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Data Recovery Myths

2008-06-16T11:06:00.001-07:00

Introduction

Some are users who are desperate because they’ve lost their data, and others are maintenance technicians who aren’t specialized in data recovery, but all face situations when every attempt to recover their data or their clients’ data failed. Some don’t put up with the fact that they were absent-minded enough to invert the polarity when connecting the HD power cable, others keep looking at the dark screen, thinking at how could that happened: the night before the PC was turned off as usual after having worked all day long without a single crash and, when turned on in the morning, the HD is solemnly ignored during setup, the computer doesn’t boot, and the worst: no backup has been done!

Some nevertheless stick obstinately to the data the client can’t lose in any way and promise to come up with a solution.

These are dramatic situations for sure, and they end up leading the victim first try solutions suggested by friends, others researched on the Internet, and so many others “made up” from thoughts sometimes logical and sometimes for pure “belief”.

And those beliefs spread fast – and a lot. Because some were successful in recovering their data by using one of those beliefs, they became really strong for all situations and in fact are more myths than reality, because in many cases they can eliminate the few chances a good professional could have of successfully recovering data at reasonable price, without having to open the hard drive in clean room, what makes the recovery process very expensive.

So let’s take a look at some of those myths, many of them found on the Internet, and separate what makes some sense from what makes the situation worse, eliminating the “beliefs”.

Virtualized Tape Library

2008-06-16T11:05:00.001-07:00

Virtualization is becoming more and more topical in the computer trade magazines. In some articles, virtualization has been hailed as the next frontier of computing. What is computer virtualization and how can you or your clients benefit from it?

Virtualization is a method of running other software or hardware applications under a host system. The virtual system and the host system would share the same hardware. Virtualization can allow multiple systems to share one physical computer. For example, an enterprise could invest into a computer system with high processing power and maximum memory, then by using virtualization, an administrator could have three or four operating systems running on that equipment (depending on the processing power of the equipment and the operating system requirements). The benefits of hardware cost savings alone justify you or your client’s attention to this exciting technology.

Recently, Microsoft® and VMware® (companies specializing in software virtualization) announced that consumers could download their virtualization software at no charge. The results of Microsoft and VMware publicly releasing their virtual host server software to users free of charge encourages more individuals to become familiar with virtualized operating systems. This familiarity, combined with cheap access to massive amounts of storage (with individual disk drives at 700GB and single 1TB drives just around the corner, multi-terabyte arrays are common place) and RAID technology becoming more widespread and thereby more accessible, is anticipated to produce a proliferation of virtualization across business types and sizes.

Virtualization doesn’t stop with operating systems; you can also have virtualized applications and SAN storage pools. In line with these resource virtualization concepts, presenting storage components like hard disk drives as tape hardware is known as a virtual tape library, or VTL. The topic of this month’s technical article, VTL technology boasts a high percentage of return on investment, offers ease of installation within an existing archival environment, and affords faster data restores. Additionally, VTL doesn’t mean the end of the investment that has been made into physical tape machines or libraries. The architecture of the backup system can still stream data to a physical tape for offsite storage.

In a nutshell, VTL utilizes hardware and software solutions for redirecting the backup data that would have been sent to the tape library to a large RAID array. The backup software is able to do this (by means of hardware and software) by recognizing the RAID array as a tape drive. Traditional backup options, such as Full, Differential, Incremental, and Snapshot schemas still function in the same way in a VTL. Essentially, the backup schema in place pre-VTL implementation will still be available after migrating to a VTL setup.

Storage Concepts of a Virtual Tape Library
The storage concepts of VTL revolve around streaming backup data to a RAID 0, or RAID 5 configuration. There are several advantages to streaming the data to a disk array first; the principle among them being speed. Benchmark tests have shown that the transfer throughput (from server to backup disk array) is noticeably increased. This is because the data transfer to magnetic tape media is eliminated. Additionally, retrieval of archived data is also much faster because there is no bottleneck due to rewind and fast-forward operations, or of cataloging tape archives and sessions.

Storage for a VTL system can start at the half terabyte range and go into the hundreds of terabytes depending on your needs. Storage can be high performance Fibre Channel or iSCSI systems. Alternatively, SATA (Serial ATA) and PATA (Parallel ATA) systems are available and are usually lower in cost. All of these storage systems are a good choice for VTL implementations.

VTL software and hardware also support multiple virtual tape libraries. Historically, in environments using a traditional physical tape machine schema employing a one physical tape machine setup it was noticed there was a lot data moving to that one device. To address this data movement issue, IT administrators added multiple tape machines, large tape libraries that employ many tape machines, to spread the workload out and to keep the data transfer balanced. VTL setups offer the same multiplicity of backups running at once, which means you can distribute the archiving process over a greater number of data areas. Despite the virtualization however, the data will still be physically stored on the RAID storage array.

For IT environments that have specific policies regarding offsite storage of data, nearly all VTL systems now support a physical tape library that is connected to the VTL, allowing a consistent flow of archived data to be “re-archived” onto a physical tape—a backup of a backup. This helps to doubly ensure that user files are being protected. The secondary archive is set to a schedule where tapes can be stored or recycled.

Some organizations have produced a VTL setup on a WAN scale. In theory, this enables organizations to host a remote Disaster Recovery site as little as 50 miles away. By utilizing point in time snapshots in conjunction with such a VTL setup, the data restoration during an outage is reduced considerably.

A large number of tape backup applications already employ some sort of tape virtualization. If you have specific requirements in this regard, you should contact your software vendor. So how does the entire system work?

Operation Flow
Operationally, the environment does not change and the scheduled backups still happen as they have already been setup. The hardware and software setup may require some installation depending on the equipment installed, with connectivity details, (IP, SCSI, iSCSI, Fibre Channel) dependent on the topography of the network.

With more setup and configuration a more dynamic, fault-tolerant solution can be installed—all without the overhead, media cost, and tape recycling schedules. Figure A represents one example of a VTL configuration.

What exactly does virtualization bring to this configuration? Virtualization has the potential to remove tape media from the topography completely. As mentioned previously, products are available that can create multiple virtual libraries or tape machines. The advantage is that multiple backups can be running from different servers all into a storage pool. This storage can perform a less rigorous backup to tape, or another VTL. This second level VTL can be slower disk storage and function as an ongoing backup of the first level backup. Easy availability of products to facilitate creation of VTL environments along with affordable technology has made the dual backup process with different schedules possible.

Data Recovery of VTL storage
Today’s compliance and regulatory laws are requiring organizations to ensure ‘data availability.’ You won’t get an understanding nod from an auditor by saying, “The server you wanted to look at has just failed.” What happens when there is a failure on the storage array that is hosting your first level or second level backup data?

All is not lost! A professional data recovery firm can rebuild and extract the data from storage arrays that are used in VTL systems, focusing on the data contained within the tape archive files post-extraction. Today’s complex archiving software will store the target files with a high compression ratio and internal cataloging method. Only a competent and experienced data recovery firm like Ontrack Data Recovery will be able to deliver the archived data in a timely fashion.

Regardless of the method or media used to store the data, Ontrack Data Recovery will be able to assist you and your organization should the worst happen. By partnering with Ontrack, you are adding a third level of recovery. Having Ontrack Data Recovery as part of you or your client’s disaster recovery plan, you or your client can weather any data disaster.

Success with Remote Data Recovery™

2008-06-16T11:04:00.001-07:00

Data loss can happen to anyone and usually without warning. Remote Data Recovery™ service uses patented technology and trained engineers to allow us to recover data right on your server, desktop or laptop through an Internet connection or a modem. Remote Data Recovery is an excellent option especially for server recoveries because there is no need to dismantle and ship your drive or hardware in for service – which can be very challenging for server recoveries due to security and shipping costs. It also eliminates shipping time which is of the essence when a server is inaccessible.

This article will highlight specifics surrounding instances in which Remote Data Recovery (RDR®) saved the day.

Success Story #1

A scheduled data migration to new equipment presented a challenge to IT staff. After the equipment was successfully installed, a migration of user data was started. During the migration, a bug in the destination server's operating system caused the source and destination volumes to become corrupt, making the user data inaccessible. The failed migration happened over the weekend and users had to have their critical files accessible by Monday morning.

Remote Data Recovery was the only option due to time and shipping concerns. While this organization did have a backup, it was weeks old and had limited value. The client had to have the original data recovered.

Success Story #2

A mid-sized enterprise had a rapidly growing storage pool on a SAN system. The user's area was regularly increased on an as needed basis. Using the SAN storage management software, additional storage was added to the user area. While expanding the Logical Unit Number (LUN) the user volume became corrupt and was inaccessible. The storage administrator could not determine what had caused the problem; a full diagnosis of the hard drives inside of the SAN was started. After two days of running the SAN through lengthy tests, it was concluded that the hardware was sound. The volume was still inaccessible and the only options were to reformat the user volume and restore from backup or engage a professional data recovery company. This enterprise chose Ontrack Data Recovery because of the Remote Data Recovery service. Remote Data Recovery engineers discovered that the Logical Volume Management database had become corrupted and that some file system damage had been sustained. Engineers worked around the clock to piece the original volume back together and then copied out the data to another SAN volume.

