Data recovery tools can be used to recover any type of lost data that has occurred due to an accident
. Some things that you should take into account though when attempting to retrieve data is they could damage instead of fixing the problem.
Firstly, is to never restart or reboot your computer as this is one of the most common causes of failing to retrieve data. This is due to the fact that when you restart you computer the OS may over write some of the data that you may be trying to restore during the initial start up sequence. If you do this it will greatly reduce your chances of recovering all of the data so please be aware of this.
You should never turn your computer off as a normal shut down as this will cause whatever data recovery tool you are using to not work properly. You should simply unplug the system from the socket and this will decrease the chance of the OS interfering with the recovery tool.
You must always run your data recovery software before you even think about using the back up restore disks for your system as by running the CD's you may get the system back online but you will lose the inability to recover any of the data you are trying to restore unless it is a recent CD back up. If this is the case then run the CD first as last.
To successfully use a data recovery tool you will need to determine the cause of your data loss. Once you determine if you deleted your files, corrupted your files, or simply can't find them then you can use the appropriate tool to restore the files. There are separate tools that restore and repair your hard drive, data on removable media, e-mail information and more.
If, however you think that a computer has a load of little men running around inside doing everything then you should contact the system manufacturer or a data recovery specialist for guidance in the matter. They will try and diagnose the problem and give you some top notch advice but if the problem is a more serious than first thought then they will instruct you to seek out professional help.
If you have to download a recovery tool try to do so onto another storage device as it may overwrite information that you want to keep on the infected drive. Most recovery applications will run via CD so it should not be too difficult to run.
If your data recovery tools don't work you can still access that data. You may need to send your hard drive to a data recovery company and have them manually extract your files. Most data recovery companies have a success rate of 60 to 75%, which is very good considering all the ways that you can mess up your hard drive.