Recovering lost data is one of the most stressful things you can do on your PC. If you’re taking the time and effort to recover that data, it’s likely very important to you. For that reason, it’s vital that you fix your computer quickly and efficiently in order to get those files back. Here are some of the best ways to recover your lost data:
Deleted, but not gone forever: It’s important to understand that when you empty your recycling bin, or delete anything from your hard drive, that information is not necessarily gone. Instead, the computer tells the hard drive that it can now write over that old data whenever it needs to. For that reason, data recovery is possible using special tools and programs.
Keep in mind that some data clearing programs will completely wipe this space from your hard drive, which actually deletes the files forever. In this case, there is generally very little you can do to recover your files.
Download additional software: Data recovery programs range from free to expensive, depending on how difficult your problem is. For example, if you’ve simply deleted a file and cleared it from your computer’s recycle bin, then you should easily be able to find a free program to recover that data for you. Depending on your technical expertise, you may be able to recover it yourself, manually.
Similarly, there are programs which find files that you’ve replaced, or saved over. For example, if you were trying to save a file under the same name, and accidently pressed “yes” when the computer asked to replace the existing file, then you may need to recover that original file. There are also free solutions to this problem.
For a more comprehensive solution, you can find data recovery programs that will restore hard drive partitions, recover email records, and more. These programs may even be able to recover files that have been lost during a hard drive failure or other system crash.
Take it to a computer repair shop: If all this fails, then you may want to take your computer to a repair shop. Big name stores, like Best Buy, may recover your data for you. However, they often do this at an exorbitant rate (they know how important that data is to you). For that reason, it’s best to use these companies only after you’ve exhausted every other solution.
Nevertheless, computer repair shops are the best place to go if you’ve physically damaged your drive to a point where it is no longer even recognized by your computer. Often, recovery of these disks requires certain tools and expertise which can only be found at specialized computer repair shops.