What Is Data Recovery?

Peter

updated on 2022-10-19 to Data Recovery

We've all experienced data loss due to a hard drive failure, data corruption, or accidentally deleting a file. You've probably wondered about data recovery if you've ever had a significant data loss. For example, how does data recovery work? How much information can be recovered? What is the cost of data recovery?

We, too, have pondered these questions. So keep reading to learn how data recovery works.

What is data recovery?

Data recovery is a software-driven process that allows you to recover and restore files that have been lost, deleted, inaccessible, corrupted, or damaged so that you can get back to work as soon as possible.

The need to protect data systems grows as the business landscape—and our lives in general—becomes more data-dependent. The threat environment evolves in tandem with the digital landscape. Data recovery can assist you in recovering from issues such as computer viruses, malware, and ransomware. However, you must also safeguard systems against common threats such as accidental file deletion, corrupted files, and incompatible third-party software (SaaS).

If any of these issues affect your systems or files, data recovery allows you to restore systems to a point in time before the incident. Data recovery reduces costly downtime while strengthening your brand and assisting you in maintaining productivity.

Backups are key

Backups are required for the data recovery process to function. Without a backup, you’d have to recreate lost data from scratch, which could take a significant amount of (avoidable) time and effort.

Backup and recovery software, such as Rewind, combine backup and recovery functions into a single, easy-to-use interface. Backups are automated with backup and data recovery software installed on your devices and systems, and the data recovery process begins in just a few clicks. Ease of use is essential because it reduces your reliance on expensive IT expertise while also assisting you in maintaining system integrity and uptime.

The most typical cases of data loss

In general, the overall success of a data rescue procedure is heavily dependent on the selection of the appropriate retrieval method and its timely application. That is why it is critical to understand the nature of each loss instance and what can be done in each specific scenario. In contrast, the wrong actions can result in the irreversible destruction of data.

The following are the most common causes of data loss:

Storage failure

It is not recommended to attempt data recovery on your own if you suspect any physical issues with the storage (e.g., the device does not boot, makes unusual noises, overheats, has reading issues, etc.). You should take the storage to a professional.

If a RAID system fails (failure of one drive in RAID 1 or RAID 5, failure of up to two drives in RAID 6, etc.), restoration is possible without the missing drive because RAID redundancy allows recreating the content of a failed component.

Accidental deletion of files or folders

When deleting a file, each file system behaves differently. In Windows, for example, the FAT file system marks file directory entries as "unused" and destroys information about the file's allocation (except for the beginning of the file); in NTFS, only the file entry is marked as "unused," the record is deleted from the directory, and the disc space is also marked as "unused"; and most Linux/Unix file systems wipe out the file descriptor (facts about the file location, file type, file size, and so on) and mark the disc space as "free."

File system formatting

File system formatting can occur by accident, for example, because of specifying the wrong disc partition or mishandling a storage device (e.g., NAS devices usually format the internal storage after an attempt to reconfigure RAID).

The formatting procedure creates empty file system structures on the storage device and then overwrites any existing data. If the types of the new and former file systems are the same, it destroys the existing file system structures by overwriting them with new ones; if the types are different, the structures are written to distinct locations, which may wipe the user's content.

Loss of information about a partition

This failure can occur due to a failed "fdisk" operation or user error, resulting in the loss of information about the location and size of a partition.

Logical damage to the file system

Modern file systems have a high level of protection against internal errors, but they are frequently rendered ineffective against hardware or software failures. Even a small amount of incorrect content written to the wrong location on storage can destroy file system structures, break file system object links, and render the file system unreadable. This problem can occur as a result of blackouts or hardware failures.

How did data recovery work?

Depending on the data loss circumstances, the data recovery software used to create the backup, and the backup target media, the data recovery process varies. Many desktop and laptop backup software platforms, for example, allow users to restore lost files on their own, whereas restoring a corrupted database from a tape backup is a more complicated process that requires IT intervention. Data recovery services can also be used to recover files that were not backed up and accidentally deleted from a computer's file system but are still present on the hard disc in fragments.

Data recovery is possible because a file and its associated information are stored in separate locations. A file allocation table, for example, is used by the Windows operating system to track which files are on the hard drive and where they are stored. The allocation table is analogous to the table of contents of a book, whereas the actual files on the hard drive are analogous to the book's pages.

When data must be recovered, it is usually only the file allocation table that is faulty. The actual file to be recovered may still be in perfect condition on the hard drive. The actual file to be recovered may still be in perfect condition on the hard drive. It can be recovered if the file is still present and not damaged or encrypted. There are other methods for recovering the file if it is damaged, missing, or encrypted. Even if the file is physically damaged, it can still be rebuilt. Many applications, such as Microsoft Office, include uniform headers at the start of files to identify them as belonging to that application.

Some utilities can be used to manually reconstruct the file headers, allowing at least a portion of the file to be recovered. Most data recovery processes combine technologies, so businesses aren't just recovering data on tape. Recovering core applications and data from tape takes time, and you may need to access your data immediately after a disaster. Transporting tapes is also fraught with danger.

Furthermore, not all production data stored at a remote location may be required to resume operations. As a result, it is prudent to determine what data can be left behind and what data must be recovered.

A Data Recovery Guide

If you want to recover deleted or formatted data, data recovery software is a good choice. Magoshare Data Recovery is a famous data recovery program. It supports to recover lost data from HDD, SSD, memory card, digital camera, USB flash drive, etc.