple of cents and can be found anywhere. The even better news is that it seems everyone now has a CD-burner. You can save your entire website, plus important e-mails on CDs by simply "saving as..." on each file. CDs are resilient, waterproof, easy to access and easy to burn. By "CDs" we of course include CD-R and CD-RW. Be careful though because something called CD+R and CD+RW also exist. Nothing is wrong with those media but check your burner before you buy.

DVDs

DVD-burners are becoming increasingly common and the advantage DVDs have over CDs is of course that they have greater capacity. Whereas a CD may hold up to 700 MB, a DVD can hold 4-8 GB. That's a lot of storage space! Make sure your next computer comes with a DVD-burner if it doesn't have one already. DVD burning software like Nero or even Roxio do a good job at helping you to compile DVDs in a very user-friendly fashion.

Hard Drive

Although you may not see it like that, you should consider your hard drive a backup source as well. For example if something happens to the CD or DVD you can still have the contents on your hard drive. Be sure to re-back up if that happens though. If you're going to remove important files from your hard drive permanently, then you should consider backing them up in at least two of the other media on this list.

SD Cards

You thought the next medium I was going to talk about would be removable hard drives? Well, I decided to put this first because increasing numbers of computers, especially desktops, are now coming with "card readers" built into the keyboards.

There are many different formats but we recommend SD cards because they're small and resilient. An SD card can take a lot of "jamming" as we would say in the local isles. As they're so small, they can also be easily shipped to other locations. Now, you'll hear all kinds of names for these cards. Some people call them memory cards while others say memory sticks. Basically, each manufacturer came up wth a name of its own for its kind of card. The common denominator though is that they're all cards. They're very popular in digital cameras but that's not all they're good for. They're also good for storage. Some cell phones also carry them too. One major advantage of these cards, apart from their size, is that they're almost infinitely re-writable and flat, meaning they can fit into practically any wallet, purse, envelope or book.

Removable Hard Drives

One of the most popular forms of removable hard drives are what many call "flash drives" or "USB drives." While they are currently the "coolest" around, we don't like them very much unless the sole reason you're getting them is to be able to sit at the lunchtable of cool people. Now, don't get me wrong, they work fine but in our opinion there are much better media when it comes to resilience and ease of use. I would use these detachable drives really for only two reasons: (1) if I were working between two computers and (2) if I wanted to work in two different operating systems and needed to boot from a different drive each time. The major advantage of flash drives, I suppose, is that practically any computer, and in some cases multi-media projectors, carry USB ports. So I suppose that could be a third reason to carry a USB drive: if I'm going to deliver a presentation.

Marketers of flash drives have done a great job at getting people to have flash drives hanging around their necks. While it is said to be hot-pluggable, meaning all you have to do is stick it in and yank it out, I've seen instances where drivers had to be installed first and where 'yanking it out' has caused it to burn or auto-erase itself. However, if you have one already, it is not a bad place to backup your website or e-mail. The other big plus is that they are infinitely re-writeable. Other removable hard drives include external cases attached to your computer through a USB or firewire cable. These are the worst, if you ask me. They're usually very fragile and sometimes need special software. On the other hand, the huge advantage of these is that they usually offer hundreds of GB of disk space. You can't beat them for space! This is a good option if what you want to do is back up your entire office or important videos.

Remote Server

Most webhosting companies also claim to offer back up of your website and e-mail but I would never rely on that, especially not for e-mail. I would download e-mail and back it up myself. The time alone it would take to recover files from a crashed server would not be worth it. That doesn't mean, though, that you shouldn't look for a webhost that does offer back up. The more places your data is securely backed up, the higher your chances of recuperating vital information if lost from your base of operations.

Online Storage Companies

Now, personally, I would never use a storage company because they can't do for me anything that I can't do for myself. I can burn my own CDs and store them in a safe place. So unless you really don't have the time, don't know how or have money to burn, never mind the storage companies. On the other hand, if this entire article has sounded like nothing but mumbo-jumbo to you, you need a storage company. Trust me, you do. :-)

Paper

Paper, yes, paper. A well-known bank, whose name begins with the letter 'R' backs up everything on paper - in addition to the electronic methods of course; and with good reason. True, it may be difficult to have to type over an entire address book but it's better to have a percentage of something than all of nothing. Computer viruses can't attack paper and depending on the quality of paper you use, it might well outlive you. So in addition to the electronic methods, do consider printing. Our bottom line is (1) back up everything that is important to you on at least two media (2) send an extra copy to a different geography i.e. city or country if possible (3) do it now!

Aleem Khan is an accredited Internet Expert with the International Internet Authority, a safe and reliable place to getYourNAMEin.com

Novell Data Recovery Recovery Of Segmented Volumes

2009-01-03T17:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Sunil Chandna

Problem Description

Segmented volumes refer to volumes which have had their size increased by taking disk space from another area. This space is usually taken from another disk, resulting in the Volume existing in 'segments' across different disks, and hence the name segmented volumes. Segmented volumes add flexibility and are particularly useful in cases of important volumes needing additional disk space.

Segmented volumes, however, have data stretched across more than one disk and data recovery software needs additional capabilities to scan multiple disks at a time. This is where the problem lies and a separate data recovery module has to be incorporated into the software to ensure complete recovery.

Technical Aspect of the Problem

Segmenting refers to manipulating a Volume so as to increase its size. This redistribution of disk space creates a Volume which may occupy space spanned across more than one disk. This Volume is called a Segmented Volume since it exists in 'segments' across one or more disks. A Volume may be spanned across as many as 32 disks. For Example: Say, a disk consists of 2 volumes, one of which is almost full up and needs additional space. Netware has a feature using which disk space, usually from a separate disk, can be added to an existing volume.

Regular data recovery software usually scans one disk at a time, but segmented volumes may be spanned across multiple disks, which is what creates the difficulty in the recovery of segmented volumes. Phoenix Novell's advanced software engine can recover data from segmented volumes.

Technical Aspect of the Solution

Phoenix Novell is a Windows based application and can only be installed on a Windows based hard disk. Therefore, the failed Novell based disk needs to be attached as a secondary to a Windows based disk with Phoenix installed in it. After the damaged disk is attached, Phoenix needs to be run from the working disk.

The software scans the selected volume of the damaged secondary disk to search for lost or missing partitions and displays the list. The software has a special algorithm to determine whether the contents of a volume are spanned across multiple disks. If a segmented volume is detected, the entire volume (across multiple disks) is scanned and the result displayed in an easy to understand tree structure. Any number of files may then be recovered.

Working of Phoenix Novell

The damaged server disk needs to be connected as a secondary to a working Windows based disk with Phoenix Novell installed in it. The software is then run to start the recovery process.

Clicking 'Select Netware Partition' will display a list of hard disks with their respective volumes. Select the damaged volume on the server disk to start the scan process. The software then scans the selected volume (traveling across multiple disks if need be) and displays the entire list of found data.

Any number of files can be selected for recovery, and clicking 'Recover Selected' will restore the selected files. Alternatively, clicking 'Recover Deleted' will recover all the files listed in the displayed list of files. If the recovery is not satisfactory or if some of the files are recovered improperly, clicking Tools -> Change Linking Mode -> Contiguous Mode will change the linking mode to Contiguous which is a much more comprehensive scan

Buy award winning hard drive data recovery software and utilities or try the demos free.Stellar offers a complete solution of file recovery software and lost data restoration programs for Windows (Windows 95, 98, ME, NT, 2000, 2003, XP),Apple Macintosh, Novell, Linux, Unix operating system and FAT, NTFS,NTFS5,HFS, HFS+, NWFS, EXT2 and EXT3 file systems. Offers data recovery software,data recovery services for hard drive recovery and data safety software services for your computer. Buy award winning data recovery utilities, data eraser and safety software in India, United States, United Kingdom Datenrettung Software |Recupero Dati

Get Your Deleted Files Back Using Google Desktop And Web Pages Using Google Web Search

2009-01-02T17:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Shabda Raaj

You are clearing all the junk on your hard disk. Shift+Del. Shift+Del. Shift+Del. Oops you just deleted that most important file. Now if you have google desktop search installed you may get back your data. Search for the file name, say "veryimportant.doc" and sort by relevence. Your file must be visble. Next to the description you will find a link called cache. If you click, you will be taken to a webpage which will contain the content of that file. Google keeps a cache of files on your desktop so that they may be easily searched. You are using that cache to get back your file.

How to get your website back without a backup.
Imagine this.You create a website. Burn the midnight lamp on all that CSS, HTML and what not. And just after you upload your website your server crashes. No backups. Are you doomed? Google to the rescue. This is based on the fact that google keeps a cache of all websites they crawl. And you can view that cache.

Suppose your site is xyz.net

In google search box type site:xyz.net Google will show all the pages of your site. But if you want to visit them, obviously you can't. Your webhost has just lost them. Google to rescue. Next to your website address, there is a link called cached. If you click this link you will be taken to a page which will contain text of your webpage. So if you have some time to waste and data to recover, You can get all your pages back. (Sans the css and images.)

Shabda Raaj is a freelance webdesigner and programmer. Tutorials from him can be found at http://free-tutorials.blogspot.com/

How To Prevent External Hard Drive Failure

2009-01-01T17:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Andrea Stone

A method of data storage that has become increasingly popular is the use of external hard drives. Home computer users today have more data than ever, and many find that the storage capacity of their computer's hard drive is not sufficient. As the usage of external hard drives increases, there is also a rise in the number of external hard drive failures. Listed below are various physical problems that cause external hard drive failure:

Accidentally Dropped the External Hard Drive

There have been many cases where the external drive has been accidentally dropped by the user. Many of these hard drives are designed to sit upright on a flat surface. This can cause the drive to be susceptible to tipping over. The easiest way to prevent this from happening is to allow the external hard drive to lay flat instead of upright. This can prevent tipping. Otherwise, you should place the drive in a safe location away from the edges of a surface.

Twisted Electrical Cords and Cables

Many times, twisted cords and cables can cause an external hard drive to be pulled off a surface onto the floor. It is always important to make sure cords and cables are not twisted and are a sufficient length to reach from the computer to an electrical outlet.

Using the Wrong Power Cord

If you have several different power cords in the vicinity of your external hard drive, it is important to make sure you are using the correct power cord with your hard drive. There have been many instances where a user has plugged a different power cord into their external hard drive causing a power surge which will overheat the hard drive.

