However, not all cases are successful and no data recovery companies can guarantee 100% recovery rate due to the complexities of data recovery nature. To increase the chances of data recovery or decrease the possibilities of data overwritten, here are several useful tips.
Tip 1: Do Not Save More Data to the Drive Where Your Lost Data Were Stored
Keep saving more data to the drive which contained lost data makes data overwritten much easier to happen especially when the drive volume is limited. The smaller the disk capacity is, the possibility of data recovery is lower. Important data should always be backed up.
Tip 2: Do Not Store New Files in the Root Directory
Files, which are stored in the root directory, are sensitive to loss by quick formatting, because file entries are set-aside in the root. Avoid storing files directly in the root since the file disappears, if the directory entry is damaged. Someone can recover data very quickly if it is in a sub-directory.
Tip 3: Do Defragment the Drive Regularly
Data is stored in successive clusters, if sufficient connected free storage location is available. Repeated deletion and write operations fragment the drive.
Here is a simple example:
(1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8) - should represent 8 small files
(1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8) - now files (2), (4), (7) and (8) were deleted
(1) (9) (3) (9) (5) (6) (9) (9) - disk is fragmented if a larger file is stored
If data is deleted from the disk, new data can take the free place. If the new data is larger than the old one however, the data is net set aside in coherent range, but in fragments. When reading fragmented data the head of the hard disk has to 'jump' (i.e. the head moves to the looked track). Thus the reading and write speed is reduced. In order to make the read and write procedure again more efficient, it is necessary to reorganize the fragmented disk. After defragmentation, the data is in sequential order and then look in such a way:
(1) (9) (9) (9) (9) (3) (5) (6) - after the drive is defragmented
A usually fragmented disk will degree the efficiency of a data rescue, if e.g. the FAT is overwritten by a quick format or a virus. Then it is necessary to analyze exactly, how a file scattered over the disk lies. If however connected data is present, a data-rescue is very quickly possible on the basis of the information about its position and size.
Important note: A non-fragmented disk will increase you rate of recovery because the complete data is stored at the beginning of the first cluster of a file.
Tip 4: Do Not Install Recovery Software or Save Recovered Data to the Source Drive
When you are using a data recovery software. The program should remind you that you should not install the application to the source drive that contains data which you need to recover. Otherwise data could be overwritten and success on a data rescue becomes smaller. Also saving the recovered data to the drive will make similar effects. So for the data recovery it is recommended to prepare a second hard disk.
Tip 5: Do Put the Device on Safe Place before Data Recovery
This way it protects the device from any physical damage such as falling onto the hard ground etc. Note: hardware errors are much more difficult to handle than software errors. So if your lost data are located on the hard drive of your PC, better do not move it. If you are using a digital device say digital camera, camcorder etc, better remove the memory card out of the device and put it into a safe place. Check out these camera tips for how to protect your data.
Hope you find these dos and don'ts helpful.
