Gasp!
There's nothing quite like that sinking feeling you get when you realize some or all of your data is suddenly inaccessible. There are a few things that can result in data loss and there are a few things that can be done to minimize damage.
Hard Disk Failure
In most cases, this isn't as serious as one would think. Normally, hard drives will gradually start showing signs of aging and in most cases, 99% of the data can be recovered.
One common sign, especially with older disks and laptops, is that the operating system will randomly stop booting and its attempts at automatically fixing it keep failing. If you are experiencing this, now is the time to recover your data: the more the drive runs or the OS tries to fix it, the worse it will get.
Best Solution: Backups!
Even though most drive failures are gradual, there can also be catastrophic failures where no data can be recovered. One should always have at least one backup copy of all important files, whether it's on an external drive or the cloud. Contact me for a consultation and implementation to keep your data safe.
Other Methods of Prevention
In addition to backups, there are a few other things that can be done to avoid data loss.
The best time to replace a hard disk is before it fails. I recommend changing hard disks at least every 5 years, or 3 years for heavy usage. Laptops should only run SSDs since it is so easy to jar the laptop and cause damage to the old-style platter drives.
There is also mirroring, more common for desktops, where data is simultaneously written to two (or more) hard disks. If one disk fails, it can be replaced and the data will be automatically be mirrored from the other drive.
On badly damaged drives where the file allocation table (FAT) is corrupt, it's helpful if the drive has been recently defragmented because there is software that can retrieve files without the FAT, but it may not be able to retrieve the full file if it is heavily fragmented.
Note: There is virtually no performance advantage to defragmenting SSDs, and defragmentation is not recommended since SSDs have a finite number of times it can write to a given byte. Frequent defragmentation can quickly wear out an SSD.
Accidental File Deletion
When files are deleted or overwritten, most file systems will not clear the data where the file was actually stored. Instead, its entry in the file allocation table (a sort of table of contents that keeps track of where all the files are) is removed and the OS knows this space can be used to store new files. Eventually the data is overwritten, but not necessarily right away.
Therefore, if you accidentally delete an important file, it is imperative to turn off the computer as fast as possible! Do not shut down cleanly, do not let it do updates – push and hold the power button for 5 seconds or pull the plug.
Then we can use the drive as a secondary drive while a different OS running that will not write to the disk. Then we mirror the disk and try to recover the deleted file(s) from the copy.
Ransomware
There is a growing trend where hackers attempt to gain entry to a computer in order to encrypt all data files, then exchange the decryption key for a monetary ransom.
Whether it's from poor passwords used for remote access software or a malicious executable, this is a rapid process. If you see it start happening, turn off your computer immediately and give me a call. If it' too late, disconnect from the network but keep your computer running and give me a call – the encryption key may reside in memory which would be lost if the computer is turned off.
Because once the encryption process finishes, there are 3 possibilities:
- You are lucky in your misfortune that the form of ransomware launched on your computer has been "solved" and there is a way to decrypt the files (not likely as their tools are getting more and more sophisticated).
- You happily (and inexpensively) pull your data from backups.
- You pay the ransom, at least $5,000 USD depending on the data, payable in Bitcoin. An unfortunate scenario, but if the data is valuable enough and no backup exists, this is the only way. Threats that copies of your data were made are probably bluffs, since it would take a tremendous amount of storage on their end and, unless the user has a very fast Internet connection, it would take hours to transfer te contents of a hard drive. Maybe a few files to scare you, but not all of them. And as shady of a business as it is, they are in it to make money and will meet their obligation if the ransom is paid.