Power Surges from Lightning Strikes

It is important to always power down and unplug your external hard drive during a lightning storm. A power surge from lightning strikes can cause external hard drive failure by overheating the hard drive.

Contact a Data Recovery Company If You Have Experienced External Hard Drive Failure

If the data on the hard drive is worth preserving, you can contact a data recovery company to recover the data. A data recovery lab can repair or replace the damaged internal parts of the hard disk and retrieve any existing data.

External hard drives are a popular method of data storage. By following the tips above, you can protect your external hard drive and ensure that your data remains safe.

This article can be freely published on a website however it must not be modified in any way including the author bylines, and the hyperlink must be made active as shown below.

Andrea Stone is employed with ReWave Hard Drive Recovery, a worldwide data recovery company. Visit the ReWave Hard Drive Recovery website for more information about external hard drive failure and data recovery.

Why Should You Have A Ups Battery

2008-12-31T17:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Joseph Then

You only need to have a power surge once to mess up your entire life's work on a computer. The precious hours that you spend on compiling information and doing important work can all be lost in one split second. With a UPS battery, you can save yourself a lot of aggravation and even may save your job.

You should have a battery hooked to your computer for protection. If you have a black out where you loose all power to your computer, the UPS battery backup will allow you precious time to save your date and shut down your computer properly.

A UPS battery will protect your system from some very terrible power problems. When there are power transients, which are brief surges in voltage caused by lightning strikes or when electricity turns off. UPS batteries will also help assist in line noise, which is when you have interference from electrical appliances.

All of the above power problems can damage your desktop and hurt or lose your data. A battery will provide power to keep your system running and give you the chance to save valuable data and allow you to shut down your system the right way. Some of the UPS batteries even include software that automatically saves and shuts down your system if you are not around when it happens.

UPS batteries are better then just surge protectors. They both are able to handle power surges, but a UPS battery will give you backup power. You will have the precious minutes that it takes to shut down your computer so that there is no permanent damage done to your computer and to the files on your computer.

If you do anything that has any importance to you or someone else on a computer, you defiantly need to have a UPS battery for your system. There is no other choice when it comes to protecting your job or personal information. UPS battery backups are not expensive and they can be purchase almost anywhere. It is a small price to pay when you know what it can save you in lost time and money.

When you are ready to get a battery backup for your computer, you can order one online or you can get them through catalogs or computer stores. No matter where you decide to buy your UPS battery, you will save so much in the end.

For more information on the batteries, please visit http://www.rechargable-nimh-batteries.info

How To Do Data Recovery Data Security Data Backup The Right Way

2008-12-30T17:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Jon Arnold

One of the most frightening things that can happen to a person is to lose the data off of their hard drive. Many of us store personal and business information on our computers. The thought of losing data due to a crashed or failed hard drive or perhaps a breach of data security sends chills down the spine of every grown man and woman. Once you except that you did not back up your data you need begin the data recovery process.

What exactly are your data recovery options once your hard drive crashes? First of all, stop using the computer immediately. It is not suggested that you run any data recovery software that came with your computer as this software can overwrite the original files. The next step is to allow a hard disk recovery company to restore your pertinent files. Contact a reputable company immediately. There are a few companies who come right to your home, but at-home data recovery computer services charge more. Certain computer files, such as DWG files (a complex graphics file format), require a specialist in order to be recovered. If there is damage to the hard drive you may not be able to recover your files. A hard drive crashing is an instance where data recovery is possible. If your data security is breached you may never recover what is stolen.

The best way to avoid compromised data security is to put safeguards in place. A few data security measures are encryption, antivirus and firewall protection. Data security such as encryption translates data into a secret code. To read an encrypted file you must have access to the key or password that enables you to decrypt it. There are many software programs and services that provide data encryption services depending on your data security needs. Additional data security measures such as antivirus and firewall protection provide further data protection. Some software programs have the ability to provide both antivirus and firewall protection for overall data security.

One way to avoid the mess of data recovery is to perform regular backups. Basic computer maintenance includes full and incremental backups. It is recommended that you perform a full backup once a week. An incremental backup is a backup that backs up only the files modified since the last backup and depending on your needs you can schedule this to run every day. It's also beneficial if you have a copy of your data offsite. When you need to access this data you can either open the offsite data program and run it, or log on via the web to access your data. You will want to check with your service provider how to perform data recovery if needed.

Data recovery either from a crashed hard drive or lost through compromised data security can be a frustrating and devastating experience. The best situation is to avoid the loss of data all together. With regular computer backups and data security measures in place your computer data will remain where it needs to be, on your hard drive and easily accessible.

Some people balk at the cost of protecting their data, as well as the time involved in doing secure backups. But what they fail to consider is the cost of their lost personal and productivity time that is spent trying to recover data that could be recovered in literally MINUTES if they had properly safe-guarded the data in the first place! If your computer data files are the lifeblood of your business and/or personal life, the time and money involved in protecting that data adequately and properly cannot be determined by a dollar value.

Jon is a computer engineer who maintains many websites to pass along his knowledge and findings. You can read more about data recovery, data backup and data security at his web site at http://all-about-data.com/

Mac Data Recovery Explained

2008-12-29T17:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Stu Pearson

HPS and HFS+ are the Apple Macintosh systems for referencing stored data and hard drives. HFS and HFS+ data recovery methods are uniquely adept for Apple and are not to be confused with NTFS and "fat file" systems, used by Microsoft.

So what are some examples of errors that might require data recovery for Mac's?

- Unreadable disks
- General disk errors
- No Volume (or Volume that isn't HFS)
- An uninstalled drive
- Computer cannot find the directory
- Internal file system errors
- Flawed master directory block
- Non-Macintosh disks
- Improper file names
- Segment Loader Error

If you use a Mac, whether for business or pleasure, you must protect your valuable data from hackers, viruses, human error, power surges, hard drive failures, and other unexpected problems. The most essential step to keeping your data safe is to back up files regularly you should always be prepared for the worst-case scenario. Files, databases, emails, spreadsheets, and all other important data can be easily salvaged if this step is taken.

Mac's and PC's both offer limited solutions for data loss. Mac's are especially susceptible to data loss! But with data recovery, all bets are on.

When encountering data recovery problems, don't try and fix the problem alone. A hard drive is complicated and repair requires special tools, a clean room environment, and expert technological know-how. If you attempt to take on this task by yourself, not only may you be unable to retrieve the data, but you may also incur further damage on the drive.

But that's okay, because data recovery assistance and service is only a call away. Skilled technicians can evaluate the lost data and instruct you on how to solve the problem. But don't expect the job to be done in one day. This kind of repair is challenging; it can take almost a week before your data is recovered.

Stu Pearson has an interest in Business & Technology related topics. To access more information on retrieve data or on data recovery software, please click on the links.

Damaged Hard Drive Recovery

2008-12-28T17:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Eric Morris

A hard drive failure is an unexpected event. A buzzing or ticking sound might be the only indication before all the ongoing work is lost in a matter of seconds. Since so much data is stored on the hard drives, data recovery procedures become a must in case of disk failure.

A hard drive may get damaged either internally or externally. Internal damage maybe caused by corrupt software, bad file structure or virus attacks. This is known as logical failure. When a component of the hard drive is damaged due to power fluctuations or heavy impact, it is known as physical failure. Both these cases can be rectified to recover the data on the hard drive.

The nature of the problem should be analyzed. The user can run disk utilities such as ?Scandisk? to determine if there are any problems with the hard drive. Such utilities scan the complete disk area for bad and lost sectors. Some utilities determine if there is any physical damage to the disk. Damaged data can usually be rectified by these normal utilities. The data in bad sectors can be copied to another location. If the basic disk utilities do not work, the user can go in for the high-end data recovery softwares available in the market. This software can recover almost all types of data losses.

However, if there is any physical damage to the disk, it will require expert help. Dedicated professionals effectively evaluate the damage and determine how much data can be recovered. Once the client approval is received, these professionals use state-of-the-art technology and methods to extract data from such drives. Magnetometers are a common instrument used to extract data bits from the drives to rebuild the disk image. General repairs such as fixing the reading head or the circuit board can also be performed.

Damaged hard drive recovery is not an impossible task if proper care is taken. Expert help should be taken where necessary in order to achieve best results.

Data Recovery 3 Steps To Fix It

2008-12-27T17:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Troy King

When do you need data recovery help? There are going to be those times when you just delete the wrong file or lose your data when your computer somehow loses power. But, what about the event of hard drive failure? What in the world can you do then to repair the lost data that you have? There are several things that you will want to do to get that data back. Luckily, today's computers are often powerful tools that have some helpful strategies to prevent and restore these problems.

Step 1: Determine what has happened. If you find that you have an error message on your screen, jot it down. That is a clue as to what happened. You may need to contact your provider to access help. If your data is gone, and you can not find it in your recycle bin, keep track of what happened.

Step 2: Try your recovery system. Most computers today have a back up that will save what you are working on as you are working on it. This can be helpful in providing you with the necessary help you need in finding files that are just lost.

Step 3: If these things are not enough to restore any of the data that you have lost, or you have had a hard drive crash, it is essential to use a good quality data recovery product or software tool to help in restoring at least some of it. If your system does not come with this, which most do not, you will need to purchase it. But, it can help to restore data that is far more worthwhile to you when you think that everything is gone.

Even with data recovery software and the best computer technicians, not everything can be successfully recovered. If nothing else, you can learn from this and keep everything on your computer backed up onto a removable disk. Consider doing this at least weekly if you use your computer for quite a bit of storage, monthly otherwise.

Troy H. King is an editor at BusinessSoftwareAndTools.com where you can find more articles about data recovery solutions.

What Is Data Recovery

2008-12-26T17:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Pushkar Sinha

Retrieving deleted/inaccessible data from electronic storage media (hard drives, removable media etc...)

Typical causes of data loss include:

o Electro-mechanical Failure

o Natural Disaster

o Viruses

o Data Corruption

o Sabotage

o Human Error

Is Data Recovery important?

Over the past years, hard drives have gotten a lot quieter and faster, with capacities of more then 350 GB. The downside is that their consistency is far from perfect, and the devices are often burdened with mechanical failures, this warning however is never mentioned in the vendors' product specifications.

