There’s a sudden realisation that comes when you misplace a vital file or accidentally delete it – never mind the shock of discovering an entire partition or drive has gone missing. Speaking from personal experience, data loss is an ordeal, whether it’s a single file or the entire contents of a drive.
Anyone who’s had to reconstruct a hard drive file-by-file because they were too zealous with fdisk will know the importance of backups. The quickest way to resolve data loss is using your backups, which is where we’ll begin this guide to the tools, techniques, and tips you need to maximise your chances of recovering lost files.
What if your files aren’t backed up or are too old? Armed with the right tools and know-how, it’s possible to reconstruct deleted files with the minimum of fuss. It doesn’t even have to cost you a dime, as we’ve dug out the best free file recovery tools for the job. And what if an entire partition has gone missing? There are tools that can help you reconstruct accidentally deleted or corrupt partitions.
As if that wasn’t enough, we’ll also investigate more drastic data recovery scenarios: what to do if you can’t even boot to Windows, or your files get scrambled by ransomware. We’ll point you in the direction of expert services should your hard drive fail, either through accidental damage or because it’s reached the end of its natural life. Those priceless, irreplaceable files you thought you’d just lost forever? Turn the page and let’s bring them back.
Step one in any data-recovery scenario is to determine whether your lost data is the result of physical damage or hardware failure. To do this, check the drive’s SMART status using its drive utility, such as Samsung Magician. Although it will have been optimised for Samsung drives, it can provide you with access to SMART data across all connected drives.
If it shows signs of having failed, or the drive is making strange clicking or other physical noises, stop using the drive immediately and consult the box on calling in expert help. It’s expensive, but if your data is more valuable, it may
