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How Does Data Recovery Work?

"You mean to tell me just because I deleted it, that don't mean it's gone?"

Ever accidentally deleted something really important from your computer's hard drive, such as a school report paper or some sort of work document that you worked really hard on? What if I told you you could have easily retrieved that file because it was never really deleted, but rather just hiding from you? I bet it would really boil your noggin at first, especially if you had to recreate your entire English Lit. essay from scratch at 4:30 in the morning like some sort of dummy. Hey, we've all been there. But that doesn't mean we have to put up with it again. So how does data recovery work exactly? Settle in and I'll explain to you the quick and dirty way to recover lost, deleted or corrupted files through the process known as data recovery.

The reason data recovery works is based on the way computers store information. Microsoft Windows operating systems use something called a file allocation table (FAT for short) to map out exactly what files are on your hard drives and exactly where each file is located on the hard drives. But the actual files are stored seperate from the maps that detail where each file is located on your hard drives.

One way to look at it is that the FAT is sort of like a book's table of contents, and the actual files on your hard drives are like the pages that make up the book. So pretend you're holding in your hands your favorite (or least favorite) book, and picture yourself flipping to the table of contents. Now imagine yourself violently tearing the table of contents out of the book, soaking it with gasoline and lighting it on fire. After you've safely extinguished the flames and placed the ashes in a proper waste recepticle, picture yourself picking up the book again. Did you destroy the table of contents in any way, shape or form affect the pages and chapters of the book? Can you still read the book just fine without the table of contents? The obvious answer is yes, the book reads just fine with or without the table of contents, but it would take a lot more time for you to find your favorite chapter. It's the same thing with your hard drive, and often it's just the FAT (the table of contents) that is troublesome, not the actual files on your computer. If the file still exists on your hard drive, it can be recovered assuming it is not damaged and it is not encrypted.

The FAT for every file and folder on each of your hard drives is stored in a portion at the beginning of your hard drives. Windows uses this collection of information to form your system's directory tree structure. When you erase the FAT, the operating system won't be able to find the file, and it will report to you that the file is missing or deleted. But this is where data recovery steps in! But how does data recovery work?

Data recovery functions to reassemble your operating system's file system so your files can be accessed again. The file system is the way your operating system indexes and "remembers" where all your files are located. But if you've lost some data you will quickly realize that file systems can really be a pain in the rear, and navigating them can be quite like a maze.

There exist many recovery engineers who have been trained in the art of data recovery. These brave souls will endure and dominate even the most confusing of data trees and screwed up file systems, so you don't have to. There also exist many software companies that will sell you all sorts of DIY automatic fix programs, claiming it can automatically and easily diagnose and fix any lost data problems on your hard drive. But hiring a trained professional is your best bet, especially when it comes to very important or sensitive materials. A lot of data recovery actually involves physically repairing the disks by hand to properly and completely recover lost data. This is something automatic fix software just can't do.

About the Author

Learn more about the different types of data recovery and how data recovery works by visiting DataRecoveryHelpCenter.com.

Windows 95 For Dummies


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