Recovery form business data loss.
Data Disaster?
It is essential to take regular backups of your data files and databases. Please be aware that some
backup systems ignore open databases, click here to read more about backing up Microsoft SQL Server databases. If you find yourself without a backup after a dat loss situation,
your business could be facing disaster.
There are two basic types of data loss:-
1. Deleted files
2.
Corrupted hard discs
Deleted files
When computer files are deleted the data is not necessarily destroyed.
When you delete your file normally what happens is the index record in the file allocation system is flagged as a deleted file. The index record
tells the operating system where on the hard disc the file starts and ends. It is possible to use undelete software to reset the deleted tag
however this will not always work.
The issue is that the clusters that held the files data are, upon deletion, added to the free space list
available on that hard drive. If another program comes along that wishes to write data to the hard disc it is possible that it could overwrite
the clusters that previously contained the deleted files data. If this occurs recovery is less likely, it depends on what percentage of the original
file was overwritten by the new file. If the percentage is small partial recovery of the original file may be recoverable by data recovery
specialists such as www.datarecoveryspecialists.co.uk
Corrupted
Hard Discs
Hard discs can be corrupted in a number of ways the most common include:-
-
Fire
-
Flood
-
Electromagnetic interference
-
Mechanical Damage
-
Mechanical Wear
-
Circuit board failure
-
Malicious damage
Mechanical wear is the most common. Most Hard discs these days are mechanical devices , although solid state discs (non mechanical) are becoming more common place and increasing in capacity year on year. Mechanical discs one day will simply stop running when their shaft and bearings wear out. This is normally after about 5 or 10 years of running, however a mechanical flaw could cause this to occur at any time.
RAID disc systems are more resilient as they are sets of 3 or 5 hard discs working together so if one disc fails the data is saved on one of the other operational discs. However Hard Disc crashes still occur even on RAID systems.
When your hard disc or RAID system fails then your data file and database backup system is tested. If your business has an adequate back up system the faulty discs can be replaced and the data simply restored. However if you have not tested your backup and restore procedures, or the files or database you require are not on the backup set you could be in trouble and your business could be facing a disaster.
There is however an option which can work. Our technology partners Data Recovery Specialists www.datarecoveryspecialists.co.uk have a 95% success rate in recovering data from corrupted hard discs. When customers of ours recently lost their server discs and then found out the database was not backed up we were delighted to see that Data Recovery Specialists were able to assist. Their work involved mechanical repair (circuit board and even a Hard Disc Head swap) as well as recovery of binary data files. They offered this service for a fixed price and gave a “No Win No fee” guarantee.
Please do not hesitate to contact us at Computerisation Limited if you would like to discuss data file and database backup. For our clients on support contracts we offer a free service where we restore their backup onto our server so we can confirm that the entire backup and restore process is complete.
Computerisation Limited have been business database specialists and customised software developers since 1989. Computerisation Limited, based in Penarth, near Cardiff South Wales develop business software systems and database applications for clients throughout the UK
