Unified Technology Solutions

I needed that file! What to do when you realize you deleted or lost a file or other data you need.

(Note: This article is not a how-to for recovering lost data, it gives the steps you should take immediately after realizing data is lost to maximize the chance of recovery by a professional.)

It has happened to all of us at one time or another, that panic that sets in after we realize we just deleted an important file. Well there is good news your file can probably be recovered, but you need to follow these important steps that will help dramatically increase the chance of recovery. And yes this includes pictures on a memory card, files on a USB drive, or data on a network.

1. Stop using the computer, or device. We need to prevent the location of the drive the file was stored on from being overwritten with new data, once that happens the chances of recovery go way down. If it is a memory stick in a camera or PC it is easy, just remove the card and use your spare for the rest of your vacation pictures. (You always carry a spare card for your camera right?) If it was on your hard drive don’t shut it down right away, windows loves to write stuff to the drive during shutdown, contact us or your IT personnel right away and ask if they want you to shut down or leave it running, this will depend on how soon they can get to you. If the file was on a network share things get tricky, if you can stop everyone from using the network it will help, but this is not always possible.

2. Don’t try  recovery yourself. Data recovery should not be attempted yourself as the first recovery attempt has the best chance off success, you may lose your data permanently by attempting recovery yourself. The simple act of downloading and installing that recovery tool you found online may overwrite your data.

3. Contact your IT person ASAP, of course you are welcome to contact us at (772) 539-7667 if you do not have an IT person or if they do not have experience recovering data. If you pulled the memory card or USB memory stick out of your device there is not as much of a rush, go ahead and finish your vacation, presentation, or meeting, and call us when you are free. But if it was a file on your hard drive, or especially one on a network share then time is a very important factor, and the sooner you contact us the better the chance of recovery.

But what if the loss was due to actual failure of the storage device. Fire, water, and crushing damage can all make your data unreadable, and these are mechanical devices and we all know they will die when needed most for no apparent reason at all, but don’t lose hope as recovery is still possible. Again I have to warn you about trying any “Home Remedies” for data recovery that can cause more harm then good, and just because they worked for 1 person they may not work for you unless your issue is exactly the same. An old trick was to “freeze” the hard drive, but this can cause moisture to form on the internal platters of the drive, further destroying data. Again contact a professional right away for instructions, if a drive was submerged in water for example they may instruct you to keep it in clean water during shipping depending on the length of submersion to prevent further corrosion.

For extreme cases, such as those with physical damage, UTS has partnered with DriveSavers to offer advanced data recovery options. You are welcome to contact them directly (use code RS23022 for a discount) but UTS does not charge for consultations on data recovery only the recovery itself, so feel free to contact us first for advice about the level of recovery is needed in your specific case.