Data loss can occur in any number of ways. From fire to human error, customers and clients turn to you to for guidance. You would like to advise your clients as to how they can minimize data loss and lead them down the road to recovery. The following scenarios outline incidents that cause data loss and tips to help avoid additional damage.
Physical Damage:
Physical damage to hard drives can manifest itself in many forms including clicking, grinding, spinning or other strange noises. If you suspect physical damage has occurred these tips can help reduce further damage:
Be aware of strange noises or grinding
Do not shake, disassemble or attempt to clean any hard drive or server that has been damaged – improper handling can make recovery operations more difficult and can lead to valuable information being lost
Never attempt to operate any visibly damaged devices
Turn off computer immediately – further operation may damage data beyond repair
Fire Damage:
Many people are unaware that data recovery could restore data from computers damaged in a fire. Important tips to share with customers suffering from this specific damage include:
Do not attempt to clean fire damaged media
Do not place in refrigerator or freezer to cool media
Do not try to remove hard drive – ship entire computer for recovery
Physical damage, no matter what the cause, requires clean room attention.
Water Damage:
Do not attempt to clean or dry water-logged drives or other media
Never attempt to dry water-damaged media by opening it or exposing it to heat – such as that from a hairdryer
Before storing or shipping wet media, place in a container that will keep it damp and protect shipping material from getting wet
Do not attempt to operate visibly damaged devices
Perhaps the most important tip to share with your customers/clients is to never assume that data is unrecoverable, no matter what it has been through.
Non-physical Damage:
Users may see messages such as “No OS found”, “Corrupt Volume” or may simply be missing files and folders
Shut the computer down immediately. The longer a damaged hard drive is left running, the more data that can be irretrievably lost
