Data Recovery Blog

The price of SSDs has been unprecedently low in recent months with sales of the flash-based storage spiking as a result. We’ve seen the effects of this in our data recovery lab recently: the steady growth of SSD data recovery jobs we’ve witnessed over the past few years gathered pace towards the end of 2018, and continued into 2019. This trend, though, may not continue if recent reports are to be believed. In the middle of July 2019, various sources started suggesting that the cost of NAND flash memory was set to increase by between 10 and 15%. The cost of NAND is known to fluctuate regularly, with falling demand coupled with increased production having led to a drop in pric...

We regularly recover accidentally deleted data here at Fields. Usually, though, we’re trying to retrieve the odd file – not the entire contents of a hard drive. Still, if you’ve wiped your hard drive and really wish you hadn’t, it’s entirely possible that your data can be recovered. Why a wiped hard drive can be recovered When data is deleted from a hard drive, it’s not erased. Instead, the locations of the bytes that form the document, MP3 file etc. are removed meaning the data itself still exists. It’s location, however, is marked as being free and will be erased as soon as a single one of these bytes is overwritten with new data. So, if you have accidentally wiped your hard...

So, you’re in need of data recovery services and, like any sensible businessperson, you want to know how much it’s going to cost so that you can consider how it’ll affect your bottom line. Hey, we don’t blame you. In a perfect world we’d all know how much something was going to cost and be able to gauge the value of the investment beforehand. Data recovery can be required because key data that is vital to a business’s day-to-day activities has been lost and, when this is the case, the cost is almost irrelevant as the data must be recovered. In other situations, however, data is lost that is assumed to have some value but it’s exact worth is not fully known or understood. When the...

The head crash is, amongst those operating within Information Communication Technology at least, truly infamous. It’s one of the most common causes of hard drive failure and data loss. As a result, it’s both despised and feared by IT professionals and expert data recovery technicians in equal measure.But just what exactly is a head crash? Well, before we explain, we’ll need to provide a bit more information about how hard drives work.How hard drives workHard drives store data by using components called read/write heads to record data onto a separate part of the drive known as ‘platters. The heads write either a one or zero onto microscopic sectors of these platters by magne...

We’ve discussed how computer viruses can bring about data loss previously, but this is just one of the drawbacks of having an infected machine. Reduced performance, irritating popups and – in the worst-case scenario – financial loss are all possible when a device is infected by an insidious programme. For several years, this has resulted in many consumers who falsely believed that Macs could not be infected by viruses opting for these devices over PCs.Sadly, this is – as we’ve alluded previously – a myth. The operating systems used by Macs have flaws that hackers can exploit – leveraging them is simply less profitable when compared to Windows.Why we all thought Macs couldn’t get viru...

Data has, over the last two decades, come to play a vital role in many businesses' day-to-day activities. So, when a business requires data recovery services, they usually need the job done as quickly as possible. It should come as no surprise, then, to hear that stakeholders are nigh-on always extremely keen to know just how quickly we can recover their data.On average, we complete data recovery jobs within two business days. There are, however, several factors that can affect these timeframes. Here are the most common:Severely damaged mediaThe process of recovering data from storage media that has suffered significant physical damage is inevitably more time-consuming. Whereas most...

In order to recover data from a failed media device, a number of tools and techniques can be used. The best course of action is determined by several factors, but the cause of data loss and the type of storage media are most likely to govern what processes are used in order to recover the data. Data recovery software Generally speaking, data recovery software is required when the storage media has suffered from logical damage. In other words, when the problem lies not with the media itself, but with something that has been done to it or the way it is reading the data stored on it. Typical examples of such problems include: ·        ...

We’ve all accidentally deleted files but doing so doesn’t mean they’re lost forever. There’ll be no means of accessing the data, but it will still exist until it’s been overwritten. Here’s why:Why permanently deleted data isn’t permanently deletedWhen files are removed from a Recycle Bin or similar facility, the space within which it is stored is simply marked as available. As a result, the data remains present within the media until it is written over by new data.Think of your storage media as a library. There’s only so much space and only so many books can be stored there as a result. Imagine if library policy dictated that unpopular books are to be replaced by alternative texts but...

When we find ourselves needing to spend money in order to fix a problem – whether it be to repair a leaking pipe, a faulty car or anything else – we want to know how much it’s going to cost us. Data recovery is no exception. If we have a problem with a house, car, washing machine etc. we generally know who to contact for a quote. Recovering data from a failed hard drive, SSD etc. is a much more specific task, however, and knowing who to contact – and therefore the task of obtaining a quote – is far more problematic as a result. Equally concerning for those in need of such services is the fact that, whilst many of us have a rough idea of what will be required to repair most mechan...

With each day that passes, data becomes an ever more valuable commodity (we know this all too well thanks to the urgency ascribed to RAID recoveries!). For businesses, it’s used daily to fulfil services and gain valuable insights into patters and trends. Outside of private enterprise, people like you and me use data for personal enjoyment daily. Sadly, the value of data – both personal and professional – is being leveraged by cyber criminals who know that there are people who would, if they were to lose it, do anything to get it back.It was this realisation that led to the birth of Ransomware, a computer virus that, once it’s infected a system, proceeds to encrypt the data stored the...