DIY Data Recovery

You can recover data if your hard drive is not too badly damaged.

The data present on a hard drive can be recovered using software if the damage is limited to small portions of the drive. The first step in recovering your data will be to create an image of the data on the hard drive. The image will then be scanned by the recovery software to try to get the data back.

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USB hard drive Second computer

Instructions

Creating Image
- 1
  
  Download a whole-disk backup software program. Choose one that can make ISO images, as ISO is a standard any recovery software will be able to read.
- 2
  
  Use the software installer or your burning software to create a CD/DVD of that software. Make sure to use the “Burn image” option of your burning software.
- 3
  
  Turn your computer off. Plug a USB hard drive with a capacity that is greater than the hard drive you will attempt to recover data from.
- 4
  
  Insert the CD/DVD in your CD/DVD reader as soon as the computer is turned on. The software will start automatically.
- 5
  
  Choose the hard drive you want to salvage. Choose “Whole Disk” option and not the “Partition” option. Select the USB hard drive and press “Start” or “Backup.” Turn the computer off when the back-up is done.
Recovering Data
- 6
  
  Connect the USB hard drive to another computer.
- 7
  
  Install the recovery software you want to use by double-clicking on the file. Choose where to install the software.
- 8
  
  Go to the “Start” menu and launch the software.
- 9
  
  Choose “rescue from Image file” of the equivalent option for your software.Let the software run with the automatic options. The software will detect the partitions and show you what data is available.
- 10
  
  Choose the data you want to salvage and extract them to your computer.

Tips & Warnings

You can use only one computer by using another hard drive and installing a new operating system on it. Do not re-install anything on the hard drive you want to retrieve data from. You must use a software that is designed to read the file system you are using. Windows uses NTFS, OS X uses HFS and Linux can use EXT2,3 or 4.
Do not use a damage hard drive as a system drive, even if the damage is limited to a non-system partition.

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DIY Data Recovery

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Things You'll Need

Instructions

Creating Image

Recovering Data

Tips & Warnings

References

Resources

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