While ideal for servers, Remote Data Recovery is also ideal for other media ranging from flash drives to floppy drives to desktops and laptops. This next success story outlines how RDR was able to recover multiple laptop users’ data quickly.

Success Story #3

An untested login script was accidentally released to the user groups. This login script started a reinstall of the operating system from core install images. Users logged in Monday morning only to have to wait for an unusually long time to complete the login process. Users quickly discovered that all their data was missing.

This script affected 300 users. The IT department was overwhelmed with angry users. This enterprise engaged Ontrack Data Recovery immediately and chose the Remote Data Recovery™ service because of the logistical nightmare it would be to send all of the laptops in.

The recovery consisted of a three-phased effort for each user's laptop: 1) recover original data from the newly reinstalled operating system, 2) search the entire media for specific files that were not found in phase one, 3) search the entire drive for Microsoft Outlook Personal Store (PST) files.

The IT department was able to get 30 laptops connected at one time and domestic and international engineers worked to complete the recovery within four days.

Remote Data Recovery can truly be an around the clock service. Ontrack Data Recovery can utilize our domestic and International locations to complete remote jobs quickly and efficiently.

We’ve outlined how RDR can help solve data loss situations, but how does Remote Data Recovery really work? Here is a behind the scenes look at how we utilize Remote Data Recovery to recover lost data.

Ontrack Remote Data Recovery consists of three main components:

1) Communications Client – The customer initiates a connection to an Ontrack Data Recovery RDR Server using the specially designed RDR QuickStart™ software. The software is available in a form native to your operating system and also in a self-booting diskette for situations in which the operating system is not bootable. After initiating the application the customer selects the mode of communication, which can include a direct modem or Internet connection.

2) RDR Server – Once the connection is established to the Ontrack Data Recovery Server it is distributed to the next available Remote Data Recovery engineer in any of our worldwide locations.

3) RDR Workstation – A specially designed application allows the RDR engineer to run advanced data recovery tools on the computer system that lost data. Before beginning the recovery process, the engineer enables proprietary technologies that track and backup all changes that will be made to the system. This process provides the engineer with the ability to complete the recovery “virtually” before any changes are made to the system. Any changes made can be reversed or modified in order to provide the most complete recovery possible.

With security identified as a major concern, Remote Data Recovery implements several secure elements to help keep your data safe. Remote Data Recovery uses Port80 TCP/UDP and the client software initiates the connection, not Ontrack Data Recovery. Ontrack Data Recovery also uses proprietary communication protocol and packets in which the packets are encrypted using your IE encryption libraries.

So whether you have a single flash drive with family vacation photos or a server filled with thousands of user’s files (like the success story below), Remote Data Recovery can help you get access to your data again.

Success Story #4

During a scheduled firmware update of all servers, storage controllers, and backup tape library machines a large enterprise's Microsoft® Exchange server became corrupted and inaccessible. This organization did have a regular backup schedule, yet the most recent backup was corrupted. This server was one of four servers that handled user's email. The Exchange Information Store contained 3,000 user mailboxes, including many that were of the executive staff, and it was over a hundred gigabytes in sizes.

Onsite technicians started an Information Store repair utility and it had been operating for days with no end in sight. By the end of the 3rd day users were demanding their archived messages. This organization decided to engage Ontrack Data Recovery because they were running out of time.

Initially Remote Data Recovery was started to analyze the Information Store. However due to hardware issues, the IT staff requested onsite staff. One of Ontrack Data Recovery's Remote Data Recovery engineers traveled to the site. During the travel time, the analysis provided by Remote Data Recovery continued on and this was able to give the onsite engineer a jump on the recovery efforts.

Within 15 hours of the engineer arriving, user mailboxes were begun to be copied out. Over the next two days of around the clock service, all of the mailboxes were delivered back to the users. These results show how important it is to engage professional data recovery services early on in the disaster.

Determining the Need to Recover Lost Data

2008-06-16T11:03:00.002-07:00

To Recover or Not To Recover, That Is the Question

A data loss has occurred - now what? Determining the need to recover lost data can be a difficult one. There are several things to take into consideration when determining if data recovery is required.
Backup, Backup, Backup
Everyone knows the importance of a good backup system, so your first step should be to determine if the data is actually backed up. Many times lost data is stored on a backup tape, backup hard drive, on the network or other various locations throughout an organization.

Unfortunately, locating and reloading the lost information can be time consuming and deplete resources. If a backup is located, it is important to check that the most recent copy of the data is available. Many times backups occur on a set schedule and if modifications to the data were saved after the backup occurred that information will not be accessible.
Re-Creation

Another important option to consider is if the data can or should be re-created. Two items to take into account when considering this option include the type of data lost and the amount lost:

* Type of Data - Different data may have different perceived value. Recovering a customer database is (probably) more important than recovering a file containing possible names for a pet goldfish. Is the missing data a high-volume transaction database such as a banking record? This would be nearly impossible to recreate the thousands of transactions that were happening in real time. Other types of data may not be able to be re-created such as digital photos. Understanding the type of data that was lost is imperative to determining your next steps.

* Amount of Data - Understanding how much data was lost can help you understand how much time and resources would be required to re-create the data. The more data lost, the more time and resources required to re-create it – if re-creation is even possible.

An additional point to consider is that with strict regulatory and legal requirements, many companies need access to their lost data in order to comply with these requirements. Accessibility to data and the legal requirements surrounding that data are essential to understand when considering if data recovery is necessary or not.
Putting the Power Back In Your Hands

Ontrack® VeriFile™ data reports can help determine if a recovery is necessary. Part of our complete evaluation service, VeriFile puts the power of the recovery in your hands by showing you which files are recoverable and which are not -- allowing you to make an informed business decision on moving forward with the full data recovery.
Perspective

Data recovery costs can be difficult to plan for because they are unexpected. No one wants to lose data just like no one wants their car to break down or to have to call a plumber for a broken pipe. However, to help put it into perspective with other business related costs – vending services and that morning cup of coffee can run between $500 and $1000 every month for a small business office. An average recovery fee for a typical desktop, Windows-based system is around $1,000. Comparing those figures – the true value of data recovery becomes clear.

Lost Data? Reasons and Costs of Data Loss

2008-06-16T11:03:00.001-07:00

Computer users and many experts often consider lost data permanently destroyed, with no hope of recovery. Information about lost data can be complex, inconsistent or inaccurate, so it's not surprising that data loss and data recovery are some of the most confusing and misunderstood concepts.

Computer data may be one of your company’s most valuable and vulnerable assets. According to our experience, the primary threats to your data include:

* Hardware or System Problems
* Human Error
* Software Corruption or Program Problems
* Computer Viruses
* Natural Disasters

These five major threats to your computer data share two things in common: they are unpredictable and, in many cases, uncontrollable. Therefore, the precautions taken by IT professionals to safeguard company data cannot always prevent a data loss.

In addition to being a vulnerable asset, computer data is also a valuable asset.

Based on the information below it is easy to see how significant the costs of lost or inaccessible data can be. The following is a summary of the average hourly impact of lost data on a selection of different businesses.
Type of Business & Average Hourly Impact
Costs of Data Loss

With no data and no access to your system, lost data is a financial disaster. Our data recovery specialists determine the best data recovery solution to get you back up and running as quickly as possible. The chart below outlines the costs associated with computer downtime and lost data for businesses.
Industry Sector Revenue Per Hour Lost Revenue Per Hour

Energy $2.8 million
Telecommunications $2.0 million
Manufacturing $1.6 million
Financial Institutions $1.4 million
Information Technology $1.3 million
Insurance $1.2 million
Retail $1.1 million
Pharmaceuticals $1.0 million
Banking $996,000
Source: IT Performance Engineering & Measurement Strategies: Quantifying Performance Loss, Meta Group, October 2000.

When time is crucial and data is mission-critical, data recovery may be the most practical option available. Data recovery professionals recover data from the damaged media itself, providing several advantages over alternative methods of data retrieval.

1) Complete - Data recovery professionals can safely enter the system or media to achieve a comprehensive data recovery. Ontrack Online™, our new, secure online information center, allows you to instantly view your recovery status and track the progress of your recovery from beginning to end.

2) Current - Although many people revert to backups following a data loss, those backups typically contain outdated information or could be corrupt themselves. Data recovery can help you access the most recent version of the lost data.

3) Fast - Every second that passes following a data disaster means time and money lost to your company. Data recovery reduces this downtime by quickly recovering and returning your data. With our multiple service types and levels, Ontrack can potentially recover your data in as little as a few hours.

4) Cost-effective - The expense in time, money, and effort of rebuilding or re-keying lost data can be overwhelming to your company. Data recovery can provide the quickest and most complete data recovery possible. Ontrack also offers Ontrack® VeriFile™ allowing customers to view a complete listing of their recoverable and non-recoverable files in an organized, easily searchable format. This gives the customer all of the information necessary to determine if important files can be recovered before committing to service fees and proceeding with an actual recovery.