Our experience for over a decade shows that users can be sub-divided into two groups. The first group of users is well informed or has already experienced the sting of losing data. In cases such as these, the user is careful to back up information such as emails, photos, document files and financial data on a CD/DVD or other media, at least on an asymmetrical basis. A corporate user has the IT department or an administrator one who takes care of his backups. Digital assets are thus protected however still a virus attack, hardware failure or simply human error can destroy this critical asset. However, this group is a small minority.

The other group lives with an enduring risk, either because they aren't aware of the possible horror scenario or often it is the case, they don't take it seriously enough. It should be clear to everyone that any multifaceted component at any day may fail to provide its services. If such a scenario occurs, then all the data stored exclusively on a hard drive would most likely be lost.

So when this nightmare happens and your hard drive is clearly damaged, people pick up the phone and call data recovery firms, which have the necessary equipment and lab infrastructure to do the required job. According to Imation's Small Business Survey Special Report conducted in April 2003.

30 percent of small businesses admit they have no formal data backup and storage procedures, or do not implement their procedures consistently.

"Fifty-five percent of small businesses rated themselves as "fair" or "poor" in terms of having a documented disaster recovery plan, or do not have one at all."

"Review and evaluation of data backup and storage procedures is not a common practice among small businesses."

"The majority of small companies" backup critical data on a daily basis and daily backups are more common among companies that deal with higher volumes of data. But one in three small businesses still wait until there is a problem before reviewing and evaluating their backup and storage procedures."

"Moreover, 21 percent said that they are doing a "fair" or "poor" job of periodically removing important business data offsite a vital procedure to protect businesses from physical disaster. An additional 13 percent of small businesses admitted to not removing backup files at all that's 34 percent at risk".

Data Recovery Techniques

Basic questions which needs to be answered before recovery process

1. What is the data which needs to be recovered?

2. What type of hard drive is it?

3. How much data is on the hard drive?

4. What happened when the drive failed?

5. How fast do you need the data?

Recovering critical data is a specialized process that requires the right software, hardware and advanced techniques. In many failure-related cases, the chances of recovering data from a damaged hard drive range from 90-100%. If the electronic system is the only thing affected, then the drive can often be reused after the electronic control panel has been replaced. If, on the other hand, the defect is of a mechanical nature, then recovery will be a bit more difficult, which can be taken care at any specialized data recovery services companies lab.

If it is problem related to the file system, which has caused inaccessibility of the data then it can be recovered using data recovery software, an independent review has been posted on my website which lists the best in the field and helps you to identify the correct solution.

The review report is available on this link http://www.protostech.info/windows-data-recovery-review.htm.

Member of Reverse Engineering Group, a writer of various articles on Data Recovery & Storage Techniques

Why Bother With Data Backups

2008-12-25T17:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Paul Wilcox

Computers have become a daily need for most people. We use computers for all types of things including entertainment, work, and corresponding with others. Most of the files on our computers are important and we don't want to risk losing them since that would be a loss of money and time. The best way that you can prevent file loss is by doing backups.

Don't believe that backups are just for large companies, computer experts, or a job that you'll do when you have time for it. Backups are necessary for anyone who has a computer. One day your computer will fail, even if it has been running fine for many years. You'll eventually get a virus or your computer will fail from age.

There are two things that will occur on the day your computer fails: (1) you'll lose great amounts of music, passwords, financial and personal information, pictures, and software, or (2) you'll be able to replace or repair your computer and restore all your information from the backups that you've make on a regular basis. The first option will be a disaster while the second choice is just mildly annoying.

There are many ways that you can lose data on your computer. This includes the failure of computer hardware or damage from floods or fires. Your computer hard drive can potentially be damaged by surges of power that come from lightning. Or you may lose data if your child hits keys randomly on the keyboard. As well, a virus can erase your hard drive or infect your computer system.

The only way that you can get your data back is to have it available to be restored.

What to Backup?

For most users it won't be necessary that every file on their computer is backed up since this would require a lot of storage space. At the very least PC users should do a backup of their personal files and software that they can't replace. This includes such information as legal documents, financial records in spread sheets, and any work that they have in progress.

Backup don't need to be complicated.

The easiest and fastest way to do a backup is to use software that is included with the operating system. Windows has a backup program that is free to use. At the same time you can get similar backup programs for Linux, Mac, and other operating systems. This type of software is very simple to use and all you have to do is choose which files you want to back up. Some programs even have a scheduler so that your computer will do backups at certain times.

For a small cost you can buy backup software that will back up only those files which have been changed after a last backup or a particular date. As well, you can copy new files every day to a backup folder where they will then be backed up by the program. You can use your computer's "Search" option to identify which files are newer than a certain date. When the list has been completed they are copied to the backup folder. This allows you to run the software program for that folder only.

Data, such as your email, can be a bit more difficult to backup. You can configure some email clients so that they keep a copy of the email that you have sent and received onto the mail server. If this isn't an option you might be able to export your email messages to a folder which can be backed up later.

You can do backups for any type of media that is removable, such as removable hard drives, keychain devices (which plug into a USB port on your computer), or writable DVDs/CDs. In some cases you can even still use a floppy disc because some documents will take up very little space. All you have to do is use about seven discs and rotate them every week.

Doing a daily backup is just one more thing that you'll need to do in your already busy schedule. However, the day that you lose that one file you really need and can't get back you'll find that you're a lot busier.

Paul Wilcox writes about virus protection, internet security and other related topics for the Internet Security Squad website. Sign up for my free newsletter and receive my special report "How To Lock Your Computer Down - Internet Security in 2006" at http://www.internetsecuritysquad.com/freereport

Real Time Data Management

2008-12-24T17:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Max Bellamy

Real time data management is vital for providing decision-makers in any enterprise immediate insight into changing business events and reducing information delays. This also helps in improving revenue and reducing risks. A wide number of real time data services are available nowadays. They can capture and distribute the data non-intrusively via a message bus (JMS, TIBCO, MQSeries) with little or no custom coding, making the database a proactive, real time player in an IT infrastructure. Real time data management services deliver data instantly from any database to any application. Real time data services are also important in e-commerce and online stock trading which need databases to process trade requests within their deadlines.

Real time data management systems process streams of data and usually these work with multiple streams at the same time. Real time data management requires advanced, event processing technology. Real time databases store, query, and manage event streams in a different way when compared to traditional data processing. The Complex Event Processing (CEP) in real time data management can identify patterns in the multiple streams of data and enables organizations to act on those patterns in real time.

Business enterprises aim to achieve the goal of real-time information flow as a way to offer better services more responsively, and at a lower cost. Real time data management systems provided by dedicated agencies find use in military and aerospace applications. These systems offer the technology for national railways, air traffic control, traffic monitoring, mission-critical combat systems, financial transaction processing and industrial automation. The real time defense information networking, which helps to efficiently deliver time-critical data to multiple applications in distributed systems, is a great advantage. The US military also relies on such companies for their distributed real time systems.

How To Effectively Back Up Your Data

2008-12-23T17:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Joel Gering

What to backup, and what to lose

The oldest "computer expression" is that there are two kinds of computer users, those that backup their data and those that will. Often, it takes a "data disaster" to compel otherwise responsible people to make a regular habit of backing up their data. Still, the majority of computer users do not back up their data.

According to Computer World, the annual cost to recover lost data per laptop is over $800.00 per year. This amounts to billions of dollars per year spent nationally to recover (or not recover) data that has been lost due to users not backing up their data. Critical data files are often stored on personal computers and laptops and often not subject to regular backup.

If backup is so important, then why don't most people do it?

The truth is, backing up data from your computer to CDs, memory sticks, other computers, and network hard drives is inconvenient. It takes time out of a busy day. Most backup utilities require the users attention to start, monitor, and close the process. Backup takes time from the user that can be better spent doing something else. Backup is boring, since it may disable or tie up your computer while the backup is taking place.

So what data should I back up?

The simple answer is any file that you would miss if you did not have it. This includes documents, presentations, spreadsheets, accounting data, and other data files. Also include your Favorites folder, telephone directory, appointment calendar, and tasks. It may also include pictures, music, family video, and any other data that is significant, especially if lost.

Look at all of the programs that you use regularly. Find the data files that these programs and mark these for regular backup. Often these files are not behind your MY Documents folder.

For example, if you use Quicken or QuickBooks, the important data files are saved in a folder behind the Quicken or QuickBooks program. In Microsoft Windows XP, these files could be under Documents and Settings/user/Application Data. In addition, the Application Data file may also contain important information that aids in your ability to use many of your favorite programs. If you do not know how to get to these files, consult an expert to help you determine what files to choose for regular backup.

How often should I back up?

Think of this question another way if my hard disk crashed, or I dropped my laptop, or it got stolen at the airport, how much time will it take me to re-create the active data that I just lost? What would it cost you to lose a day's worth of data and to recreate it? How much time would it take to reconfigure your computer with the tools, configurations, short cuts, and links that you have spent years accumulating? Remember the Computer World data, the average cost per laptop for lost data is $800.00 per year. What is your billing rate? How much will it cost you to start over?

Some of us use our computers the entire day. That means that if we back up daily, then the most time that we would spend redoing the work would be less than a day's worth of time. If you are an occasional user, then you may need to backup less frequently.

Once you have made your list, then you are ready to back up. Here is my partial list of backup files that would cause me great pain if they were not backed up:

Outlook.pst - Emails, Tasks, Contacts, and Calendar

My Documents - Word documents, Excel spreadsheets, PowerPoint presentations, Quickbooks

Favorites (these are my Internet bookmarks that I have spent years building up)

Documents and Settings/user/application data (be selective here. You will most likely not need temporary files generated from web pages).

Goldmine data files and email attachments

What's the Solution?

The solution is to find a backup solution that is invisible to the user and does not create a "backup event" that must be scheduled from a person's busy day. So hold this thought for the moment.

Once you have determined which files to back up regularly, you must decide where to store this data. In the early days of computing, we used to back up to floppy disks. Now, our files are huge and often too large for floppy disks. CD ROMs are popular for backup and will now hold over 750 MB of data. DVDs can also be used for backup and how many times more data than CD ROMS.

At the beginning of this article, I said that backup is inconvenient and that is why most people don't do it. Therefore lets find solutions that are convenient. Not just convenient, but invisible like an insurance policy that just works.

