Guest Post: Hard Disk Data Recovery Problems and their Solutions

Summary: The post highlights the common hard drive data recovery problems and the solutions that can be performed to safeguard the crucial data. It also suggests a potential data recovery solution that can be employed in minor as well as severe instance of failure.

Regardless of the Operating System, your machine is running on and the advanced mechanisms it supports, it is still prone to data loss situations, whereby your hard drive gets affected. Sometimes, the cause is minor, easy to detect and resolve, while in some cases it is hard to find the actual cause of the problem. However, the hard disk recovery methods can cause some data loss, irrespective of how careful you implement these procedures.

Since hard drive issues are easy to troubleshoot, the situation is irrevocable in instances of data loss. In a majority of cases, continued working with damaged hard drive can cause permanent data loss. In most cases, backup is considered to be an ultimate solution for all hard drive issues. However, there are various troubleshoot methods that you can apply to protect your hard drive and its enclosed data.

Problem #1: Accidental Deletion of Files or Folders

Accidentally deleting files or crucial folders is a common cause and all of us encounter this at least once at professional or individual level. When a file is deleted the internal contents remain intact, however space is marked as free by a hard drive.

Solution:

If you ever delete a file by mistake, all you need to do immediately is stop using the system as you may overwrite the lost file unintentionally. If the space is not overwritten, there is still a possibility to reclaim lost data.

Problem #2: Unintentional Hard Drive or Partition Format

You will lose some or all metadata as well as administrative information if the drive is formatted either intentionally or mistakenly. All the information about various files stored on the system and integrated data contents will be lost.

Solution:

Stop using the hard drive. Employ an efficient third-party hard disk recovery software to reinstate every possible bit of deleted data. Data experts also recommend that a professional recovery tool is the only solution to restore data to its original format and structure.

Problem #3: Virus Attacks or Malware Intrusion

This is among the more serious issues hard drives encounters and there are a number of reasons behind the cause. It could be due to downloading an unreliable application, connecting an infected device to the computer, or can be due to an untrustworthy download platform.

Solution:

The initial resolution to this problem is executing a full scan with a reliable and renowned anti-virus application. Also, make sure to download applications from a trustworthy download medium to prevent virus interruption in future. If nothing appears helpful, take your computer to a data recovery expert.

Problem #4: Physically Damaged Hard Disk

It is probable that your hard drive is physically damaged if you notice a clicking or grounding sound appearing from the CPU. If this is the case, there is nothing much that you can do to resolve this issue, other than a thorough consultation with a hard drive data recovery company.

Solution:

In case if the drive is physically damaged, system BIOS fails to detect it. In case it still spins, you can follow the given workarounds:

• Use AUTO- Settings to examine if the drive is correctly configured in BIOS

• Remove hard drive and try connecting it to another computer to ensure if it is accessible or not

• You can alternatively use diagnostic applications to examine the hard drive and persisting errors

Problem #5: Presence of Bad Sectors on Hard Disk

Formation of tiny cluster of storage space on the hard drive is referred to as bad sectors. Due to the presence of bad sectors, the drive fails to respond to read or write operations effectively. Sectors that are due to physical damage are hard to repair whereas bad sectors that occurred due to software errors are easy to detect and fixed.

Solution:

Bad Sectors are considered as the reality of the hard drives. Regardless of the make and model of the hard drive, they simply appear and affect the functionality and performance of the hard drive. If you experience them, there is no solution that falls under this category, the only advice is to always shut down the system appropriately and do not run more than one application at one time as this will put excess burden on the hard drive.

Problem #6: Hard Drive Not Detected

If you suddenly notice that the hard drive is not detected by the system, there are several error messages that you encounter on startup and in between the read/write operation.  In such cases, the system may fail to boot or freeze during the boot process.

Solution:

If the hard drive is in the warranty period, you can contact the manufacturer and ask for a Return Authorization (RA). However, if no guarantee over the stored data is offered by the manufacturer, then make sure to perform a third-party recovery before the hard drive is replaced so that you can restore data on the newly installed hard drive.

Professional Assistance to Salvage Hard Disk Data

If you face any of the above mentioned hard drive problems, you must be worried about the data being stored on the drive. Whatever be the issue, you can employ Stellar Phoenix Windows Data Recovery Software to successfully recover your lost, deleted or formatted data. Even if the drive is severely corrupted, you can still retrieve the data and reinstate it back to the device.

All the attributes of the files and folders remain intact; also, you do not lose a single bit of information during the recovery process. You can initiate the recovery procedure on almost all the hard drives. The integrity of data is taken care of during the recovery process.

The software scans the hard drive to recover all possible data irrespective of the reason behind corruption. There are two different scan options being offered that includes Normal Scan and Advanced Scan. The former is recommended in case there is a minimal level corruption while an advanced scan is recommended for drives that encounter severe damage and data loss.  

Follow the steps below to recover your lost or deleted data through the software:

1. Download, install and launch Stellar Phoenix Windows Data Recovery software to initiate the recovery.

1. Click on the Drive Recovery option and then click on the Select Volume to Recover Data. The tool will display all the volumes under the respective section
2. Select the volume you need to recover data from and click on the Settings option from the toolbar
3. Next, select a scan option from the flying pane which appears on the right side. Select either Normal scan for quick recovery or Advanced Scan for thorough scanning

The above-mentioned procedure will allow you recover deleted data from any of the volumes existing on the hard drive. In addition to this, the tool also enables recovering lost volumes in case any of the hard drive partition gets deleted or formatted accidently from the hard drive. You will need to click on the Click Here to Search Lost Volumes link to initiate the process to recover the deleted partitions from a hard drive.

The Bottom Line

This Windows Data Recovery Software also allows recovering deleted image files from the drive. You can click on the Photo Recovery option available in the tool to begin the photo recovery procedure. The interface is user centric and hence recovery can be performed smoothly by non-technical users.