Understanding Data Loss

2008-06-16T11:02:00.000-07:00

Computer users and many experts often consider lost data permanently destroyed, with no hope of recovery. And because much of the information about data loss is complex, inconsistent or inaccurate, it's not surprising that data loss and data recovery are some of the most confusing and misunderstood concepts.

At Ontrack Data Recovery, we take the mystery and much of the expense associated with lost data out of the equation. Our data recovery engineers have studied data loss and have been performing successful recoveries for 20 years.

Their findings indicate that in most cases, data is recoverable – no matter what the circumstance. So, never assume your valuable data can't be recovered. Always check with a qualified data recovery expert before determining what to do when data loss has occurred.
Causes of Data Loss
The chart below clearly represents the complexities and differing perceptions of data loss between what customers believe caused their loss and the impact of the loss versus what our engineers actually discover once they evaluate each situation. These findings reinforce the complexities of lost data.
Causes of Data Loss:
Customer Perception

Ontrack Data Recovery Findings

Human Error

11%

26%
Computer Viruses

2%

4%
Natural Disasters
1%

2%
Hardware or System Problem
78%

56%
Software Corruption or Program Problem
7%

9%

Although these findings reinforce the complexities of understanding lost data, they can serve as a guideline when determining the most effective recovery solution.

For example, 78% of our customers believe their data was lost due to hardware or system problems and may have also assumed that their data could only be recovered by shipping in their hard drive for an In-Lab recovery service.

Our findings indicate only 56% of lost data situations are a result of hardware problems. So, in reality, their data may have been able to be recovered with Remote Data Recovery™ service (recovery through modem or Internet connection) or even with data recovery software.

Our professional staff of data recovery specialists is here to help guide you to the right solution to recover your data. Simply contact us at 800-872-2599 for free consulting.
Costs of Data Loss

With no data and no access to your system, lost data is a financial disaster. Our data recovery specialists determine the best data recovery solution to get you back up and running as quickly as possible. The chart below outlines the costs associated with computer downtime and lost data for businesses.
Industry Sector Revenue Per Hour Lost Revenue Per Hour

Energy $2.8 million
Telecommunications $2.0 million
Manufacturing $1.6 million
Financial Institutions $1.4 million
Information Technology $1.3 million
Insurance $1.2 million
Retail $1.1 million
Pharmaceuticals $1.0 million
Banking $996,000

Selecting a Data Recovery Provider

2008-06-16T10:58:00.000-07:00

Scan the web for data recovery providers, and you’ll find hundreds of companies promoting data recovery capabilities. Choosing the right provider can be a deciding factor in whether you will get your lost data back - and if so - how long you will have to wait. The information below will help you identify misleading sales tactics and select the provider that offers the highest level of professional service and overall best value.
Questions to Ask Data Recovery Service Providers
Step 1: Identify companies that have the technology and resources to solve a wide array of data loss challenges.

* How long has the provider been in the data recovery service business?
* Does the provider have a clean-room laboratory to safely open, repair and recover data from media storage devices?
* How many recovery labs with clean-rooms, does the provider operate? Does the provider have global coverage?
* Does the provider have a sufficient number of engineers to handle large and complex recovery jobs and handle peak-demand seasons (e.g. hurricane season)?
* Can the provider recover data from systems that are proprietary to their clients? Does the provider have the technology and resources to develop customized data recovery tools if required?
* Does the provider have the expertise to recover data from virtually any type of platform, storage device, database or operating system?
* Does the provider have the resources to perform emergency and/or on-site data recoveries?

Step 2: Identify companies that provide a range of data recovery solutions to fit your specific needs.

* Does the provider have service and/or do-it-yourself software options to fit your budget?
* Does the provider offer a fast enough level of recovery service to address the most urgent data loss situations?
* Can the provider offer a secure remote data recovery service for data loss situations where no mechanical damage has occurred to the storage device?
* What is the standard turn-time required for desktop recovery and laptop data recoveries? For more complex systems?
* Does the provider retain your recovered data for a period of time after the client’s recovery is complete?

Step 3: Identify providers that will provide you with the information required to make an educated purchase decision.

* Will the provider give you a file listing report showing the recoverability of your files before you commit to recovery fees? Is this included in their evaluation service?
* If the provider offers a file listing report, how long will it take them to deliver the report?
* Will the provider commit to quoted price ranges in writing to ensure the services fit your budget?

Step 4: Identify companies that offer professional customer service whenever and wherever you need it.

* Does the provider offer 24/7/365 customer service?
* In which languages does the provider offer customer support?
* Will the provider offer you free, no-obligation consultation and present you with a range of recovery options?
* Will the provider allow you to speak one-to-one with a data recovery engineer to discuss your options?
* Does the provider have a technical support team on staff to offer pre- and post-recovery support?
* Does the provider have online customer portals to allow you to track the progress of your data recovery from start to finish?

Step 5: Identify companies that have well documented and established procedures for maintaining the security and confidentiality of your data.

* Is the provider authorized by private and government entities to handle highly sensitive data?
* Does the provider have the expertise to properly document chain of custody if the storage media is likely to be involved in an investigation or court case?
* Does the provider have the ability to recover encrypted data?
* Does the provider have the ability to return your data in an encrypted form?
* Does the provider perform employee background checks for anyone that may come into contact with your data?
* Does the provider participate in the U.S. GSA (General Services Administration) Program?
* Do the provider’s facilities meet all U.S. Department of Defense specifications?

Step 6: Avoid the gimmicks! Select a data recovery provider you can trust by eliminating those who use questionable sales tactics.

* If the provider offers “free evaluations”, what is included in the free service? Will you receive a file listing report showing which files can be recovered before you are required to approve additional charges?
* If the provider offers “no data, no charge”, what will they charge you if they recover data but not the data that you need.
* If the provider quotes a price range for their recovery service, will they put it in writing?
* Does the provider charge you for parts or are there other hidden fees?
Does the provider use outside or third parties to perform the data recovery service?

Common Scenarios of Server Data Disasters

2008-06-16T10:57:00.004-07:00

Ontrack Data Recovery has been the undisputed leader in the industry with the most technologically advanced data recovery solutions available. We have been serving customers globally for nearly 20 years with offices, clean rooms, engineers, and employees located around the world. During that time, we have seen many data loss situations ranging from commonplace to unique.

When a data loss occurs on something as valuable as a server, it is essential to the life of your business to get back up and running as soon as possible. Ontrack Data Recovery’s experience and technology to recover data from systems ranging from legacy and post-mainframe storage devices to the latest high-end SANs help you do just that.

Here is a sampling of specific types of disasters accompanied with actual engineering notes from recent Remote Data Recovery™ jobs:

Causes of Partition/Volume/File System Corruption Disasters

* Corrupted File System due to system crash
* File system damaged to automatic volume repair utilities
* File system corruption due partition/volume resizing utilities
* Corrupt volume management settings

Case Study
Severe damage to partition/volume information to Windows 2000 workstation; had used 3rd party recovery software--didn't work, reinstalled OS but was looking for 2nd partition/volume, found it and it was a 100% recovery.
Evaluation Time: 46 minutes (Evaluation time represents the time it takes to evaluate the problem, make necessary file system changes to access data, and to report on all of the directories and files that can be recovered)

Causes of Specific File Error Disasters

* Corrupted business system database; file system is fine
* Corrupted message database; file system is fine
* Corrupted user files

Case Study
Windows 2000 server, volume repair tool damaged file system; target directories unavailable. Complete access to original files critical. Remote Data Recovery safely repaired volume; restored original data, 100% recovery.
Evaluation Time: 20 Minutes

Exchange 2000 server, severely corrupted Information store; corruption cause unknown. Scanned Information Store file for valid user mailboxes, results took up to 48 hours due to the corruption. Backup was one month old/not valid for users.
Evaluation Time: 96 Hours (1.5 days)

Possible Causes of Hardware Related Disasters

* Server hardware upgrades (Storage Controller Firmware, BIOS, RAID Firmware)
* Expanding Storage Array capacity by adding larger drives to controller
* Failed Array Controller
* Failed drive on Storage Array
* Multiple failed drives on Storage Array
* Storage Array failure but drives are working
* Failed boot drive
* Migration to new Storage Array system

Case Study
Netware volume server, Traditional NWFS, failing hard drive made volume inaccessible; Netware would not mount volume. Errors on hard drive were not in the data area and drive was still functional. Copied all of the data to another volume; 100% recovery.
Evaluation Time: 1 hour

Causes of Software Related Disasters

* Business System Software Upgrades (Service Packs, Patches to Business system)
* Anti-virus software deleted/truncated suspect file in error and data has been deleted, overwritten or both.

