Data Recovery: What to do When all Else Fails

by Gerry Morris




Let’s say you’ve read my previous columns, listened to your consultant or come to the conclusion on your own that you need to protect your data with a redundant RAID array and utilize an offsite data backup service or system. Or maybe you’re backing up to tape or other removable media. Or, it could be that you’ve been meaning to establishing a reliable backup routine but just haven’t gotten around to it. Hardware failures which result in data loss are increasingly more rare these days, but they still occasionally happen. The more layers of backup used the more things have to go wrong before data is completely lost. But, in theory everything could fail at once. If a hard drives fails and there is no backup, it still may be possible to recover the data.

Hard drives consist basically of magnetic disks where data is recorded and the motor that spins them; a set of mechanical heads that move across the disks reading and writing the data as they go; and the software (firmware) that controls the disk’s operation. The components are assembled inside a “clean room” to prevent dust or other contaminants from finding their way into the disk’s enclosure. The disk operates at such close tolerances that even small particles of dust could interfere.

When a hard drive malfunctions to the extent that data can no longer be retrieved from it, the problem could be with one or more of its components. It could be that the disk will no longer spin because the motor has gone kaput. The mechanism that moves the heads across the disks may have fallen into disrepair causing the heads to bang against the disks or not move at all. Or, the problem could be corruption of the firmware. With either category of problem, it may be possible to recover all or part of the data from the failed drive.

If a critical drive on your system has failed and there is no backup, Google “data recovery” in the city where you are located. If you are in a metropolitan area, you’ll come up with pages and pages of hits. It’s big business to retrieve data from inoperable hard drives. This may give you comfort to know that there are thousands if not millions of other computer users with no usable backup of their data.

Data Recovery firms, like any other businesses, vary in costs and capabilities. A full service data recovery service would have access to a clean room. If the problem with the drive is mechanical, its enclosure might have to be opened for repair. This must be done in a dust free environment. This would be the most expensive type of data recovery because of the cost allocated to the use and maintenance of the clean room. If the disk failure is the result of a firmware problem or some other issue that involves retrieving the data without opening up the drive, the cost is substantially less. However, data recovery even without the use of a clean room is not cheap. Prices for more or less simple procedures may run up around $1,500.

Price shopping may be risky. This is your last chance to save years worth of data. Check references and testimonials. Also, the firms usually charge a fee to determine if the data can be recovered with a price quote for full recovery. If one firm cannot recover the data, usually nothing has been done to the disk that would prevent getting a second opinion.

If the data can be recovered it will be returned to you usually on the medium of your choice. It may be loaded onto a new disk or burned to multiple DVD’s so you can transfer it to your new system.

Of course we all want to avoid having to avail ourselves of this last resort. The best way to do that is by using more than one backup method, with at least one storing the data offsite. A RAID array won’t help if your building burns or floods. Also, a representative from a data recovery firm recently told me that her firm gets about one case a week where both drives of a RAID array have failed simultaneously. It is important to check your backup system regularly to make sure it is functioning properly. Unfortunately, the more automatic and transparent a backup system becomes, the more likely were are to forget to look in on it occasionally.

Also, at the first hint of a problem with a hard drive such as noise or read write errors, the drive should be replaced. The quicker Hard drives are a lot cheaper than data recovery.


E. G. “Gerry” Morris is a small firm practitioner and has practiced law for over 30 years in Austin, Texas. He is certified as a Criminal Law Specialist by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. His firm web site is at www.egmlaw.com. Email your comments and questions to Gerry at egm@egmlaw.com.