If you are a lone computer user and are not on a network, the best solution is to get an external hard drive that plugs into your USB port. These data storage devices are relatively cheap for the benefit that they provide. Follow this link for examples of these products: http://www.google.com/froogle?q=USB+Hard+drive. If you are using Windows XP, then you can use the Windows Synchronize utility found in XP. To use, copy all of your data to the external drive. Then install the Windows Synchronize utility to automatically keep your files up to date when you plug the external drive into your computer. When you travel with your laptop computer, leave the USB hard drive at home. Never carry it in your computer bag. If you are backing up your desktop, take the USB hard drive with you or at least store it at a location separate from your desktop in case of fire or other disaster.

If you are on a network, such as a home or business network, set aside some backup space on a hard drive on the network or on another computer. Hard drives are cheap. If you need more space than is available, buy another hard drive and install it on another computer. Use Windows Synchronize utility to keep the data synced.

If you use a laptop or work in different locations, a new product called BeInSync automatically makes the connection over the Internet between your laptop and a designated target computer for syncing files. BeInSync updates, automatically and invisibly any and all files designated for syncing. It even allows you to sync files with friends and business associates. Since it works in the background, it does not require a backup event and impose itself on the user's busy day.

Follow this link to get more information on BeInSync: http://www.beinsync.com/?rfrid=BIS-P-1038. One important note about BeInSync is that it will sync everything in the My Document folder. Move My Music, My Videos, and other large folders out of the My Documents before enabling BeInSync.

What's the bottom line on backup?

The bottom line on backup is that it is absolutely necessary for everyone that has something to lose if his or her computer was lost, stolen, or simply failed from regular use. There is a wide variety of solutions in the marketplace to keep your data backed up. Spend the time to explore and implement your back up solution. If you are not technical, hire an expert to create a solution that works for you. It will be some of the best money that you will spend.

Eric Guth and Joel Gering are owners of http://www.ProtectMyLaptop.com and SecureTrieve and are experts in the areas of computer troubleshooting and creating and maintaining networks for small businesses and homes. They have over 25 years of hands on experience in data management, data security, and remote data recovery.

Quotfor Want Of A Nailquot Back Up Early Back Up Often

2008-12-22T17:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Scott Flora

Most of us know the old saying beginning, "For want of a nail, the shoe was lost." This unfortunate tale leads from the loss of the horseshoe to the loss of the battle and finally the kingdom.

In mid-December, it was the loss of a piece of plastic the size of a pea that led to the destruction of our database and bookkeeping computer. It was a cold Thursday in Colorado Springs when our bookkeeper came to me and told me her computer wouldn't start. Computers that don't start usually need new power supplies. I ran out, bought one, and installed it. Unfortunately, the computer still didn't start.

I dug deeper into the computer and discovered my little piece of plastic had broken and the power switch wasn't connecting correctly. I put the computer back together with the switch hanging outside the computer case so our bookkeeper could continue her projects.

A half hour later, the computer was sounding like a diesel truck idling at a stoplight. I opened it up and found that one of the unused power cables from the new power supply had fallen into the fan for the main CPU chip and had broken several of the vanes on the fan. The fan was vibrating unmercifully and needed to be replaced.

Here comes my fatal mistake. I removed the fan to take it to the computer store. Since it was only a small fan cooling the chip, I turned the computer back on to see if it would work. The smell of burning plastic filled the air, and the computer worked no more.

A new chip was $100 and had to be ordered. The computer store guys couldn't promise something else in the computer wasn't burned up as well. I spent Friday getting a spare computer up and running. After a tense few hours, I got the data off the hard drive. I spent the weekend loading software onto the new computer.

By Monday morning, the new bookkeeping computer was working, but some information was missing and many processes were changed. The burned-up computer still sits in pieces awaiting a decision.

Most longtime computer users can share similar tales of data lost. Hard-drive crashes, viruses, theft, fire, and flood can all wipe out your data and possibly damage your business.

There are many solutions to backing up data. Disks, tapes, and online backups are all good potential solutions for protecting information on your computer.

Our database/accounting information and the "My Documents" folders on individual computers are backed up onto a server computer daily. Our problem was that the more elusive information like the e-mail files and those tucked on the desktop were not backed up regularly. Now they are.

For individual computers, we use Roxio Easy CD and DVD Creator onto a CD or DVD. I try to back up weekly and then find out it's been a month.

It is important for you to locate all the files you want to back up. E-mail files like Outlook and Eudora in Windows are not stored in the "My Documents" folder. Sometimes these e-mails are the most critical of all your information.

Another important point is to store your backup disks off site on a regular basis. If theft, fire, or flood should occur, most of your data will be recovered.

Backing up takes time, but not as much time as recovering all your data from your paper files. Almost every computer user wishes, at some time, they had backed up ten minutes earlier. Back up often and save your kingdom.

Scott Flora is the Vice President of About Books, Inc. ABI is a consulting company helping authors and publishers edit, design and print their books. Scott is also the Executive Director of the Small Publishers Association of North America (SPAN - http://www.spannet.org). More information at http://www.about-books.com or call 719-632-8226.

Smart Way To Prevent Data Loss

2008-12-21T17:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Vitali Priadkine

Many computer users take hard drive reliability for granted, not even thinking about minimal possibility of drive crash. They suppose that hard disk drive manufacturers have done a great improvement to their products towards disk reliability. And they have, but the reality is that all disks die eventually. Even if you have a recent backup, sudden disk failure is a minor catastrophe. How can we protect ourselves from a sudden hard drive crash? One of the ways is through SMART (Self-Monitoring Analysis and Reporting Technology) by predicting future failures.

The essential moment is that the user should understand how drives fail and why. There are two classes of failures the hard disk can suffer: unpredictable and predictable.

Unpredictable failures happen suddenly, without warning and can be caused by catastrophic events, handling damage, static electricity or an electronic component burning out, and there is nothing that can be done to foresee or stay away from them.

Predictable ones are 60% mechanical and occur gradually over time. The degradation of drive performance may include head crashes, head contamination, bad solder joints, bad curcuit board connections, motor break down, worn down bearing, spinning inability, excessive run out, bad servo positioning.

Most hard drives lose their performance slowly, and the disk is able to monitor and diagnose many elements' condition through SMART, providing an early warning for many types of problems. When a potential problem is detected, the drive can be repaired or replaced before any loss of data.

This technology has developed to be industry standard for drive manufacturers and allows checking hard drive status, reporting it and providing some estimation for future failure date. SMART has been able to predict a gradual degradation of the disk. The original SMART spec (SFF-8035i) was written by a group of disk drive manufacturers. In 1995, parts of SFF-8035i were merged into the ATA-3 standard. Starting with the ATA-4 standard, the requirement for the disks to maintain an internal Attribute table was dropped. Instead, now, the disks simply return an OK or NOT OK response to an inquiry about their health. A negative response indicates that the disk firmware has determined that the disk is likely to fail. The ATA-5 standard added an ATA error log and commands to run disk self-tests to the SMART command set.

Self-Monitoring, Analysis and Reporting Technology systems (SMART) are built in to most modern ATA and SCSI hard disks. SMART disk drives internally monitor their own health and performance. SMART technology features include a set of attributes, which determine reliability-prediction parameters of drive and should not be exceeded under normal operation. Each attribute has an identification number (ID). Some types of reliability parameters are:

- Distance between the heads and the disk platters;
- Faulty sectors;
- Recalibration;
- Drive spin-up time;
- Drive temperature;
- Characteristics of the media;
- Motor and servomechanisms.

Attribute value is a positive integral number, usually in the range from 1 to 253. Initially, all attributes have maximum values. A value of 100 or 200 will often be chosen as the "normal" value. Some attributes are considered life-critical and others are just "informative". In case of hard drive wearing or when some components of the disk are about to fail, attributes indicate decreasing amount of values. Consequently, high values determine high reliability of the drive and low values low reliability or high possibility of drive failure. Specific threshold is assigned to each attribute. Once the value drops below this threshold, SMART considers the disk to be faulty, which means it becomes very dangerous to store data on this drive.

Currently, the SMART system can detect about 70% of all hard drive errors. Its main shortcoming is that it doesn't provide a direct mechanism for informing the OS or the user if problems are found. In fact, because disk SMART status is frequently not monitored, many disk problems go undetected until they lead to a catastrophic failure.

Monitoring a drive's behavior, SMART has the purpose of warning a user about the threat of drive collapse while time remains to take preventive action, such as back up the data to a replacement device. So why not use SMART monitor programs freely available on Internet to cut these problems off at the pass?

It Emergencies How To Plan For Them

2008-12-20T17:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Joshua Feinberg

In a perfect world, there should be no IT emergencies, but it doesn't work that way. Handling IT emergencies are critical to maintaining your customer base and a great opportunity to acquire new business. You cannot afford to staff up to every peak, nor can you afford to fail to meet the needs of an existing client.

Don't Overschedule Your Staff

Generally, you want to schedule at about 75 percent capacity for technical people that don't have sales responsibilities or management responsibilities. This leaves about 25 percent flexibility for non-billable projects, IT emergencies, and new business targets.

There will be peaks that you cannot meet. Then it is all-hands-on-deck and the ability to do triage among customers as well as for a single customer becomes important. This is the time when standardizing pays off

If you're booking someone out in the field for a full day, schedule them eight to 11 in the morning and do the afternoon appointment from one to four. This leaves you some time.

Explain IT Emergencies To Your Clients

Also clients that you have long-term relationships with do understand when emergencies come up and will excuse a rescheduled maintenance appointment. After all, they want to know that you will respond to their IT emergencies too.

If you need to call them and tell them that you're stuck at a client emergency--the server's down, lightening struck, or there was a fire or whatever-- most long-term clients are pretty understanding if you're running an hour or two late. It really boils down to keeping the communications open, staying in contact with people, making best use of your resources and just don't over schedule on the routine stuff.

The Bottom Line about IT Emergencies

The project work is a lot more predictable generally because you're going to know the requirements a couple of weeks to a couple months ahead of time. Be sure to build some slack time into the schedule to accommodate IT emergencies.

Copyright MMI-MMVI, Computer Consultants Secrets. All Worldwide Rights Reserved. {Attention Publishers: Live hyperlink in author resource box required for copyright compliance}

Joshua Feinberg helps computer consultants get more steady, high-paying clients. Learn how you can too. Sign-up now for Joshua's free Computer Consultants Secrets audio training.