Case Study
Partial drive copy overwrite using third party tools, overwrite started and then crashed 1% into the process, found a large portion of the original data. Rebuilt file system, provided reports on recoverable data; customer will be requiring that we test some files to verify quality of recovery.
Evaluation Time: 1 hour

Causes of User Error Disasters

* During a data loss disaster, restored backup data to exact location, thereby overwriting it
* Deleted files
* Overwritten operating system with reinstall of OS or application software

Case Study
User's machine had the OS reinstalled – Restore CD was used; user looking for Outlook PST file. Searched for PST data through the drive because original file system completely overwritten. Found three potential files that might contain the user's data, after using PST recovery tools we found one of those files to contain all of the user's email; there were missing messages, majority of the messages/attachments came back.
Evaluation Time: 5 hours

Causes of Operating System Related Disasters

* Server OS upgrades (Service Packs, Patches to OS)
* Migration to different OS

Solve your Server Recovery Nightmares with Ontrack Data Recovery

2008-06-16T10:57:00.003-07:00

The on-call IT tech is jolted awake from a terrible dream – his heart pounding. Lightning crashes overhead as he glances at the clock – 2:59 a.m. The server isn’t down, it was just a dream.

3:00 a.m. The IT on-call pager goes off. This could mean any number of things: a fire, a break-in, a failed air-conditioner in the server room, or even a main business server crash.

3:25 a.m. The on-call IT tech arrives at the site and evaluates the situation. There is no fire, no evidence of a break-in, and the server room temperature reads a cool 18oC. A quick check of the servers shows that most of them are at a login screen. After checking two or three machines, it is obvious that the room lost power at some point. The UPS units verify a failure; all three massive battery units are showing failures and heavy load percentages.

3:40 a.m. The on-call IT tech calls the lead technician and department manager and informs them of the situation; both are on their way to the site. They leave instructions to check the main business application servers; one of them holds the company’s customer database, payroll, and accounting system, and the other is the company’s messaging server.

3:55 a.m. The on-call IT tech discovers that the RAID array for the business database server is not coming back online. The messaging server has rebooted but the messaging application is returning errors when it starts up. The tech realizes that the messaging server was performing incremental backups during the time of the outage. The on-call IT tech decides to leave that to the lead technician when he arrives.

4:00 a.m. The lead tech and manager arrive. Assessments of the other servers are made. The lead tech begins working with the messaging server. The on-call tech works with the failed RAID array. The firmware shows the array has failed; the controller only recognizes three of the ten drives. After a complete power down and restart of the server and drive enclosure, the firmware shows the drives are back online, however the array is shown as ’Failed’.

4:30 a.m. The-on call technician calls the RAID array manufacturer’s technical support. The choices in the firmware menu are vague and the IT Tech wants to know if forcing the drives online will get their array back. The manufacturer’s technical support says that the array will come back; however, there is a slight possibility that the data on the volume may be corrupted. The manufacturer’s technical support asks how recent their latest backup is. The IT Tech responds that the data is one week old and that is unacceptable; they cannot lose a week of transactions. The IT Tech hesitates in deciding what to do next…

Business system disasters like this happen every day. Despite the redundancy in backup systems or storage array systems, failures occur. Some failures can be hardware related, others can be due to software, and still others are the result of human error or natural disaster.

More and more businesses rely on their corporate server structure and document storage volumes. Some businesses rely completely on their database system, which may be financial data, job tracking data, or customer contact data. Other businesses may rely wholly on their messaging database and that is a critical business system. Some telephone systems actually convert voice messages to email notifications, thereby using the email-messaging server as part of the communication system. Today’s systems are also storage systems for all of the documents that users create.

Common Scenarios of Server Data Disasters

Ontrack Data Recovery has been the undisputed leader in the industry with the most technologically advanced data recovery solutions available. We have been serving customers globally for nearly 20 years with offices, cleanrooms, engineers, and employees located around the world. During that time, we have seen many data loss situations ranging from commonplace to unique. Here is a sampling of specific types of disasters accompanied with actual engineering notes from recent Remote Data Recovery jobs (Evaluation time represents the time it takes to evaluate the problem, make necessary file system changes to access data, and to report on all of the directories and files that can be recovered):

Causes of Partition/Volume/File System Corruption Disasters

* Corrupted File System due to system crash
* File system damaged to automatic volume repair utilities
* File system corruption due partition/volume resizing utilities
* Corrupt volume management settings

Case Study
Severe damage to partition/volume information to Windows 2000 workstation; had used 3rd party recovery software--didn't work, reinstalled OS but was looking for 2nd partition/volume, found it and it was a 100% recovery
Evaluation Time: 46 minutes

Causes of Specific File Error Disasters

* Corrupted business system database; file system is fine
* Corrupted message database; file system is fine
* Corrupted user files

Case Study
Windows 2000 server, volume repair tool damaged file system; target directories unavailable. Complete access to original files critical. Remote Data Recovery safely repaired volume; restored original data, 100% recovery.
Evaluation Time: 20 Minutes

Exchange 2000 server, severely corrupted Information store; corruption cause unknown. Scanned Information Store file for valid user mailboxes, results took up to 48 hours due to the corruption. Backup was one month old/not valid for users.
Evaluation Time: 96 Hours (1.5 days)

Possible Causes of Hardware Related Disasters

* Server hardware upgrades (Storage Controller Firmware, BIOS, RAID Firmware)
* Expanding Storage Array capacity by adding larger drives to controller
* Failed Array Controller
* Failed drive on Storage Array
* Multiple failed drives on Storage Array
* Storage Array failure but drives are working
* Failed boot drive
* Migration to new Storage Array system

Case Study
Netware volume server, Traditional NWFS, failing hard drive made volume inaccessible; Netware would not mount volume. Errors on hard drive were not in the data area and drive was still functional. Copied all of the data to another volume; 100% recovery.
Evaluation Time: 1 hour

Causes of Software Related Disasters

* Business System Software Upgrades (Service Packs, Patches to Business system)
* Anti-virus software deleted/truncated suspect file in error and data has been deleted, overwritten or both

Case Study
Partial drive copy overwrite using third party tools, overwrite started and then crashed 1% into the process, found a large portion of the original data. Rebuilt file system, provided reports on recoverable data; customer will be requiring that we test some files to verify quality of recovery.
Evaluation Time: 1 hour

Causes of User Error Disasters

* During a data loss disaster, restored backup data to exact location, thereby overwriting it
* Deleted files
* Overwritten operating system with reinstall of OS or application software

Case Study
User's machine had the OS reinstalled – Restore CD was used; user looking for Outlook PST file. Searched for PST data through the drive because original file system completely overwritten. Found three potential files that might contain the user's data, after using PST recovery tools we found one of those files to contain all of the user's email; there were missing messages, majority of the messages/attachments came back.
Evaluation Time: 5 hours

Causes of Operating System Related Disasters

* Server OS upgrades (Service Packs, Patches to OS)
* Migration to different OS

Case Study
Netware traditional, 2TB volume, damage to file system when trying to expand size of volume, repaired on drive, volume mountable.
Evaluation Time: 4 hours

From legacy systems and post-mainframe storage devices to the latest high-end SANs, Ontrack Data Recovery works on them all. More importantly is the validity of the recovered data—the data must be usable to the client when we have completed the recovery.

Server Recovery Tips

Data disasters will happen, accepting that reality is the first step in preparing a comprehensive disaster plan. Time is always against an IT team when a disaster strikes, therefore the details of a disaster plan are critical for success.

Here are some suggestions from Ontrack Data Recovery engineers of what not to do:

* In a disaster recovery, never restore data to the server that has lost the data—always restore to a separate server or location.
* In Microsoft Exchange or SQL failures, never try to repair the original Information Store or database files—work on a copy.
* In a deleted data situation, turn off the machine immediately. Do not shut down Windows—this will prevent the risk of overwritten data.
* Use a volume defragmenter regularly.
* If a drive fails on RAID systems, never replace the failed drive with a drive that was part of a previous RAID system—always zero out the replacement drive before using.
* If a drive is making unusual mechanical noises, turn it off immediately and get assistance.
* Have a valid backup before making hardware or software changes.
* Label the drives with their position in a RAID array.
* Do not run volume repair utilities on suspected bad drives.
* Do not run defragmenter utilities on suspected bad drives.
* In a power loss situation with a RAID array, if the file system looks suspicious, or is un-mountable, or the data is inaccessible after power is restored, do not run volume repair utilities.

Ontrack Data Recovery should be part of your disaster planning and your key personnel should be aware of our recovery capabilities. During an outage, it is common to have multiple recovery efforts going on at the same time. This makes sense because the goal is to get the company back to its data. The key to success is to get Ontrack Data Recovery involved as soon as possible.

One client early last year gave Ontrack Data Recovery this challenge, “We have a backup restoration going on right now and we need the data available as soon as possible. If you want the job, you have to beat the tape.” Recovery engineers worked the entire weekend to get the more than 2TB of data available and recovered over before the start of the work week.

Summary and Conclusion

The fictional, true-to-life IT scenarios at the beginning of this article illustrate the situations and decisions that IT staff must make. Businesses and institutions like yours, without access to their data, run the risk of losing millions in revenue every day. The fact is, today’s systems are relied on more then ever for consistent and available data.

