File loss always comes unexpectedly. Its cause may be human error, viral attacks or natural or man-made disasters, but the result is the same: important files become inaccessible. This is a bad news. A good news is that those files can be successfully recovered, except for only the most severe cases of hard drive damage or a file over-write. And even better, a common computer user, without data recovery training, can do that for many cases.
The best way to recover from a data loss is to be properly prepared. And we are going straight at it.
Below are the steps that you should follow to recover your files successfully:
Keep Calm
Don’t panic, don’t hurry, don’t make the situation worse. Stop using the storage device from which the files have been lost and ensure that no further changes are made to it. If this is the system disk of your computer, shut down the computer. It is important that you do not make the bad situation worse.
From the moment you see that things went to the dogs, it is time to stop your operations immediately and remain calm. As we’ve already said it, it is important that you do not proceed working on the same device.
You will do all other file recovery operations on a different machine.
What’s the Damage?
The first thing you need to realize is what you lost. This can be a bit tricky especially if your files have been disorganized, but most people know what types of documents they keep on their laptops and computers. It could be folders, files, images, audio recordings – anything really.
So, make sure to assess the damage. Recall which files are lost, where they have been stored, and how they have been lost. Check that this is not a hardware failure of the hard drive. If the problem is a faulty drive, consider going to a professional data recovery service. Trying to fix it by yourself will result in nothing for the best, and in total file loss for the worst.
Browse for Solutions Online
Almost for certain your file loss case is typical, so search the Internet for articles or, better, file recovery guides that may help you to recover the files. Read them carefully. You will be surprised how much useful information can be found online and you can find it immediately.
Thanks to Google ranking system, at the very top of the search, you will find ultimate guides and thorough explanation regarding your file loss. Of course, this will not refer to you directly, but some of the common ways people lose files.
Get Ready
Prepare a workbench for data recovery: prepare a computer to use and free disk space to save recovered files. Never try to save them on the disk where the lost files have resided. This is an essential thing to have in mind. If you don’t know how to do this, you can always ask some friend or colleague of yours for help. In case this does not help you can check https://www.microcenter.com/.
Also, you can find it on the Internet as well. It isn’t tricky, but if you aren’t sure what you are doing, it is best to leave it be and let somebody else fix it for you. Or if you aren’t ready to risk it as you try to fix it…
Find a Good File Recovery Software
Choose the most suitable file recovery software and we’ve found a comprehensive list at filerecoverysoftwarereview.com. Download and install it. Do not buy it until you find it can recover your files. Read its manual or help carefully.
You will find plenty of options here, but not all of these might work to solve your specific problem. They are not poor file recovery softwares, it’s just that they aren’t working in your case. So that’s why you need to be careful before you spend a couple of dollars on it.
If you have enough disk space, image the affected hard drive to do the recovery from that image. This is especially important if you suspect that the drive may fail.
Start file recovery using the chosen program. Carefully follow the instructions from the program’s help, file recovery guides, and other articles. Once you kickstart it, it shouldn’t be too difficult to complete the process.
Look For Backup – It Can Take Some Time
If you cannot recover files with that particular program, do not panic and try another one. Different programs from different developers use different file recovery algorithms thus they deliver different results. And when one, even a very reputable, program fails, the other, even not so famous, will be able to recover everything. So, do not give up too early.
That’s why you need to be prepared for any outcome. When it comes to file recovery, you might solve the problem in just a few minutes – as long as you need to find the software, install it and start it, but it might take days, even weeks.
If you try a few different software and none of them provide any results, then you need to seek professional assistance. Someone who understands the ins and outs of file recovery should be able to help you out. But as we have already noted, file recovery is a tricky business.
Conclusion
Be sure that if you follow these steps, chances are very high that you will able to recovery your lost files successfully. Furthermore, arm yourself with patience and don’t despair if you fail the first, even the second time.
If you didn’t do any complex thing on your machine and you haven’t allow any malware in, there’s a high chance that you will be quite successful in recovering files.