Hard Disk Drive Data Recovery

2008-12-19T17:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Diana Osan

Many people have thought, especially when they experience a catastrophic data loss that a hard disk drive failure can't happen to something that hasn't last for 15 years or so. They believe that hard disk drives are impossible to break down, thus the physical hard drive crash problem is not something they expect. The truth of the matter is, today's hard disk drives run fast, run hot, and as a result can break. There is simply nothing you can do to avoid it. But, there is a best way to save yourself money in situation where a hard disk drive data recovery is necessary back up your data.

But, what if you did not back up your data and your drive?

The solution for that is so simple consider a hard disk drive data recovery service. Note that a hard disk drive data recovery is highly appropriate in situations when your hard drive has physically failed. And, since today's hard disk technology is simply complicated, you must not perform a hard disk drive data recovery by yourself. Look for a hard disk drive data recovery services and let the expert do the job for you.

Most of the hard disk drive data recovery experts today set their hard disk drive data recovery as their primary business. They then work to help people recover lost files that are very important to them. As such, it's no wonder that most hard disk drive data recovery companies are composed of trained staff of hard disk drive data recovery experts who will ensure that the contents of your hard disk are recovered and returned to you intact.

However, prior to bringing your hard disk drive to a hard disk drive data recovery shop for data recovery and repair, you should first know the real problem. Below is a checklist that you can consult if you think you may need a hard disk drive data recovery service.

Have you lost a few files?
Is your computer not booting properly?
Has your hard disk drive made buzzing and clinking noises?
Did you experience the so-called "the blue screen of death" and if so, what was the error message?

Once you have the answers to these questions, you are then ready to take a hard disk drive data recovery. It is necessary to choose, however, the right hard disk drive data recovery company as in today's highly technological era where thousands of companies offering hard disk drive data recovery services, finding the right service can be difficult. If possible, ask your friends or family members for certain recommendations. You might just be surprised to know how much hard disk drive data recovery experts they know.

Selecting The Best Data Recovery Software Available

2008-12-18T17:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Nic Ricciuti

Computers have evolved in the last decade and have proven to be one of the most important pieces of equipment required in a company. Companies such as Linux and Microsoft upgrade and create new programs almost every 5 years which are faster and better than the previous models.

Lost data is not always a problem of lack of efficiency of the operators or equipment, most times data loss will be consequence of a human mistake or a computer virus. The only way to avoid such things from happening will be to install safeguard features to enable the user to recover those files.

This process was first introduced in the MS-DOS 6 operating system which many programs still require to function. There is another way to recover lost data if the safeguards in the computer don't work.

The affected computer user needs to acquire a specific data recovery software that will render him capable of managing, controlling and solving this problem from his house without the need of professional assistance. There are many kinds of data recovery software that can be purchased on the market.

Most recovery programs work after the command lines, and therefore there is no need of accessing the main operating platform, which may be the source of data corruption. Other programs can even bring the document back even if the hard disk has already been formatted.

The system restore function is an option featured by many recovery programs, and will grant the user with the possibility of restoring his hard drive to an earlier time, when everything was functioning efficiently. This works even when the hard drive fails and will recover not one but all the documents that were once stored there.

Every user willing to acquire a data recovery program, needs to check the different possibilities of each and every single one of them, and study their individual efficiency, mainly because most available programs today promise results but are unable to grant them. The individual can read up on these to know what is possible and what is simply unrealistic at present.

A good source of information on data recovery software can be found surfing the web or in specialized magazines.

It is not a surprise that most data recovery software can be found as cheap as $100. Some users are satisfied with the product which sometimes performs better and faster than others which are more costly but perform the same processes and gives the same results.

Friends are also great sources of information when choosing the best data recovery software. These people have surely experienced this problem in the past and know what programs there really work.

You should only consider the possibility of contacting a professional when all the other options have been exhausted. This is because these people are trained to handle this situation using the most advanced software available to attack the problem and solve it, but they obviously require more money.

Even in the scenario where you do not recall all the names for your lost files, professionals can open these files to give the customer a preview of the document before actually recovering it.

You are also capable of using a boot media for your data recovery. This can recover information that has been lost if the hard drive was damaged or if the user downloaded a corrupted file from the internet that contained a virus or similar malware.

There are many data recovery software programs available today, either online or offline. The person should probably do a comparison first of those that are available before selecting which one to bring home.

There is no need to panic when facing a situation where you suffer a data loss, the only thing that you should do is to acquire a data recovery program and then in a few minutes, will find that the lost document or documents have been restored.

Nic Ricciuti is a successful freelance writer and website publisher of Datarecoveryuniversity.com that offers successful tips on becoming a Data Recovery expert and other free data recovery information.

Hard Disk Data Recovery Expert Choosing Yours

2008-12-17T17:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by DavidA Williams

If you need a hard disk data recovery expert, you need one now. You have just lost a good amount of work that you need to send, well, yesterday. No matter how well versed you think you are in the computer world, chances are that at some point, something will go wrong. This is when you will want to find the right person or company to help solve your problems. Data disk hard recovery is a touchy situation, though. So, to help you find the hard disk data recovery expert that you need, here are a few helpful hints."

First off, take the time to find the right company. Don't simply choose one that says they will do the job for you. They can make things worse if they are not prepared. It only takes a few minutes to find out what they can do for you.

Consider the company itself. Does it have the ability to service your manufacturer? What experience do they have? How do you know its not a bunch of college kids? Ask questions, do some basic research. It takes only minutes.

You will want to know what specifically they will do for your data disk hard recovery needs. The hard disk data recovery expert should be able to handle your specific problem. More than likely, they will ask you just what happened, what type of application is being used and if you know what the source of the problem is. From here, they should provide you with some sort of plan of action that they will take. Very important is that the work that they do will not violate your computer's warranty. You will specifically want to make sure of this.

Will they need you to bring your system in? Or, many of the hard disk data recovery experts will work with you over the phone to help you restore data within minutes. That will save you quite a bit of time and expense. Often times they will log into your system and handle the issue professionally. In many cases, though, you will need to take your system in.

How will they provide the lost media to you? The hard disk data recovery experts often offer a number of methods to provide you with what you lost. They can often be transmitted to you, sent to you on CD-ROMs or hard disk drives. Most of the time, the choice is up to you. Lastly, it is also important to know what the hard disk data recovery experts will charge you when the data disk hard recovery is unsuccessful. Will they charge you for the service or will the service be free? Perhaps they will offer you a lower price?

Finding the right company to choose from is not that hard. The hard disk data recovery experts that are available to you are able to help you in your time of need. In many cases, they can have your files restored as you need them within a few hours, days or in extreme cases a little longer. Nonetheless, their data disk hard recovery service is something you will likely need and not be able to think twice about having the service preformed. But, when you take the time to find a qualified hard disk data recovery expert, things can go right, right from the beginning!

David writes for the Business Catalyst, where you can find information on Small Business Startups in Nashville,TN. You can find more information on data recovery at http://www.mydatarecoveryexpert.info.

Just In Case What Biz Emergencies Are You Prepared For

2008-12-16T17:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Donesia Muhammad

Everyone knows life is always full of unexpected surprises.

Some Good, Some Bad..

But no matter how severe or how simple an emergency, it still messes up your daily routine. So you have to be prepared to handle certain emergencies that are just a part of life.

We all get sick, or maybe your children has a mild illness. What if one day a thunder storm knocks out not only the power but everything plugged into that source. Are you prepared to deal with the loss of your computer??

Who Can You Turn To If You Have To Take A Hiatus From Your Business?

These are just some of the problems that you may face at any time or any place.

DID YOU BURY YOUR COMPUTER TODAY??

What can you do if your pc crashes ? If it is still fixable then you can take it to the repair shop or if you have the money available, you can just buy another one..

But since money doesn't grow on trees, there are some simple solutions to deal with a missing computer.

Duh, Use a Friends Computer

Technology is becoming cheaper these days, therefore every where you turn someone owns a computer these days, so you can always ask a friend or relative for the use of their computer.

If that is not an option or they just told you No, plain and simple..

You can always go to the Public Library.

Free, Free, and Free. There, enough said..

You can also check in on some deals to rent a computer for the time being. In the long run, it can add up, but if you are debating between the loss of potential sales because you are not able to process orders, or receive important email, then yes this will be money well spent.

It doesn't matter how brilliant or how stupid your online business plan is, if you don't have a computer, you have sort of thrown yourself out of the game before you even had a chance to pitch.

DO YOU HAVE A BIZ BUDDY??

If you have to handle an emergency out of town or need to be hospitalized for any reason whatsoever, can someone else handle your business until you are better?

Maybe Your Spouse Or A Good Friend?

Now since our business seems fairly high tech to everyone else, your biz buddy would have to someone you would trust with your email, your passwords, access to your website control panel.

You know those little things

Your Biz Buddy shouldn't be someone you have exchanged two emails with and figure that you really know this person.

Some of the best friendships have been those that were formed online, even relationships.

But especially Business Relationships have really took off online.

Always have a backup Owner.

Sounds funny but depending on the nature of your business, the reality is customers and clients can only wait so long.

It is good to have at least someone who may be able to

--Publish An Issue Or Two

---Answer Email

----Make Changes To Your Website

---Process Orders For You

JUST SOME PLAIN 'OL BACK UP ADVICE

These emergencies are more common.

Loss of files, and programs in your computer.

While we have to deal with viruses on a daily basis, just a simple backing up of our files will save you hours of endless frustration.

Whether you have a cd-rewrite able drive, or a bunch of floppy disks, online storage or just have everything printed out, how can you protect your files and business without a back up.

If one of your business plans didn't work out, what would you do?

Give up, because that was the only plan you had, or just came up with a back up plan.

See...

The whole point of this is to get you to realize that although emergencies come up that are unavoidable, you can still prepare yourself

JUST IN CASE...

Donesia Muhammad has been doing business online since 2001. Sign up For her Newsletter My IBiz Weekly ==>http://myibizweekly.com The Business Ezine For All Netpreneurs. Learn how to start and maintain your internet business and ezine, and stay sane while doing it. Read Our Archives and Learn with Valuable Resources. Helping Readers Online Since 2001... And Counting.

http://EzineAdHelper.com
http://KDMPublishing.com

Backup Strategy To Avoid Data Loss Amp Data Recovery

2008-12-15T17:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Park Oskar

You must have always come across the phrase "Data Backup" when you talk about data loss. It's not that we don't understand its importance completely but just that we pay little less attention to it than required. Each day, we hear about several data loss incidences seeking data recovery software or data recovery services options. If you feel that your data is valuable, then why not keep it safe? Why not have a Backup strategy?