Managing Data Storage

2008-06-16T10:57:00.001-07:00

Tips for Successful Server Recoveries - Learn How to Prevent Further Damage When Company’s Server Goes Down

Despite the industry improvements in backup systems or storage array systems, server failures are a common occurrence that can leave a business paralyzed. Whether the failure is hardware-related, software-related, the result of human error or due to a natural disaster, the number of data loss events is increasing as businesses rely on their corporate server structure and document storage volumes. Ontrack Data Recovery, the undisputed leader in the industry with the most technologically advanced data recovery solutions available, understands this trend and offers several critical tips that can help get companies up and running quickly after their server goes down.

“With our nearly 20 years of experience, Ontrack’s engineers have seen many data loss situations ranging from ordinary to unique, and server recoveries are becoming more common than ever,” said Jim Reinert, director of Software and Services for Ontrack Data Recovery. “While the best way to avoid data loss is to have an established relationship with a data recovery company and include data recovery as a part of your overall backup and disaster planning, there are several measures a company can take to help increase chances for successful recovery.”

Since data disasters will happen, here is a list of suggestions for IT executives and administrators that will increase chances for successful recovery:

* Use a volume defragmenter regularly – a defragmenter moves the pieces of each file or folder to one location on the volume, so that each occupies a single, contiguous space on the disk drive. This helps improve the quality of recovery, making files and folders easier for data recovery specialists to locate. Do not run defragmenter utilities on suspected bad drives – if drives are bad, this could have damaging effects.
* Perform a valid backup before making hardware or software changes.
* If a drive is making unusual mechanical noises, turn it off immediately and get assistance from your data recovery company.
* Before removing drives, label the drives with their original position and RAID array.
* Never restore data to the server that has lost the data – always restore to a separate server or alternate location.
* In Microsoft Exchange or SQL failures, never try to repair the original Information Store or database files – make a copy and perform recovery operations on the copy.
* When replacing drives on RAID systems, never replace a failed drive with a drive that was part of a previous RAID system – always zero out the replacement drive before using.
* In a power loss situation with a RAID array, if the file system looks suspicious, is unmountable or the data is inaccessible after power is restored, do not run volume repair utilities. Do not run volume repair utilities on suspected bad drive

From legacy systems, desktops and servers to the latest high-end network storage, Ontrack Data Recovery has experience with all types of systems. When a server goes down, it is smart to consider multiple recovery efforts at the same time. The key to success is to get Ontrack involved as soon as possible.

Beyond “just” Data Recovery: Tape Restoration Services

2008-06-16T10:56:00.003-07:00

What happens when you need to access files from an old backup tape that is no longer compatible with your back up system, tape drive or back up software?

The rapidly changing world of IT means that new innovations are constantly replacing the latest technology. With changes to back up regimes, old tapes become redundant despite requests for old files to be restored. Furthermore, data compliance regulations require businesses to retain data for many years, often longer than the availability of the technology used to store it.

In most cases, the data format from the "old" system is not compatible with the "new", making the transfer of data a major challenge. With 20 years experience in data restoration, Kroll Ontrack has worked with practically every type of storage format, media and data loss scenario. This gives us a unique insight and the ability to facilitate the conversion of data between various platforms, file formats, tape formats, etc.

Tape Conversion & Tape Migration

Kroll Ontrack's tape conversion service can transfer data files from an unrivalled array of backup formats, even those that have been obsolete for many years. Moreover, Kroll Ontrack’s data conversion utilities are used throughout the industry to reformat data from mainframe systems to allow for the importation into PC and UNIX database and spreadsheet applications. Kroll Ontrack has developed a wide range of tools and bespoke software to process data so that it can be transferred to newer systems in a quick and accurate manner.

Tape Duplication

Kroll Ontrack has developed software and systems that allow for the off-line duplication of your vital backups or for the creation of multiple copies of data for distribution. With most backup applications your only choice is to repeat the backup to create a second copy of your save sets. This can cause problems as system performance will be affected and often the extra copy has to be made during business hours when the most important files are in use. Kroll Ontrack can copy your tapes independently from your live systems and validate them with a restore process. We can also supply a system solution for your duplication requirement.

Tape Recovery

Kroll Ontrack, through its Ontrack Data Recovery services, can quickly and successfully recover lost data from tapes, no matter how extreme the cause. Trying tape recovery on your own or through an inexperienced provider may lead to further damage. Select a data recovery provider with resources, expertise and experience you can trust.

Causes of Tape Failure and Data Loss

* Corruption – operational error, mishandling of the tape or accidental overwrites caused by inserting or partially formatting the wrong tape.
* Physical damage – broken tapes, dirty drives, expired tapes and damage caused by fire, flood or other natural disaster
* Software upgrades – inability for data on tape to be read by new application or servers

Tape Recovery Process

* Tape recoveries are performed in dust-free cleanroom environments
* Tapes and tape drives are carefully dismounted, examined and processed
* Proprietary tools can “force” the drive to read around the bad area to recover your data successfully
* Drives are imaged and a copy of the disk is created and transferred to new system

LTO Tapes

The LTO tape has emerged as one of the major players at the high data capacity and high performance end of the market. Kroll Ontrack has extensive experience with the recovery of data from LTO tapes. The majority of the problems that we see are the result of human error such as accidentally re-initialising a tape, or forgetting to enable the append option before starting a backup.

Protect Your Data from Extreme Weather

2008-06-16T10:56:00.001-07:00

Every summer, Ontrack Data Recovery engineers see the same pattern: a surge in data recovery service requests that coincides with the start of the severe storm season. Ontrack Data Recovery has over 20 years in the data recovery business; and for 20 years, the summer months have always meant high demand for recovery services.

You can protect your data by following some simple precautions. With that said, even the most well-protected hard drives can crash, fail, quit, click, die… you get the picture. So we’ve also provided a few tips for how to respond when extreme weather does damage your computer equipment.

If you would like to read more about the latest data protection and recovery topics, subscribe to our free monthly e-newsletter: Data Recovery News.
Protecting Your Data from Severe Weather

1. Summer heat can be a significant problem as overheating can lead to drive failures can result. Keep your computer in a cool, dry area to prevent overheating.

2. Make sure your servers have adequate air conditioning. Increases in computer processor speed have resulted in more power requirements, which in turn require better cooling - especially important during the summer months.

3. To prevent damage caused by lightning strikes, install a surge protector between the power source and the computer’s power cable to handle any power spikes or surges.

4. Invest in some form of Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS), which uses batteries to keep computers running during power outages. UPS systems also help manage an orderly shutdown of the computer - unexpected shutdowns from power surge problems can cause data loss.

5. Check protection devices regularly: At least once a year you should inspect your power protection devices to make sure that they are functioning properly.
Responding to Data Loss Caused by Severe Weather

1. Do not attempt to operate visibly damaged computers or hard drives.

2. Do not shake, disassemble or attempt to clean any hard drive or server that has been damaged - improper handling can make recovery operations more difficult which can lead to valuable information being lost.

3. Never attempt to dry water-damaged media by opening it or exposing it to heat - such as that from a hairdryer. In fact, keeping a water-damaged drive damp can improve your chances for recovery.

4. Do not use data recovery software to attempt recovery on a physically damaged hard drive. Data recovery software is only designed for use on a drive that is fully functioning mechanically.

5. Contact Ontrack Data Recovery at 800 872 2599 for free data recovery consultation 24/7/365. Our experts will explain options and answer any questions you have about your damaged data storage devices.

Never assume that data is unrecoverable - no matter how extreme the damage. Ontrack Data Recovery engineers have retrieved data from devices damaged

Does Encryption Complicate Things?

2008-06-16T10:55:00.002-07:00

Data Security and Data Loss - What Happens Next?

Encryption continues to be the topic on every CIO and IT person’s lips nowadays. No one wants to end up in the news as the next victim of a privacy breach or the next company that didn’t protect its customers’ information. If you conduct a news search using the words “personal data breach,” you’ll be alarmed at the number of instances where personal information such as social security and credit-card numbers have been exposed to possible theft. In a recent breach, a state government site allowed access to hundreds of thousands of records, including names, addresses, social security numbers and documents with signatures.

Whether it’s government agencies, research facilities, banking institutions, credit card processing companies, hospitals--or your company’s computers - the risk of compromising private information is very high. At the recent “CEO-CIO Symposium,” speaker Erik Phelps from the law firm Michael Best & Friedrich described the relationship business has with technology. In his presentation, he stated that since “business relies so heavily on technology today, business risk becomes technology dependent.” The possibility of litigation is part of business. It has always been a risk of doing business, but because technology and today’s business are so intertwined, business risk has a higher threat level. This has prompted many to encrypt workstations and mobile computers in order to protect critical business data.

