Data loss can be caused by a number of different things: viruses, software crashes, system failures, or even human error. It doesn’t matter if you’re working with files on your home computer or an office server; data loss happens to everyone at some point.
If the documents you’re looking for don’t just contain sensitive information but also intellectual property that cannot be easily replaced, then it becomes even more important to try and recover them as soon as possible.
Hardware Failure Data Loss:
When it comes to data loss due to hardware failure, things can get a little bit trickier to predict. Hard drives can fail in all kinds of different ways, and there are very few things that can be done to predict or prevent such damage from happening. The best way to protect you from data loss due to a hard drive failure is to use data recovery software or regular backups, preferably to an external source. That way, if your hard drive ever fails, you can just plug in the external hard drive and use the backup to restore your files.
Another thing to be aware of when it comes to hardware failure is that the file system on your computer can also become corrupt. This is less likely to happen with modern systems, but it can happen when there are sudden spikes in power or data is abruptly deleted. If the file system becomes corrupt, then all of your files may become unreadable, or they may be partially corrupted, with only some parts of the file being unreadable while others remain intact.
Software Related Data Loss:
This type of data loss usually occurs when you try to open a document and the software that you’re using simply cannot open it. The most common cause for this is that the document is somehow corrupted and the software simply does not know how to open it. Another possibility is that there is a bug in the program that you’re using that causes it to crash when it opens the document, corrupting the data in the process.
Data recovery software like iTop Data Recovery is usually able to catch these errors and prevent them from destroying the data. The best way to prevent software-related data loss is to make sure that you always keep your software up to date. Updating your software regularly is the best way to ensure that you have the latest security patches and bug fixes available.
Accidental Deletion Data Loss:
This is the most common type of data loss and the one that can happen to anyone. You may be working on a document or photo and accidentally delete it while trying to delete something else, or you may drag a file to the wrong folder, accidentally deleting it while you were trying to move it. While there is no guaranteed way to recover deleted files, there are ways to make it more likely that you’ll be able to recover them.
The best way to recover accidentally deleted files is to shut down the computer, wait for at least 10 seconds, and then unplug the computer’s power cord. Modern computers have built-in data recovery software that can sometimes be able to recover deleted files, but this recovery software works best when the computer is shut down.
This is because the computer’s data protector software works by scanning the computer’s hard drive for changes and then attempting to reverse those changes. This is a very resource-intensive process and the computer’s data recovery software works best when the computer is in a state of idleness.