A concrete backup strategy is important to any recovery plan. The following are the main elements to a solid backup strategy:

Define what type of data needs to be backed up.

You create a variety of documents, customer databases, financial records, or employee records. Hence, by defining the order of importance of data, you should decide on what to backup.

Decide the Backup Media

You must know the storage media for backup. You may consider backup data to be stored from a computer to a rewritable CD or DVD, a network server, a USB key, or a ZIP disk.

Define the time limit you have available for backup.

You must know of the product that is reliable enough to perform the backup at the scheduled time. If you are a traveler and usually connect to the network remotely, then you must know of a backup strategy that covers your information accurately.

Decide the level of access to the information.

You must know the security requirements and concerns, and that your backup software ensures 100% data accuracy while restoring. You must also ensure that your backup software prevents unauthorized access to the information, through a password or a variety of encryption algorithms.

Define the schedule of backups

You must set the schedule of backups i.e. the frequency of backups needs to be determined. You must ensure that all the workstations (from where you need to backup the data) are 'On' at the time of performing backups. For remote workers, you must develop standard operating procedures.

Define the backup policies

You must decide when to perform a full system backup or incremental system backup. It is recommended to store the backed up data offsite i.e. you can keep your data in two different locations away from each other.

Work on the ease to backup the data

What if you have successfully performed the data backup but it takes time while restoring it? You must work on the set up where you can backup the data with one command. Agreed that it will take little more time and work but will be very useful when the system crashes.

Perform daily backups

You must ensure that there is less time between the two subsequent backups otherwise if there is longer period between backups, you may lose quite a lot of data.

If you do not understand the way to implement a backup strategy, you might have to check with the local expert.

Stellar a data recovery Software & service company provides range of data recovery software & data protection software. Stellar has recently launched a data backup software i.e. Stellar InstaBackup is very useful software for backing up and protecting valuable data. This software simplifies the process of data backup and is a powerful solution for both business and personal needs. It can also be used both in a networking environment and on a single machine. Although the software is easy to use, a number of advanced options such as Full / Incremental backups, strong File Encryption, and Zip Compression are also available. The software has a simple graphical user interface, requires no prior knowledge of data backup, and is a comprehensive data protection solution for all Windows File Systems.

Hard Drive Data Recovery Software

Cd Rom Backup Software

2008-12-14T17:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Eddie Tobey

Creating backup for the data on an electronic device like a computer or a digital camera is very important. Most electronic equipments are bound to suffer crashes, leading to the erasing of all the data within. Creating backup for the data enables not only storage but also effective retrieval of the data whenever required.

There are many backup devices, including floppy disks, hard disks, other computers on the network, compact disks, and DVDs. Each of these has its own conveniences, risks and capacities. Use of these devices depends on several factors: the amount of data to be stored, the frequency at which the data is altered, presence of other backup devices, and the kind of files that need to be stored.

CD ROMs are one kind of a removable backup device. CDs are being increasingly used for storing files as they are inexpensive, easy to store, easy to transport, and have varying storage capacities. Some CD ROMs can take as much as 700 MB of data. They are also relatively safer than floppy disks or hard disk on the system. The data stored on a CD ROM however, cannot be altered. This makes them more ideal for storing permanent data. There are also other advantages from using CD ROMs for storing backup data: they have a high shelf life, they are not affected by magnetic fields, and they can be taken through airport security without any problem. They are nevertheless fragile and require careful handling.

CD-ROM recorders or writers have now become very inexpensive. A basic model is available for a price below $1,000 while those with optical drivers are more expensive. These days, most backup software programs are compatible with CD-drives and CD-recorders. There are many kinds and brands of backup software programs available. These are compatible with basic Windows NT/2000 configurations. Prices range from $30 to $3,700 or more, depending on the options and the features available. Veritas, Symantec, Acronis, Dantz, and Stomp are some of the popular brands in CD ROM backup software.

Backup Software provides detailed information on Backup Software, CD ROM Backup Software, Free Backup Software, Computer Backup Software and more. Backup Software is affiliated with Network Status Monitoring Software.

Business Continuity And Disaster Recovery A Business Not A Technology Issue

2008-12-13T17:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Robert Mahood

Hackers, hurricanes, fires, flooding, power outages, denial of service attacks, application failures, employee error, sabotage and now terrorism are helping companies to focus on the necessity of a business continuity plan.

Through the late 1990s as companies prepared for Y2K, many IT executives, risk managers, CFOs and corporate managers realized that recovering computing systems, networks and data was not enough. As Y2K approached, it became more apparent that a disciplined approach was needed to recover not only data and systems, but also business processes, facilities and manpower to restore and maintain critical functions.

The starting point is a risk assessment. Identify and define your mission critical business processes and systems. Review them for vulnerabilities and identify steps required for restoration and recovery. For your data, make sure it is backed up to secure and separate locations. Evaluate various storage solutions including storage area networks, data replication systems, new virtualization systems, network attached storage devices and managed storage. Pay significant attention also to your telecommunications providers to ensure they have built diversity and redundancy into their networks and have well developed and tested contingency plans.

The risk assessment will start to drive out real questions on the business impacts and losses that could result from disruptions. Mission critical impacts, key business functions, processes and records must all be identified. This is also the time to determine resource requirements and acceptable recovery time frames.

Various recovery strategies should be evaluated to achieve your cost, reliability and time to recover objectives. Include physical, technological, legal, regulatory and personnel considerations when you evaluate alternatives. Common points of failure are a lack of executive and budget support and not fully engaging employees. Along with your data, employees are your most valuable asset. An excellent checklist "Considerations for senior management during a time of crisis" is at www.globalcontinuity.com (enter checklists in the search box, click on DR & BC checklists).

Business continuity planning sounds expensive and it can be time-consuming. However, losing your business functions, processes and systems as well as your company, customer and financial data can be devastating. Build your plan. Train, test, train and test again.

About The Author

bmahood@midwestdatarecovery.com, 866 786 2595 or 312 907 2100

Turning To A Data Recovery Service As Last Resort

2008-12-12T17:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Nic Ricciuti

Every computer owner understands the fact that they eventually crash. The average life of a computer is about 2 years. This is not because a lot of data is stored in the hard drive but because the system is slowly deteriorating.

If you decide to take your unit for repairs, you should consider that the process is expensive. The best way to avoid this will be to protect one's investment and here are some tips the user should know.

1. Many different parts form a computer system. One of the most important parts that the person should run a system check on from time to time to check on those parts and make sure everything works.

2. Every time you use your computer, it is recommended to make a backup of your documents. The person can put this in another folder or use a CD, removable drive or disk to store this information.

3. Most computers have the ability of announcing once any data has been corrupted. The best way to avoid these problems is to defrag your disc frequently so that the hard drive only contains fragmented data, which is easier to recover and manage.

4. If you decide to have different partitions on your drive, it will make your computer more efficient. Almost every operating system has this feature available already built in the system.

5. It is important to have good knowledge of your computer. If a glitch is experienced, it will be a good idea to run scandisk or CHKDSK immediately. These processes help the user to fix problems or locate them before they happen.

It is very important to exhaust all the possible resources, and after they have been successfully applied with no results, it is time to call the experts. People who rely on data recovery service will only be able to recover close to 80% of the files in the hard drive. The efficiency of the technician depends on his abilities and the damage on your drive.

If you are using a company's computer, and its IT department has problems with the repairs, the purchasing department can contact the supplier who can refer someone who could provide maintenance services.

If you are handling a personal computer, you should take your unit to its place of purchase. If the individual doesn't know anyone, it will be a good idea to ask friends and family members someone who have done this in the past and did job. Trust is one of the main issues to consider when allowing someone to perform any repairs on a computer.

You could compare a computer technician to a specialized doctor, all the tests must be conducted before a diagnosis can be made. Once the diagnosis has been made, this person will first call the owner of the unit and give pricing on the service.

You need only to agree to those terms for the repairs to begin, and you will be using your computer in no time.

The hard drive is the most important part of the computer. Without proper care, the problem will only start to further develop, bringing negative consequences. Calling for someone to do some data recovery service might be costly but in the long run, this is better than entrusting the repairs to someone who is not qualified to do the job.

Hard Drive Recovery Tools

2008-12-11T17:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Eric Morris

A hard drive failure is an event dreaded by all computer users. Within seconds, data collected and processed over several months and years may be lost. With computers being utilized in more and more avenues, data recovery has almost become a norm.

A hard drive may crash due to several reasons. These are classified into two main categories, logical and physical. The logical failures refer to faults in the file system, software or a virus attack. Physical crashes are due to voltage fluctuations, strong magnetic fields around the computer or a heavy impact.

Today, using state-of-the-art technologies, it is possible to recover almost 80% of the lost data. Hard drive recovery is best performed by experts and firms dealing with such work, as it is a tedious process. A combination of both software and hardware are required to perform the recovery task effectively.

A working computer, preinstalled with all the necessary software, is a must for any recovery process. The damaged hard drive can be tested on this machine to determine the actual fault. In case of logical failure, several disk utility tools are available. These softwares scan the hard drive for any errors or bad sectors that might have been created due to faulty software. Anti-virus programs are also commonly used to detect the presence of a malicious virus attack. Platforms such as Windows, Macintosh and Linux have their own individual disk utilities and so almost all systems can be successfully recovered. File systems such as NTFS, ext3 and xfs reduce the risk of logical damage.

Physical damage to the hard drive requires the use of electronic equipment to fix problems on the magnetic disk and circuit board. Apart from standard equipment, gadgets such as magnetometers are also used to physically extract data bits from the magnetic media. Some components may also require to be changed.

Apart from hardware and software, guides in the form of e-books and written manuals are also available to assist in the hard drive recovery process.

Disaster Recovery Managing The Risk

2008-12-10T17:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Terry Cohen

Helping your business survive in the event of an unforeseen disaster: Most business failures are not from bad business but from bad business practices.

Most companies that fail are the ones that have not planned how their business will continue to function in the event of a disaster.

We put in the conventional safeguards such as alarming the premises, locking up vital areas and information, putting in fire prevention systems.