If you have rolled out encryption, how do you maintain your IT service quality when the hard disk drive fails? How do you plan and prepare for a data loss when the user’s computer is encrypted? These are all issues that should be considered when putting together a data disaster plan. In addition, data recovery, one of the more common missing elements of a disaster recovery plan, should also be factored in because it can serve as the “Hail Mary” attempt when all other options have been exhausted.
Data Recovery and Encryption

Business continuity and disaster planning are critical for businesses regardless of their size. Most archive and backup software have key features to restore user files, database stores and point in time snap-shots of users’ files. Software is becoming more automated so users don’t have to manually backup their files. Some computer manufacturers have built-in backup systems that include dedicated hard disk drives for archive storage. Most external USB hard disk drives have some sort of third party software that provides data archiving during a trial time period. Such solutions, while solving the data backup need, create questions regarding how effective the systems are with respect to user data. What are your options when a user’s computer has a data disaster and the hard disk drive is fully encrypted?

Most IT security policies require a multi-pronged approach to data security. For example, when setting up a new computer for a user, the IT department will require a BIOS (Basic Input/Output System) password for the system before the computer will start. BIOS password security varies in functionality. Some are computer system specific, meaning that the computer will not start without the proper password. Other BIOS passwords are hard disk drive specific, meaning that the hard drive will not be accessible without the proper password. Some computer BIOS employ one password for access control to the system and the hard disk drive. To add a second level of protection, new IT security policies require full hard disk drive encryption. The most common of full hard disk encryption software operates as a memory resident program. When the computer starts up, the encryption software is loaded before the operating system starts and a pass-phrase or password prompt is required. After a successful login from the user, the software decrypts the hard disk drive sectors in memory, as they are needed. The process is reversed when writing to the hard disk drive. This leaves the hard disk drive in a constant state of encryption. The operating system and program applications function normally, without having to be aware of any encryption software.
The Recovery Process

Recovering from hard disk drives that are encrypted follows the same handling procedures as all other magnetic media. A strict process of handling and documentation starts right at the shipping door upon drive receipt and ends when the drive is shipped back to the customer. In most cases, when working with a top data recovery provider, all recovery processes are logged. This results in an audit trail of the recovery history and serves as verification that the recovery was conducted in a secure, compliant manner. Specifically, you want to ensure the process consists of the following high-level steps:

1. Triage drive; determine faults without opening drive
2. Clean room escalation for physical or electronic damage
3. Secure original media
4. Sector-by-sector copy of drive data
5. User Key used to decrypt data
6. Produce file listing of user file names
7. Repair file system
8. Prepare data for delivery
9. Encryption options for data delivery

After the first four stages listed above, the recovery engineer will begin to map all key file system structures that point to the user files. However, if the hard disk drive is encrypted, then the drive needs to be decrypted in order to proceed.
Decryption

If this is the case, a user key or decryption password is required. Fortunately, encryption software has come a long way over the years. Instead of using a master password for decryption, most professional encryption software provides a technician level pass-phrase that changes on a daily basis. This protects the user’s password and the organization’s master password.

Many organizations are comfortable providing these one-time use pass-phrases so that the recovery work can continue. However, this is not always the case. For some organizations, providing this information to an outside vendor, such as a data recovery provider, is against their security policy. In these situations, a successful recovery is still possible. There are data recovery vendors that can perform recoveries while leaving the data in its encrypted form throughout the entire process. In this case, the data will be recovered and sent back to the client in its encrypted form; however, the specific results will be unknown until the files are opened by someone with access to the encryption key. Ultimately, this limits the ability for a data recovery provider to communicate the success of the recovery until the recovered data is delivered and opened, thereby placing some burden back on the customer.

As a result, it is clear that significant time and cost savings are associated with allowing your data recovery vendor to access your one-time use pass-phrase codes while attempting to recover your encrypted data. At the same time, it’s critical to ensure that your selected vendor also understands security protocols, is knowledgeable about encryption products and has privacy policies in place.
Resuming Recovery

Following the recovery, preparation for delivering the data begins. Since the original hard disk drive was encrypted, safely securing the recovered data is highly important. The recovered data is backed up to the media choice of the user and is re-encrypted. The new decryption key is communicated verbally to the user; email should not be used, as this could be a security risk. Some leading edge data recovery companies are able to deliver recovered data back to the customer in an encrypted format on external USB/Firewire hard disk drives. From the start of the recovery to the final delivery, data should be secure throughout the entire process.
Data Recovery Vendor Considerations

When looking for a data recovery provider, it’s important to ensure that the one selected can handle not only the various types of media, but also understands the data security regulations of today’s organizations. For example, encrypted data requires special data handling processes -- from the clean room to the technically-advanced recovery lab. This isolation ensures no one person has complete access to the media throughout the recovery process, thereby providing security while maintaining recovery continuity and quality.

Additionally, it is important to note that some data recovery companies have been cleared for security projects and services for U.S. government agencies. As a result, these companies implement data privacy controls that are based on the U.S. government’s Electronic Defense Security Services requirements for civilian companies that are under contract for security clearance projects or services.

Unfortunately, most data loss victims only consider data recovery right after they have experienced a data loss and are scrambling for a solution. Emotions run high at this point. The fallout from a data disaster and corresponding data loss is sometimes crippling, with the IT staff working around the clock to get the computer systems back to normal. These distressed circumstances are not the time to think about what makes a good data recovery vendor. Incorporating this important decision into your business continuity planning is best done in advance. Some key questions to ask as part of this proactive exercise include:

* Do you have a relationship with a preferred data recovery vendor?
* What should you look for when reviewing data recovery companies?
* Do you include data recovery in your disaster and business continuity planning?
* Do you have a plan for how to handle data loss of encrypted data?
* Do appropriate people have access to the encryption keys to speed up the recovery process?

Sometimes planning for these procedures can become involved and tedious, especially if you are planning for something you have never experienced. Do some investigating by calling data recovery service companies and presenting data loss situations such as email server recoveries, or RAID storage recoveries or physically damaged hard disk drives from mobile users. Ask about data protection and the policies in place to protect your company’s files.

Additionally, find out the techniques and recovery tools the providers use. Ask the companies how large their software development staff is. Inquire about how they handle custom development for unique data files. For example, will they be able to repair or rebuild your user’s unique files? Does the data recovery service company have any patents or special OEM certifications?

While these details may not seem important at first, they can be the decisive factors that determine whether your data recovery experience is a positive and successful endeavor.

Following is a checklist of factors to consider when searching for a data recovery vendor for encrypted data or ensuring your data recovery partner is able to comply with your data security policies:

* Solid Reputation – Experienced data recovery company with a strong background.
* Customer Service – Dedicated and knowledgeable staff.
* Secure Protocols – Expert knowledge of encryption products with privacy protocols in place.
* Technical Expertise – Capable of recovering from virtually all operating systems and types of storage devices.
* Scalable Volume Operations – Equipped with full-service labs and personnel that can handle all size jobs on any media type.
* Research & Development – Invested in technology for superior recoveries; not just purchasing solutions.

It is important to understand that data loss can occur at any time on any scale. It’s especially crucial to be prepared with a plan that adheres to your company’s security policy. The more prepared one is, the better the chance for a quick and successful recovery when a problem arises

Mobile Device Data Loss

2008-06-16T10:55:00.001-07:00

Data Loss – From PCs to Suit Pockets

Data is everywhere. No longer confined to desktop computers, data is always with us – at the gym in the form of an iPod®, in the car via your cell phone, and of course surrounding you at work – notebooks, desktops, servers, etc. With the increased portability of data comes the increased risk for data to be lost, misplaced, damaged or destroyed.

An Ontrack Data Recovery survey conducted among 400 professionals worldwide revealed that 65% of professionals own at least one USB stick. The compact size leads many people to store their sticks incorrectly – in suit pockets or in bags – leaving valuable confidential data at risk.

To help protect mobile devices from data loss, Ontrack Data Recovery has put together some simple preventative steps that will help create good habits for the use of USB sticks and hopefully prevent any data disasters.

1. Minimize misplacement – Try to prevent ‘wandering’ USB sticks. The device is easily lost when you don’t exactly know where it is kept. A dedicated USB spot prevents loss of data from a portable storage device.
2. Carry with care – Make sure your USB is stored safely when traveling to minimize the risk of losing data.
3. No backups, please – A USB stick is too vulnerable to store precious information. These sticks should therefore never be used as a backup device.
4. Put a lid on it – if not in use ensure that the connector of your USB is protected. By using the protective cap, provided with any USB stick, a possible data disaster can be averted
5. Unplug before you leave – Before you embark on a journey that requires a laptop and a USB stick, make sure the devices are separated. This way, both the laptop and the USB stick will run less risk of damage

With the use of mobile storage devices becoming more common, it is crucial that people understand there are options available if their data disappears. Ontrack Data Recovery is an expert at recovering data from storage devices of any size – from multi-terabyte servers to tiny xD flash media. If you have any questions or are in need of data recovery services, please contact us at 1-800-872-2599.

Computer Virus Information

2008-06-16T10:54:00.000-07:00

The following are our Technical Support staff's list of the most frequently asked anti-virus questions and their answers.

Q: How can I protect myself from getting a virus?

Q: What types of files do you recommend that I scan and set for auto-protection?

Q: What are some good indications that my computer has a virus?

Q: What are the most common ways to get a virus?

Q: What should I do if I get a virus?

Q: How can I protect myself from getting a virus?

