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Data Recovery Process
Please note that any attempt to restore lost data to your hard drive also entails some risk that you will do further damage or make lost data impossible to recover. For the highest level of security and confidence in your data recovery process you may want to consider one of the professional data recovery businesses listed in our service providers section. Data Recovery FAQ makes no warranty as to the quality of efficacy of advice provided on this site, and assumes no liability for any data loss you experience.
The three primary causes of data loss for the average PC user are a failure of your operating system, a mechanical failure of your hard drive, or a failure of the software controls for your hard drive.
A mechanical failure can often be detected by listening to the operation of your drive. If your drive is making unexpected noises when attempting to access data, you are probably experiencing the mechanical failure of one of the components of your drive. In this event you should not try to service the drive yourself. If under warranty, you should contact the drive manufacturer. If your highest priority is to recover the data on the drive, you should visit the service provider section of this website.
If your operating system fails to recognize or boot your hard drive, you will receive an error message as you attempt to boot your PC. In the event your PC warns you of a Disk Boot Failure, insert the boot disk that came with your new PC to start the computer via a floppy disk instead. If you cannot locate the boot disk that came with your PC< try visiting www.bootdisk.com for help in producing a substitute boot disk for your operating system.
Once your PC has booted, from the A:> prompt enter c: to switch to your hard drive, and attempt to view the contents by entering "dir". If the contents of your drive appear intact, then your problem likely lies in a corrupted operating system. Back up any critical files onto a floppy disk and then proceed with a reinstallation of the operating system.
Finally, the problem may lie with the software controls for your hard drive. The most common of these problems occurs when the backup battery on your motherboard dies. Your PC then may forget the specific settings to control your hard drive, and you will have to manually re-enter the settings and replace the battery on your motherboard. Follow your PC's specific process for entering operating settings upon boot. This menu is either reached with a disk provided by the manufacturer with your PC, or often by holding down the Esc, Del or F10 keys during the boot process. Follow the menus to your hard drive settings, and instruct the PC to automatically detect the correct settings for your drive. This should reset the software controls and enable your drive to work properly.
If the above has not addressed your data recovery problem, please visit our web resources section for more information, or the service providers section for professional assistance.