Prior to Hard Drive Data Recovery

A Backup Article Contributed by Ashley Lister

Prior to Hard Drive Data Recovery

Prior to any operation of hard drive data recovery it is imperative to understand how data is stored on a hard drive. The process of recovery is a tricky one, rarely guaranteed to succeed, and stricken with many dangers that can instantly invalidate the entire operation before it has properly begun. Understanding a little more about the way data is stored could help to prevent a major blunder from destroying the information you are so desperate to retrieve.

Hard Drive Data Recovery and File Allocation Tables.

Data is stored in areas called partitions which are indexed in File Allocation Tables (FATs). On the earliest DOS systems these were the FAT-16 system and in Windows 98 and Windows ME they were FAT-32. The only difference between these two types of file allocation table is the amount of space they can use on each logical drive. The most recent type of file allocation table to be brought out is the NTFS - a file system for Windows supplied with NT technology. This later system is fully compatible with the earlier FATs, even though that type of file system isn't the one it uses by default.

All of these file systems use the master boot record and partition table found in the first sector of the hard drive. If either the master boot record or the partition table have been damaged the drive will not be able to be booted. This means, to access information that might still be retrieved from the drive, a user will have to attach the drive to another machine.

Hard Drive Data Recovery and Partitions.

The first sector of a NTFS partition contains the partition boot sector. This is the area of the partition that needs to be accessed by the operating system in order for the drive to be read. If this area has been damaged, and the essential files in the boot sector can't be accessed, the chances of data recovery are bleak.

However, somewhat more prudent than us mere mortals, the NTFS file system regularly takes backups of this information. If this backup information can be accessed then there is a chance of recovering most of the data from the hard drive unless it has either been corrupted by the initial problem or overwritten in the and attempts to retrieve information.

The FAT-16 and FAT-32 systems use a similar method of allocating information to the partition boot sector, although the index files for these are always located in a specific spot on the hard drive. If this spot happens to be the area that has been damaged and caused the initial problem recovery might be better trusted to experts in this field.

Hard Drive Data Recovery Can Be Done.

With appropriate software and due care and attention, information can be retrieved from a damaged hard drive. Depending on the problem, the outlook is not always poor but, if the information is very important, rather than messing with forces you don't understand, it might be wise to consider employing a hard drive data recovery specialist.