In today's world having anti-virus software is not optional. A good anti-virus program will perform real-time and on-demand virus checks on your system, and warn you if it detects a virus. The program should also provide a way for you to update its virus definitions, or signatures, so that your virus protection will be current (new viruses are discovered all the time). It is important that you keep your virus definitions as current as possible.

Once you have purchased an anti-virus program, use it to scan new programs before you execute or install them, and new diskettes (even if you think they are blank) before you use them.

You can also take the following precautions to protect your computer from getting a virus:

* Always be very careful about opening attachments you receive in an email -- particularly if the mail comes from someone you do not know. Avoid accepting programs (EXE or COM files) from USENET news group postings. Be careful about running programs that come from unfamiliar sources or have come to you unrequested. Be careful about using Microsoft Word or Excel files that originate from an unknown or insecure source.

* Avoid booting off a diskette by never leaving a floppy disk in your system when you turn it off.

* Write protect all your system and software diskettes when you obtain them. This will stop a computer virus spreading to them if your system becomes infected.

* Change your system's CMOS Setup configuration to prevent it from booting from the diskette drive. If you do this a boot sector virus will be unable to infect your computer during an accidental or deliberate reboot while an infected floppy is in the drive. If you ever need to boot off your Rescue Disk, remember to change the CMOS back to allow you to boot from diskette!

* Configure Microsoft Word and Excel to warn you whenever you open a document or spreadsheet that contains a macro (in Microsoft Word check the appropriate box in the Tools | Options | General tab).

* Write-protect your system's NORMAL.DOT file. By making this file read-only, you will hopefully notice if a macro virus attempts to write to it.

* When you need to distribute a Microsoft Word file to someone, send the RTF (Rich Text Format) file instead. RTF files do not suport macros, and by doing so you can ensure that you won't be inadvertently sending an infected file.

* Rename your C:\AUTOEXEC.BAT file to C:\AUTO.BAT. Then, edit your C:\AUTOEXEC.BAT file to the following single line:

auto

By doing this you can easily notice any viruses or trojans that try to add to, or replace, your AUTOEXEC.BAT file. Additionally, if a virus attempts to add code to the bottom of the file, it will not be executed.

* Finally, always make regular backups of your computer files. That way, if your computer becomes infected, you can be confident of having a clean backup to help you recover from the attack.

Q: What types of files do you recommend that I scan and set for auto-protection?

Here's a list of file extensions that you should make sure your anti-virus software scans and autoprotects:

386, ADT, BIN, CBT, CLA, COM, CPL, CSC, DLL, DOC, DOT, DRV, EXE, HTM, HTT, JS, MDB, MSO, OV?, POT, PPT, RTF, SCR, SHS, SYS, VBS, XL?

Q: What are some good indications that my computer has a virus?

A very good indicator is having anti-virus software tell you that it found several files on a disk infected with the same virus (sometimes if the software reports just one file is infected, or if the file is not a program file -- an EXE or COM file -- it is a false report).

Another good indicator is if the reported virus was found in an EXE or COM file or in a boot sector on the disk.

If Windows can not start in 32-bit disk or file access mode your computer may have a virus.

If several executable files (EXE and COM) on your system are suddenly and mysteriously larger than they were previously, you may have a virus.

If you get a warning that a Microsoft Word document or Excel spreadsheet contains a macro but you know that it should not have a macro (you must first have the auto-warn feature activated in Word/Excel).

Q: What are the most common ways to get a virus?

One of the most common ways to get a computer virus is by booting from an infected diskette. Another way is to receive an infected file (such as an EXE or COM file, or a Microsoft Word document or Excel spreadsheet) through file sharing, by downloading it off the Internet, or as an attachment in an email message.

Q: What should I do if I get a virus?

First, don't panic! Resist the urge to reformat or erase everything in sight. Write down everything you do in the order that you do it. This will help you to be thorough and not duplicate your efforts. Your main actions will be to contain the virus, so it does not spread elsewhere, and then to eradicate it.

If you work in a networked environment, where you share information and resources with others, do not be silent. If you have a system administrator, tell her what has happened. It is possible that the virus has infected more than one machine in your workgroup or organization. If you are on a local area network, remove yourself physically from it immediately.

Once you have contained the virus, you will need to disinfect your system, and then work carefully outwards to deal with any problems beyond your system itself (for example, you should meticulously and methodically look at your system backups, and any removable media that you use). If you are on a network, any networked computers and servers will also need to be checked.

Any good anti-virus software will help you to identify the virus and then remove it from your system. Viruses are designed to spread, so don't stop at the first one you find, continue looking until you are sure you've checked every possible source. It is entirely possible that you could find several hundred copies of the virus throughout your system and media!

To disinfect your system, shut down all applications and shut down your computer right away. Then, if you have Fix-It Utilities 99, boot off your System Rescue Disk. Use the virus scanner on this rescue disk to scan your system for viruses. Because the virus definitions on your Rescue Disk may be out of date and is not as comprehensive as the full Virus Scanner in Fix-It, once you have used it and it has cleared your system of known viruses, boot into Windows and use the full Virus Scanner to do an "On Demand" scan set to scan all files. If you haven't run Easy Update recently to get the most current virus definition files, do so now.

If the virus scanner can remove the virus from an infected file, go ahead and clean the file. If the cleaning operation fails, or the virus software cannot remove it, either delete the file or isolate it. The best way to isolate such a file is to put it on a clearly marked floppy disk and then delete it from your system.

Once you have dealt with your system, you will need to look beyond it at things like floppy disks, backups and removable media. This way you can make sure that you won't accidentally re-infect your computer. Check all of the diskettes, zip disks, and CD-ROMs that may have been used on the system.

Finally, ask yourself who has used the computer in the last few weeks. If there are others, they may have inadvertently carried the infection to their computer, and be in need of help. Viruses can also infect other computers through files you may have shared with other people. Ask yourself if you have sent any files as email attachments, or copied any files from your machine to a server, web site or FTP site recently. If so, scan them to see if they are infected, and if they are, inform other people who may now have a copy of the infected file on their machine.

Disclaimer: These pages are not responsible for any damage that the information contained herein may cause to your system.

How to Incorporate Data Recovery into Your Server Recovery Business Continuity Plan

2008-06-16T10:53:00.003-07:00

Disaster recovery planning is a challenging process. During the planning phases, people naturally concentrate on tangible disasters such as fire, break-ins, and natural disasters. Data disasters should also be considered part of your disaster recovery plan. Here are some proactive suggestions for your disaster plan:

Documentation

A review of emergency procedures on a quarterly basis is a proactive approach to disaster recovery. Key personnel should be up to date on all technical articles relating to primary business systems or messaging systems. Detailed documentation should be available in the server room area, describing individual machine configurations and software settings. Administrative documentation should be complete with each machine.

Microsoft Exchange Server Redundancy

For instance, in a business running Microsoft Exchange Message Server, is there a secondary restore server in place to handle the restoration of the server’s Information Store during an outage? All current versions of Exchange Server use Log Files to record message transactions before they are committed to the Information Store database. While ‘Circular Logging’ may assist in saving storage space, during a data disaster a complete set of log files are critical in bringing a restored Information Store up to date and getting your users back to their data.

Archived Data on Tape Media

Disaster recovery planning should have plans for off-site storage of backup tapes and other media. Tape backups bring additional validation testing steps to the plan. It is good practice to test the backups periodically. Tape rotation should be regular and consistent and monitoring the life spans of tapes is an important process to reduce media failures.

RAID Systems

When there are disasters involving RAID storage systems, SAN systems, JBOD systems, and NAS systems, disaster planning takes a different perspective. These storage systems have redundancy architecture to prevent outages and disasters. However, this can provide a false sense of security.

For instance, one client last year had 40TB of storage space spread over 20 servers. These systems had hardware RAID 1+0 configurations. Problems began happening on one server when a drive would go off-line for a moment. The controller card would switch to the mirror copy as part of the redundancy process. At some point, the first drive would come back online. The controller card would switch back to the original drive and there would be inconsistent data from a volume and file system perspective. After a system power-down and restart, the storage system hardware reset. The operating system’s automatic volume repair program started and began making repairs. This became the cause of additional problems to the file system integrity and the critical data was no longer available. The data had to be available immediately and Remote Data Recovery was the option for this client.

This case history is interesting because of the cascade of failures that happened in quick succession. This client was processing large amounts of data from three shifts per day. To archive that amount of changing data every night was not possible. The client had been confident that the storage configuration was ‘bullet-proof’ due to the mirroring.

These configurations can be successful against multiple drive failures. In this case, however, the drive never failed, it just went off-line. When the drive came back online, there were file system inconsistencies. As a result, the data became unavailable when the automatic volume repair tool started making repairs. Engineers worked throughout the night to get the data available. In the end, the recovery was a 100% success.

