Data loss can strike anyone at any time. Your hard drive crashes, a virus strikes, or you accidentally delete a file. It can all feel like a nightmare, but there are ways to get your data back. Let’s take a look at how you can do data recovery from your computer.
Windows recovery
The first thing to do when you’ve lost data is to try a Windows recovery. This process will help you put your computer in a state where it can be booted from the CD or DVD drive.
This process usually involves changing your PC’s boot order so that the CD/DVD drive comes before the hard drive and then inserting your Windows Recovery Disk.
Mac recovery
If your computer is running the OS X operating system (OS), be sure to use a recovery disk. If you don’t have one, simply insert a bootable OS X DVD and follow the onscreen instructions.
Linux recovery
Linux recovery is a powerful tool for undoing data that has been deleted. It’s a command-line utility that can be used to recover data from hard drives, USB devices, CDs, and DVDs.
The utility will let you recover files using the Unix find command. This is an essential tool for anyone who needs to get their data back quickly.
Recovering deleted files
If you deleted a file and want it back, don’t worry. You can recover it. If you are using a Mac computer, open the program Disk Utility and select the drive of your hard drive (not the partition.).
For Windows users, open My Computer and right-click on the drive where your file is located. Select “Properties” and then “Tools”. From there, find “Recover Data” in the bottom-right corner. After that, follow these steps:
1) Select “Damaged Partition Recovery”
2) Click on “Next”
3) Select the file type from the dropdown menu (essentially pick what kind of document you were trying to recover)
4) Click on “Next” again
5) Wait for it to finish scanning for files and then click on “Finish” **Note: If this doesn’t work, try using “Raw Recovery” or “File Carving”.
Recovering deleted folders
If you deleted a folder, don’t worry; it may not be lost forever. If the files were on your desktop, they should still exist in the recycle bin. You can either empty the recycle bin or restore the folder by dragging and dropping it back to your desktop.
Removing and creating backups
The first step to recovering data is to remove the damaged or corrupted file. This can be done by rebooting your computer and pressing F10 to access BIOS, then changing your boot priority order so that your CD/DVD drive is first.
Insert your Windows installation disc into the drive and restart your computer. You’ll need to make a backup of your data before you delete anything else. There are many ways to do this—one way is by using a USB stick and making sure it is formatted with NTFS or exFAT.
If you don’t have a USB stick, you can use an external hard drive as long as it is formatted with NTFS or exFAT. Another option is to open up an image of your hard disk drive which should have all the necessary files on it.
Once you have made a backup, reboot your computer but this time select “Repair My Computer” from the boot menu instead of “Windows Installation.” Select “Command Prompt” and type in these commands: chkdsk /r /x, sigh (this command will check for errors on the disk) and fsck (this command will repair any errors found).
You may also want to scan for viruses using antivirus software such as Norton 360 Antivirus. After removing the bad file, restoring backups and scanning for viruses, you should be able to recover some data from your hard drive.
Conclusion
The best way to recover data from your computer is to make sure you have a backup. So be sure to create a backup and store it somewhere safe so you’ll have it when you need it.