But what thought is given to make sure that the vital data that is needed for a business to continue is in a safe place- can be accessed and is current information.

Sales/purchases ledgers.

Do you know what the company is owed?

Can you prove to your insurers what is owed and what your replacement costs are?

Business processes.

Where are your procedures manuals, technical drawings, and patents?

Insurances.

Where are your policies kept?

Back up tapes- they are off site but what do we load them on to.

How often do we back up our information? Where is it kept? On site-in your briefcase? How do we restore it.

Cheque books-paying in books-writing paper-invoice paper. Have they gone up in smoke?

There are a few safeguards that we can put in place so that the business can continue to function in the event of a disaster. These processes do not have to be expensive or costly.

They require common sense, a little professional help and a place that is risk free where you can store the information vital for your survival.

We spend millions each year with insurance companies, insuring for the eventuality of the business having a disaster- surely the small amount of time cost & effort in making sure that you have the wherewithal to continue trading as soon as possible is the prime objective.

"BattleBoxes" containing essential items for business continuation can be created for your company with a minimum of effort and will give you the peace of mind, so that you can continue the business in the event of a disaster.

Oh! And by the way ask your insurers for a reduction in your premiums. Lowering the risk limits their exposure- why should they reap all the rewards.

Terry Cohen is a director of Archival Record Management PLC, who specialise in looking after the data that companies create - in all formats. They offer a full records management service that includes scanning services. Contact him on 020 7703 3915 or email:tc@londonweb.net

Business Continuity And Disaster Recovery The Business Continuity And Disaster Recovery Plan

2008-12-09T17:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Robert Mahood

Essentially, the plan addresses the who, what, where, why and when of recovery. Goal number one is to reduce the risk profile of the business. Goal two is to be well prepared so the impact of any disruption is minimized. Overall, the objective of the plan is to effectively minimize the chances of disruption and, if there is a disruption, to quickly implement the recovery and get the business or organization working again. The "why" is to maximize business continuity and minimize damages to company assets. Ultimately, the goal is to protect the organization from the key risks identified and to effectively implement the recovery strategies.

The "what" is a clear, detailed, but focused business continuity and disaster recovery plan, a plan that provides a successful road map to minimize business interruption and maximize business continuity.

The "who" refers to the teams. The recovery effort is focused through teams. While the Emergency Management Team is the leader of the recovery efforts, other teams could include: IT, telecommunications, facilities and power, customer relations, public relations, billing, customer service, and human resources.

The "where" is, of course, company facilities, but it's also other alternate sites, location of all employees and the ability to find and communicate with employees. Effectively organizing and deploying employees is the most fundamental requirement for successful recovery.

And finally, there is the question of "when." Unfortunately, hackers, hurricanes, fires and other risks seldom follow our agenda. The "when" we can control is the "when" of lowering the company's risk profile by implementing solutions before the problem develops. "When", of course, also has to do with the priorities of the recovery. These hopefully would be in place as a result of selecting effective strategies.

If you don't know where you're going, any road will get you there. The business continuity and disaster recovery plan is the road map to get you to your destination of minimizing risks, mitigating damages and reducing your risk profile.

About The Author

bmahood@midwestdatarecovery.com, 866 786 2595, 312 907 2100

Data Recovery The Easy Way

2008-12-08T17:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by John Simpson

If you aren't prepared in advance, you will most likely have to use a data recovery service or data recovery software solution to help get back as much as you can of what was lost. This can be a very good idea if there is no other way to recover your files, but it doesn't have to come to that in most cases.

This is a classic situation of where an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. A very simple backup routine that is adhered to on a daily basis can usually solve any data loss situation quickly and fairly painlessly. And it won't cost you anything but the time neded to restore the data files from your backups, and maybe the program files from the original disks.

There is a wide choice of media that you can backup your files to, inclusing CDs, DVDs, external hard drives, other internal hard drives, tape drives, etc. They all work, it's just that each media choice has it's own pros and cons regarding ease of use, data storage capacity, and so on. A discussion of those limits is beyond the scope of this article, but the most important thing to remember is that the best backup is the one that works. That means that regardless of the media you choose, just make a choice and stick to a backup schedule like glue.

There are sevral good backup programs out there that work very well and will do a fine job, but most Microsoft Windows users have a great backup program included with their operating software. If you are a Windows XP user that program is called NTBackup. If it's not already installed on your computer insert your Windows CD, find the folder titled ValueAdd\MSFT\ntbackup, and run the program in that folder called ntbackup.msi. It will set up the backup software for use on your computer in no time and you will even have simple to use wizards that will walk you through doing file backups and restores simply and easily.

Once the software is installed, it is now up to you to use it faithfully to prepare for data recovery when it is needed. Maybe you never will need it. But don't count on that. You will be so glad that you have a solid reliable way to restore lost files if disaster ever happens on your computer. It's truly the easy way to data recovery!

John Simpson All About Data Recovery is a website that helps you find free information, tips, and resources for data recovery, undeleting files, and retrieving data from hard drives, CDs, DVDs, and other file storage media.

Data Recovery Datenrettung Amp Securing Data On Computers

2008-12-07T17:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Keith George

Data recovery or Datenrettung is the process by which the data is recovered from damaged or inaccessible storage media. Data recovery is done from storage media like CD´s, DVD´s, Floppies, Hard disks, Magnetic tapes etc. There are two reasons due to which the data becomes inaccessible. They are logical damage and physical damage to the storage media.

Physical damage to storage media can occur in many ways. Magnetic tapes can break, get crumpled or dirt may settle on the tapes. CD´s and DVD´s can have scratches or the metallic layer may get damaged. Magnetic heads in hard disks can crash or motors may fail. The floppy is notorious for failing frequently due to bending, overheating, cold, dust etc.

There are other reasons like fires, electrical surges etc that can cause data to become inaccessible or lost. There are many methods by which data can be recovered from magnetic media or optical media. The methods most commonly used are Magnetic Force Microscopy (MFM), Scanning Probe Microscopy (SPM), Magnetic Force Scanning Tunneling Microscopy (STM) etc.

In these methods a sharp magnetic tip is placed closed to the surface to be analyzed. It interacts with the stray magnetic field. An image of the data is generated and then repairs are carried out on logical damage and thus the data is recovered. Many companies carry out data recovery.

Logical damage is the damage to the file system. It is not physical but a software problem and also tells us that we need to be cautious and have a quality system for data recovery, datenrettung. It generally occurs due to power cuts, system crashes etc preventing file system structures from being written resulting in file system being left in an inconsistent state.

Logical damage is more common than physical damage. This may cause strange behavior like infinitely recurring file directories, loss of data, system crashes, hard disks reporting negative space etc. The end result is that the operating system cannot mount the file system.

Most operating systems come with repair facilities like, Linux has fcsk utility, Mac has disk utility and Windows has chkdisk facility. There are other specialized programs available which have better repair facilities than the operating systems.

There are also other systems called journaling file systems like NTFS, EFS (used in Windows XP), ext3 and xfs which can be reverted back to their earlier consistent state. These file systems reduce the amount of data loss.

Data back up is the best way to prevent loss of data and it´s the most common system for data recovery, datenrettung. The simplest method is to keep data on drives on which the operating system is not loaded. The other method is to write data on magnetic tapes, CD's or DVD´s or have online backup.

Backups are very important for databases. Data backup is of 3 types. Full backup means backing up all data. Incremental backup means backing up of only the files that have changed. Differential backup is a mixture of these two. There is another method called continuous data protection in which when data is written to a disk, it is also written to another computer in a network.

Most private persons with a computer do nothing in advance, they just use their computers. Too late, when an incident has happened they learn about data recovery or datenrettung.

Keith George always writes about valuable news & reviews. A related resource is Datenrettung Further information can be found at Data Recovery

Back Up Your Email Box Before It Is Too Late

2008-12-06T17:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Bill Platt

When so many of us rely so much on our email to operate our businesses or our personal lives, it is important to take preventative measures to avoid the ultimate disaster of unrecoverable email.

I come to this subject as a matter of multiple events on my machine where one day I would open my mail to discover that all has been lost. The pit that wells in your stomach upon realization of this occurrence can be overwhelming. To recover in the event of future losses, each of us should learn the basics of maintaining and backing up our email.

One of the important things to do in preventative maintenance, is to clean your folders and to empty your trash. Most people do not realize that when the number of messages in a specific folder exceeds a certain threshold that they begin running on borrowed time.

Exactly where that threshold is varies from email client to email client, so what may be true for mine may be different for yours. When this article was originally written, I was using the Netscape 4.x Email Client for security reasons more than anything. The Netscape Email Client is less susceptible to JavaScript attacks than any other email client I have used. These days, I have grown with Netscape to the Netscape 7.x platform. This is important to note as Netscape 8.x does not offer email anymore.

What I do know is that I have repeatedly pushed my client to its limits to see where the threshold might be. The Netscape 4.x Email Client will generally break at around 4,500 email messages in one folder, though it will become shaky at around 2,000 messages. I have yet to determine the upper threshold on Netscape 7.x, and I have had folders with more than 20,000 messages in them.

These upper ends will also depend on your computer hardware. If you have a 200mhz machine with only 56kb Ram memory, you should expect a shake-out sooner than a machine that has a bigger processor with more memory.

For users of other clients such as Outlook Express, Eudora and others, I cannot tell you the top end of how well the software will perform.

If there are more than 2,000 messages you wish to hang on to, you should begin filing your messages in separate folders below the Inbox. This will help you to find your messages quicker and it will provide more stability to your email client.

There are three folders that you must pay regular attention to. They are the Inbox, Sent Mail Folder and Trash Folder.

Most people fail to remember that their client is pre-configured to save a copy of all outgoing email. As a result, this folder can grow to unbelievable sizes before anyone thinks to clean it out.

It is important to mention the Trash Folder in more detail since most people do not realize how it works.

Most email clients follow a general principle in their operation. Each email box is generally represented by two files. The first is a text rendering of all messages in the box. The second is an indexing file that lists the title of the email and other identifying characteristics relative to each individual message.

When you look at the contents of your email box, you are actually seeing the contents of the indexing file. When you pull up the text of an actual message, the software is finding the message in the message file according to the software assigned Email ID as listed in the indexing file.

