Dealing with Data Loss from Hard Drive Trauma

Data loss is a serious problem for countless businesses. The average corporation loses $5.4 million from a data loss incident. Unfortunately, many companies aren’t aware of the problems they may face, so they don’t take adequate precautions. As a business owner, you need to be aware of the risks and prevent against all forms of data loss. If you still lose data in spite of your data protection plan, then you need to know what steps to take to try to restore it.

The biggest problem is that many people don’t realize that there are many ways they can have their data corrupted or deleted. Many business owners I have spoken with believe that the only cause of data loss that they need to be worried about is malware. Unfortunately, physical damage to your disks is another concern that is often overlooked.

Preventing hard drive trauma

I recently spoke with a data recovery expert in Albuquerque, New Mexico. She told me that around 40% of her customers lose data due to hard drive trauma.

What steps can you take to prevent data loss? Here are a few options:

1. Make sure that your hard drive has a strong shell. A lot of people use the external hard drive to store additional memory. If you do this, you need to make sure that it is properly secured.

2. Back up your most important documents on the cloud. When you store data on the cloud, multiple copies of it are propagated across different servers. Even if one of the servers is damaged, your data should not be lost. There are a lot of tools like R-Drive image that make this easier.

3. Be careful handling any storage device. Don’t keep your computer near the edge of a table or store next to large volumes of liquid. You should also make sure that your children don’t use it unsupervised, because they may unwittingly cause damage to it. Closing your laptop when it is not in use is also a good idea, because it will better absorb the impact of a fall if it is bumped over.

“I have noticed a correlation between the prevalence of hard drive trauma and the carelessness with which certain customers handle their computers and mobile device I have noticed a correlation between the prevalence of hard drive trauma and the carelessness with which certain customers handle their computers and mobile devices,” the expert I spoke with told me.

“People that strongly value their electronic devices are less likely to visit me to restore data. Ironically, people that give names to their computers (I know this sounds silly to some people) are actually far less likely to experience hard drive trauma that feeds to data loss.”

This observation is not unexpected. However, another tendency is surprising. People that are especially cautious about protecting their computer are not any better about preserving their data.

“You would expect people that take such care with their hardware would be equally cautious with backing up their data. Unfortunately, that is not the case. They are just as likely to be negligent on this end as a customer that forgot to bring his laptop inside before a major rainstorm.”

Can data be recovered after the disk is damaged?

Restoring data from a damaged hard drive is often possible. However, it is important to use the right tools and make sure they are compatible with your hardware.

Please let us know what are your views on this article and how you recuperate from data loss.