Data Recovery
In the Denver-Parker area call (866) 664-6178 for Data Recovery
- Note: If your hard drive has 'crashed' and you are technically inclined, here is a checklist from Intel to help debug the situation and hopefully get your system back online.
When your computer won't boot up, that is sometimes referred to as a hard drive 'crash', although according to Seagate Technology, in at least 80% of cases, the hard drive is perfectly functional mechanically and electrically.
So what is wrong? Over time, the magnetic recording surfaces in a hard drive lose some of their magnetic properties. Eventually, this means data can become corrupted if the magnetic media cannot reliably store data. When this happens to any of the required system files needed for your computer to boot up, the computer may not boot up properly. Then it is time to either restore the drive from a recent backup or enlist professional technical support if a backup does not exist.
Other problems, including accidentally deleted system files or a computer virus can also interfere with the startup process and your tech support professional should remedy whatever is preventing your computer from starting up.
Here at The Other Geek, the objective is not just to copy some documents and photos from the errant hard drive and return them to you on a CD or a DVD. Our objective is to restore your computer to the condition it was in before the 'crash' so that it boots up normally and so you don't have to reinstall all of your programs. In the majority of cases, that outcome is achieved. While it may be unavoidable that some data is lost, we strive to keep that to an absolute minimum.
If you need help fixing a computer startup problem, The Other Geek has brought unbootable computers back to life and rescued data from defective and unbootable hard drives drives including drives that have failed the industry standard SMART tests. If your computer will not boot up or you suspect your hard drive has failed, we can usually resolve the problem and minmize or prevent any data loss.
It is not unusual to spend over $1,000 or more on hard drive data recovery at a service that uses 'clean-room' technology. But if your hard drive is in the 80% category of drives that have nothing electrically or mechanically wrong, The Other Geek can almost always recover your data for a fraction of the cost a clean room service will charge you.
According to researchers at Carnegie Mellon University, the annual replacement rate of hard drives is 2-4 per cent and up to 15% on some systems. So it is fair to say that your risk of a hard drive problem is at least 2-10% per year. Therefore, it an excellent idea to be prepared in advance and make regular backups of your data.
In fact, most drive manufacturers specify that laptop hard drives last a maximum of 5 years: (technical specs (p.29) for Travelstar 7K320 laptop hard drives)
"Service life of the drive is approximately 5 years or 20,000 power on hours, whichever comes first, under the following assumptions:
- Less than 333 power on hours per month.
- Seeking/Writing/Reading operation is less than 20% of power on hours."
Based on their specification, it is a prudent idea to plan on replacing any laptop hard drive every 5 years or sooner to prevent unexpected downtime and data loss. We can also do that for you.