Now, when you move a message from one folder to another, including into the Trash Folder, the only thing that actually moves is the listing in the indexing file! This is important to understand. A message moved to the Trash Folder has not been deleted from the origination folder. In fact, the message is just where it originated until you do the command Compress Folders or Empty Trash Folder.

The Empty Trash Folder command will only compress the messages for the item that is in the Trash Folder. In order to do the same for your entire email system, you must use the command Compress Folders.

The simple action of sending email to the trash without compressing the folders or simply emptying the trash can also lead to great destabilization of your email client. So please take great care to maintain your email client software as it should be.

If there is one thing that I have learned with computers, one should always prepare for the worst case scenario. Always! In order to be fully prepared for the worst case scenario with your email, you should do regular backups of your mail folders.

Here I will explain how to do that outside of the email client's process for this purpose. I am also explaining how to do so only for Outlook Express and Netscape Mail. I have never ran an Eudora client at the times I was exploring this scenario.

FOR OUTLOOK EXPRESS USERS:

In your windows Explorer, you will find a folder, most likely with this precise name. The only difference you might see is in the Application Key as noted between the {}.

C:\WINDOWS\Application Data\Identities\ {B074ABA0-9FFF-11D4-AE87-FE1E7BFD5248}\Microsoft\Outlook Express

When you navigate to this folder, this is the default location where your Outlook Express Email is stored. Simply highlight the last folder, "Outlook Express" and copy it to another location. In most cases, this folder will be way too large to copy to a Floppy Drive. Most likely, you will need to copy it to a Zip drive or another location on your hard drive.

You can also save the individual *.dbx files, which outline the contents of each of your mail boxes, the Inbox, the Outbox, etc.

If you are really bored, you can send the *.dbx file to Wordpad to view the actual format of a mailbox from a text standpoint. You can use this only in a worst case scenario to attempt to rebuild a broken mail box. Always make backups of the file before trying to repair it by hand --- Always!!!

FOR NETSCAPE MAIL USERS:

The location of the mail storage is: C:\Program Files\Netscape\Users\username\Mail

Of course, replace "username" with your username.

Within the Netscape Mail system, you will discover three file types: *.sbd, *.snm, and (blank).

The *.sbd is a folder that contains all of your sub-folders. The *.snm is the indexing file of your email. The (blank), ie. "Inbox" without an extension, is your actual mail messages recorded in plain text. You can also send these files to your Wordpad application to view the contents. Do not save this file when you close it unless you are trying to rebuild your box, and if so, always make sure you have a backup before doing so.

If you delete the *.snm, the *.snm file will rebuild itself the next time you open your Netscape Mail application.

Taking these precautions and knowing this information, you will never have to chance losing all of your important emails again. The time you take today to backup your email box can save you the worst nightmare ever. Trust me, I have been there.

Bill Platt is the owner of http://www.LinksAndTraffic.com

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Computer Diagnostics For Improving Pc Performance And Recovering Lost Data

2008-12-05T17:00:00.000-08:00

Writen by Natalie Aranda

We visit a doctor when we're ill or just for regular checkup. Computer diagnostics software is like a doctor for your computers. We performance routine diagnostics for regular maintenance of computer or investigate the causes of computer problems whether they're performance issues or lost data. PC diagnostics is intended to help users understand how computer works, obtaining full PC diagnostics, by means of printed diagrams or using PC diagnostics software.

In fact, computer diagnostics help you to prevent major system problems before they actually occur. If you experience continuous system instability, getting blue error screens frequently and having to reboot due to lockups, it is time to utilize PC diagnostics software to identify and fix your problems. PC diagnostics check up begins by running tests as soon as you start the PC diagnostics software. The diagnostics process runs silently in the background and returns a full report of the tasks performed once complete. Most popular diagnostics software are from from Symantec, TouchStone Software, TuneUp Utilities, or Network Associates software.

Cleaning up your system registry improves PC performance drastically. Most users are unaware of the huge amount of useless information that the registry saves. Computer diagnostics often return a list of "orphan" entries recorded in the registered and staying there forever. Those orphans are the result of installed and uninstalled programs with information that is retained in the registry, the same as unused drivers, spyware and other issues causing conflicts that slow down the system. Running PC diagnostics software is safer than editing the registry manually using regedit.exe or other utilities. Whether manually or with the aid of PC diagnostics applications, one of the most tedious, but necessary tasks to do in order to improve your PC performance is run your disk defragmentation. Due to the large size of actual hard drives, this process will take hours. Some PC diagnostics software includes a defrag utility, otherwise you need to use that which is part of the Windows operating system, but before starting you need to run another native PC diagnostics application "scandisk". Without scanning your disk first for possible errors, defrag may refuse to continue its defragmentation routine.

When it comes to determine the availability of destroyed or deleted data, computer diagnostics utilities are very effective too . PC diagnostics software may include a data recovery facility or simply diagnose and return a list of clusters available from where data can be retrieved again. PC diagnostics applications are one of the most convenient cost-effective solutions when it comes to rescuing your lost information. Otherwise a technician may charge over a hundred dollars. Statistics has shown that good computer diagnostics programs can resolve up to 99% of hard drive data recovery problems. Although, data loss may occur due to human mistakes, but the most dreadful data lost happens due to a hard drive failure. PC diagnostics software are useful for data lost prevention. Computer diagnostics may determine if the hard disk has a potential problem or not. Data recovery software is usually provided as floppy disk aid, this peculiarity allows that any crashed PC can work again after the software performs a series of PC diagnostics before running to determine what failed in your hard disk, and the conditions of your remaining information, if any.

Natalie Aranda writes on computer and information technology. PC diagnostics is intended to help users understand how computer works, obtaining full computer diagnostics, by means of printed diagrams or using PC diagnostics software. In fact, computer diagnostics help you to prevent major system problems before they actually occur. If you experience continuous system instability, getting blue error screens frequently and having to reboot due to lockups, it is time to utilize PC diagnostics software to identify and fix your problems.

Recover Your Hard Drive Data 101

2008-12-04T17:00:00.000-08:00

Writen by Tony Roberts

Most people do not realize the importance of backing up their files. As the cliché goes, you only realize the importance of something once it is gone. You accidentally delete your file or your hard drive goes nuts. Now your files are gone, and you feel miserable, depressed and frustrated because those are precious files. May it be work-related, school-related, sentimental value-related, you now feel the impact of your lost files because those files are indeed important.

So now what are you going to do? You can wallow in grief and learn your lesson to back up your files the next time.

But you can't help but think of how important those files were. Your boss is going to be raging mad. Those reports should be submitted on time. Is there a way to recover them?

Of course there is.

If you accidentally deleted a file from the recycle bin, don't fret. You could still recover that file because it is not completely deleted. Windows only modifies the first letter of the file name in the disk's bookkeeping system so technically the file is still there. In order for you to recover that file, the file's original name and retags should be restored before Windows overwrites it.

Because Windows hasn't exactly deleted your files, it is only sensible that you do not anymore save anything on the hard drive. Why? Because once you have saved a new file, your deleted file (that you badly need to recover) will be overwritten to give way to the newly saved file.

You do not want that to happen right? So leave it as is or else you could do more damage than ease out the situation.

Now what? There is no magic formula to recover your files. To recover your files you will need a special recovery software or utility.

There are many commercially available recovery tools that you could use. Most of these tools access the disk through an operating system. Search the internet for programs that can restore your files. But before you actually buy a product that you think will work, read and research on several product reviews so that you not only get to recover your files but you also get your money's worth.

If you can't afford to spend on special recovery tools, you can find freeware restoration utilities on the internet. FINDNTFS, NTFS reader for DOS, TESTDISK, PC Inspector and Restoration are good freeware restoration tools that you can use.

If unfortunately all else fails, your last option is to hire a professional data recovery service but be prepared to shell out some serious cash. Prices can range from $300 to $4000. Just make sure you look a for a data recovery service that is reliable and won't charge you if you can't recover your data.

Also if you already decided to seek professional help, be prepared to supply them with your PC's necessary information like drive size, operating system, and the cause of failure.

Now you have learned your lesson. Data loss is due to many reasons; user error, software error, hard drive failures, etc. Hard drives are not immortal; they too wear out, get defects and eventually die. You are not perfect; you make mistakes and accidentally delete things. You can prevent costly data recovery and other hassles if you will back up those files.

If you found those tips useful more information on Data Recovery can be found at "Data Recovery without heartache"

The Undelete Data Recovery Software

2008-12-03T17:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Andrey Mareew

March 01, 2006 Milpitas,United States of America The Undelete Data Recovery Software Releases The Undelete 3.1.1

In recent years, the interest to delete data recovery software rapidly grows. Using of important electronic documents by end users and for commercial purposes has become an essential part of everyday life. For different reasons, important documents and user files may be lost. Without a recovery tool for documents and files, this may become a huge problem (which at best would lead to some inconveniences, and at worst would take lots of money).

The data recovery software products of "The-Undelete Company" apply powerful algorithms and methods, which are being constantly developed. This means that great energies expanded for lost data recovery allows organizations and end users to continue using important information of the recovered data.

The Undelete recovers deleted, lost files, as well as files deleted from Windows Recycle Bin. It also recovers files lost due to a virus attack, power supply failure, or program bugs. The Undelete recovers files of all types, including: DOC, RTF, PDF, XLS, PPT, MDB, Visio, HTML, CSV, TXT, PAS, CPP, EML, INI; audio and video files: MP3, AVI, WAV, WMA, MOV, MPG, ASF; image files: JPEG, JPG, BMP, GIF, TIF, PNG, TGA, EML, RAW, and so on. Our software products supports recovery from removable data storage devices, such as: Secure Digital, Compact Flash, SmartMedia, SONY Memory Stick, ZIP drives, USB Hard drives etc ... The Undelete recovers data from hard drives formatted in following file systems: FAT12, FAT16, FAT32, NTFS, NTFS5, NTFS+EFS . The product is compatible with Windows operational systems: Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows МЕ, Windows NT, Windows 2000, Windows 2003 Server, and Windows XP. In addition, a unique technology of data recovery in FAT 32 (under Windows NT, 2000, XP, and 2003 Server systems), which no other program uses, allows us to significantly increase the efficiency of recovery results.

The Undelete 3.1.1 is available at the-undelete.com

for free evaluation. The trial version recovers files up to 64 KB. Contact:mailto:undelete@the-undelete.com

Mareew Andrey the-undelete.com

undelete@the-undelete.com