Can You Recover Deleted Files?
By Matt Brennan
The Stresses of Data Loss Can Be Overwhelming
Your clients can almost always recover deleted files…
When your IT clients lose data or documents, their sense of panic is real – and understandable. It might be a report their boss has been after for days, or an Excel sheet with sensitive data. Maybe it’s accidentally deleted emails.
Whatever the case, data loss can put a lump in their throat, as they wonder how to explain the missing nature of critical documents to their superiors. As IT professionals, it’s our job to provide a calm sense of optimism in a world swirling in chaos and uncertainty.
To them, the outlook may seem dim, but there is always some level of hope that you can recover deleted files. We’ve seen data recovered in all kinds of cases. There are reasons for your IT clients to remain optimistic that they can recover whatever valuable files may have been lost.
The First Line of Defense
The first line of defense is usually somewhat obvious – but well worth noting. A file that appears to be lost to your client may not be lost at all. Maybe it’s not where they originally created it, but that document has had a life in other locations:
- Was the document ever emailed?
- Has the computer ever been backed up on an external drive?
- What about cloud storage, or a company server?
IT professionals can easily create a mental checklist of possibilities, but someone in the midst of panic over the loss of a critical document may have a tough time thinking clearly about alternative locations. It’s understandable under the stress they’re probably feeling.
From there, the options are more complex.
Diagnostics or Reformatting a Hard Drive
Let’s say for example that the client took precautions to protect their data. There was a significant number of important documents, so they used an external hard drive and regularly performed backups.
If the office switched from PCs to Apple computers, or the other way around, those external hard drives would likely need to be reformatted. If the data is still on the computer, it may be ok to reformat the disk and then back it up again.
If the data was lost due to an accidental reformatting, erased or repartitioned, a data recovery specialist can still help. With the right care, the ability to recover deleted files is still very possible.
Many clients will want to run their own utilities on the disk at this point in a last-ditch effort to recover the file. We wouldn’t recommend this. Many well-intentioned efforts can damage the ability of a future recovery.
Running (or Trying to Self-Repair) a Damaged Internal Hard Drive
A client may be tempted to fix an ailing hard drive on their own. Again, their motivation is perfectly understandable, but the risks in this situation are high.
If they hear a clicking noise, the best thing they can do is to stop any attempts to repair the drive on their own and contact a data recovery specialist. That way the data can be saved before the hard drive completely fails.
The Good News in the Attempt to Recover Deleted Files
You’ve probably dealt with the clients who believe that their situation is beyond hope. Some may have even been told by other companies that the data was unsalvageable. Maybe you’ve had to tell clients that data is unsalvageable.
The good news is data is often recoverable. We can help recover data in a number of complicated situations including:
- Flood and fire damaged hard drives
- Drives that have been reformatted, erased or repartitioned
- Accidental deletions
- Situations where other companies said a recovery would be impossible
It’s the data that keeps your clients’ businesses running smoothly. Losing critical data can have a devastating impact on their day-to-day health, and livelihood. It may make sense for you to partner with a company with a proven record of being able to restore that data when things go wrong.
If you have any questions or would like to talk further about what we do, contact us today!
