The 411 on Simple Data Recovery
A Backup Article Contributed by Liza Gutierrez
What is Data Recovery Anyway?
The words Data Recovery alone can be intimidating. You don't have to be a computer or techno genius to know that if you use a computer, the information stored in that computer is subject to disappearing. For those of us that don't know the difference between megabits and gigabits, data recovery can be intimidating. However, data recovery does not require a degree in computer science. Believe it or not, data recovery can be quite simple and affordable.
How many times has this happened to you: You finish working on a project on your computer when all of a sudden your mouse doesn't respond and your computer has frozen? You decide the reboot or restart your computer in hopes that the project you were working on reappears on your computer, but alas the image is forever lost in the tiny world of data living in your computer. There are ways however, to recover the data lost.
Never Fear! Your Computer May Be Equipped to Do Data Recovery.
Now-a-days many computers, upon restarting, will perform a data recovery of a project display it for you to see as soon as you open the program you were working on. Your computer will ask if you want to revert to or continue working on the data that has been recovered. If this is the case, you can simply re-save the file. OFtentimes the computer will only be able to save up until the point of your last save.
For example, if you wrote 5 paragraphs but clicked on the save button only during your fourth paragraph, your computer will do data recovery only until the fourth paragraph. As a rule of thumb, save often. If you forget to save your data often, you can program your computer to perform an automatic save at certain intervals. This helps greatly for data recovery.
Data Recovery and the Search Feature on Your Computer.
Another way of conducting data recovery is to do a search on your computer of the data. If the project you were working on had a title, then enter that title into your search bar. Search not only your hard-drives but any floppy or compact disks that you may have inserted into your computer. Chances are your computer will find the data for you. If you had not given a title to your project, search the temporary files (often times names TEMP) for the most recent data worked on.
Many computers will do a auto-save of data but will only store these files for a temporary time or until another project with the same program is worked on. The computer will only save the most recent project accessed.
Personal Data and Data Recovery
If you are like millions of Americans today, you use your computer to store important information. Many people forgo the traditional pen and paper method to bill paying and bill records, personal telephone directory, family medical records, and other personal records and store these in their computers. IF this is the case with you, then it is wise to create a data recovery media in case that your computer becomes ill.
A data recovery medium - whether it be a compact disc, a floppy disk, a zip or another hard drive- can store all of your important information in case of disaster. If you want to back-up all of your data into another hard drive, you will need to either have both computers on the same network or copy all of your files into another CD or media.
Once you have copied the files into any form of media, you can read and save these files into the hard drive of your other computer to use as a back-up or for data recovery. You may want to use another computer that is not often used or that has a removable C drive only to be used for data recovery. This ensures that your data will not be accessed often or accidentally erased.
If you decide to create a CD or floppy of your records, you can simply re-save all of your files under the CD or floppy or copy them into the CD or floppy. A copy of the records is a good idea since this means that your computer will keep the records in the hard drive, but you will also have a back up in a separate compartment- the CD or floppy.
Whatever method you use, personal records should always be kept confidential. If possible create a password that only you know to ensure your privacy. Copying all of your records however, is the smartes and fastest way to recover data.