Data disasters can be single-tiered; a drive fails or data is missing or multi-tiered; data disasters are combinations of small disasters. Ontrack Data Recovery’s understanding of these unique circumstances is what sets us apart from other data recovery companies. With recent issues bringing the importance of business continuity to the forefront it is essential to be prepared. With Ontrack Data Recovery as part of your disaster recovery plan you can feel reassured knowing that when a data disaster strikes, you have the support of our nearly 20 years of experience along with offices, clean rooms, engineers, and employees located around the world.

RAID History and Information

2008-06-16T10:53:00.001-07:00

Introduction to RAID
Storage systems preserve data that has been processed and data that is queued up to be processed and have become an integral part of the computer system. Storage systems have advanced just as other computer components over the years. The RAID storage system was introduced over 15 years ago and has provided an excellent mass storage solution for enterprise systems. Let’s get a little more history about the RAID concept and they work.

History of RAID
RAID is an acronym for Redundant Array of Inexpensive Disks. The concept was conceived at the University of California, Berkeley and IBM holds the intellectual patent on RAID level 5. The University of California, Berkeley researchers, David A. Patterson, Garth Gibson, and Randy H. Katz worked to produce working prototypes of five levels of RAID storage systems. The result of this research has formed the basis of today’s complex RAID storage systems.

Some of the design goals of the RAID storage system were to provide performance improvements, storage reliability and recovery, and scalability. The redundancy concept employed in the RAID system is unique and provides a method to recover if one drive should fail within the system. In fact, today’s RAID controller cards have the ability to continue reading and writing data even if one drive is ‘off-line.’ So how does the RAID controller card manage the individual disks and provide fault tolerance?

RAID Overview RAID controller card manages the individual physical disks and presents one large logical array to the host computer.
The heart of the RAID storage system is controller card. This card is usually a SCSI hard disk controller card (however, IDE RAID controller cards are becoming quite common). The task of the controller card is to:

* Manage Individual Hard Disk Drives
* Provide a Logical Array Configuration
* Perform Redundant or Fault Tolerant Operations

Management of Individual Drives
The RAID controller will translate and communicate directly with the hard disk drives. Some controller cards have additional utilities to work with the disk drives specifically, such as a surface scan function and a drive format utility. In the case of SCSI based cards, these controllers will provide additional options to manage the drives.

Logical Array Configuration
The configuration of the logical array stripes the data across all of the physical drives. This provides balanced data throughput to all of the drives—instead of making one drive do all the work of reading and writing data, now all of them are working together and the data is streaming across all of the physical drives.

Redundant or Fault Tolerant Operations
The redundancy in a common RAID 5 configuration is the result of using a Boolean mathematical function called Exclusive OR (XOR). This is commonly referred to as Parity. The XOR function is a logical binary process—its best to think of Parity as combination of the other drive’s data blocks. Every byte that gets written to one data block is calculated against the other data blocks and resultant Parity is written to the Parity block for that particular stripe. What makes this function so unique is that the math will always work regardless of what data block is missing. However, the limitation to RAID 5 is that only one data block can be missing—the math will not work if there are two blocks missing. In the working environment this means that only one drive can fail. The RAID 5 configuration will not provide proper redundancy if two or more drives fail.

As previously mentioned, the controller card is striping the data as well as performing the XOR function on that data as well—the amount of logical computations the controller is doing every second is staggering. Today’s RAID controllers are intricate pieces of hardware, including specially designed processors and SDRAM memory banks to provide performance and redundancy.

Common RAID Configurations —The pictures below graphically show how RAID Arrays are put together (this is handled by the RAID configuration.) Follow the letters to see how the data stripes jump between drives.
RAID 0: Striped Disk Array without Fault Tolerance

RAID 5: Independent Disks with Distributed Parity Blocks

RAID Recovery
RAID storage systems are designed to deal with failure. While hardware failure is a strong reason why some RAIDs may fail, there can also be other failures that make the data inaccessible. If your client is having problems with their RAID Array, then Ontrack Data Recovery is your solution.

Ontrack Data Recovery's edge in data recovery procedures and techniques proves our leadership with RAID recoveries. Senior engineers at Ontrack Data Recovery agree that recovering RAID Arrays are one of the most technically challenging aspects of data recovery. Advanced or senior engineers handle RAID recoveries. The process we employ to recover RAID Arrays involves putting the array back together by hand. We do not employ the method of attaching the drives to a RAID controller card and hoping that it works. When Ontrack Data Recovery engineers put the logical array back together they have done extensive investigating on how the data is laid out on all the drives and know the order of the drives and the layout of the data blocks and parity blocks.

A RAID recovery evaluation is really the combination of two very important steps. First is the array rebuilding and this has the potential of taking the most time. This investment in time is required in determining the original configuration and getting a quality recovery. The second step is to work on the logical file system. Today’s enterprise journaling file systems are highly complex; if the RAID Array is out of order there will be thousands of errors within the file system and files will be corrupted. Ontrack Data Recovery engineers verify and confirm that the array is built correctly before any data is copied. This extra step ensures a quality recovery.

We have gone through just a small history of this storage solution and it is only reasonable to expect that RAID Arrays will continue to be widely used. Disasters will happen and when they do then you have a partner in Ontrack Data Recovery. We will do all we can to get your customer’s original data back. Our expertise and leadership in RAID recoveries has saved thousands of customers who have had their enterprise storage system go down.

SQL Server Recovery

2008-06-16T10:52:00.002-07:00

Business systems are usually made up of databases. There are databases for customers, for accounting and for product design. One of the more common database systems is Microsoft's SQL server. This robust and dynamic system provides a solution to a company's business system.

The data that is inside a business database is valuable and so is the database itself-it can take weeks or months to set one up completely. When a SQL database cannot access the data, your client's solution is Ontrack Data Recovery Services. Using specialized tools that we have designed for SQL recoveries plus our Remote Data Recovery™ service, you have a strong data recovery solution. But what is SQL server and what can go wrong?

What is SQL? How is used?
Microsoft® SQL server is a business enterprise software package that manages data through a client/server relational database. There are four fundamental aspects to a SQL (Structured Query Language) server.

1. Database File
2. Relational Database Concept
3. Client/Server System
4. Database Management System (DBMS)

The Database File refers to the physical file that contains the data the SQL server manages. This file is more than just a container for data. SQL files, or .MDF files, are highly organized and complex. The file is designed like this so that SQL server can handle multiple data transactions at once.

The Relational Database Concept is the method employed to organize the data; this is separate from the internal organization of the file itself. Relational Database Concept systems use mathematical set theory to organize the data in the most effective way. Data organization is critical to maintaining the speed of the database server.

The Client/Server System refers to the part of SQL server that communicates with the operating system. This part of the system needs to manage the server's resources, connections and managing multiple databases at the same time.

The Database Management System interacts and works will all the above items. Not only does this manage the internal structure of the .MDF file, DBMS also controls the Relational Database side of things and organizes the data. The DBMS of SQL server is the heart of the system.

Data loss situations-What can happen?
Data loss situations can occur at a number of different levels. The first level of data loss starts with the storage device. This can be a single hard disk or a SAN or RAID storage array. If loss is at this level, Ontrack's goal is get the storage device operational so that the data can be copied off. Ontrack's clean room engineers work at an electronic and mechanical level to get the device operational. If the storage device is a SAN or RAID array, the goal is to get that storage device operational and the data copied off. SAN and RAID arrays add a challenging level to the complexity of the job. Ontrack has excelled in specific techniques to handle these storage devices.

The second level of data loss can start at a file system level. The file system is a unique method of storing and organizing system and user files. The operating system controls the file system. If the information about where data files are on the volume are damaged or lost, then adjustments or repairs need to be completed at a file system level. Once the file system is repaired then the file's data stream can be accessed correctly. Most operating systems have a utility that will automatically fix the file system. These utilities work to make the volume accessible. However, this can permanently damage the data stream of the file.

The third level of data loss can occur within the file itself. As previously mentioned, .MDF files are quite complex. The internal structure can be corrupted to the point where the DBMS will not make the database available. This is where Ontrack excels in providing a total data recovery solution.

Ontrack's solution to data disasters
Ontrack has the solution to corrupted or damaged SQL database files and we can use our Remote Data Recovery technology to get the data back as fast as possible. Ontrack's internal SQL recovery toolset was designed to retrieve the data contained within the .MDF file.

The process of a SQL recovery begins with finding the database file requested. If the database file is inaccessible due to problems with the storage device, then we work to get that data extracted. If the file is missing, deleted or truncated due to problems with the file system, then we work to adjust or repair the file system to correctly point to the data stream of the file. And finally if the file system has no pointers at all to the file, then we search the entire drive looking for SQL data.

The next stage is to work on the database file itself. This is where the SQL toolset comes. These tools analyze the complex internal structures of the .MDF file and provide reports as to what tables are recoverable. The reports also list the number of data rows that will come back.

Once the evaluation is complete and authorization is given to recover the data, our SQL toolset will copy the data into another SQL server database. After this phase is complete, we can backup or archive the recovered data.

Remote Data Recovery is the fastest solution for SQL recoveries. The Remote Data Recovery process will copy the recovered data into a SQL server that is setup on you or your client's site. They only need SQL server running. For best results we recommend that the storage device we are working on be connected to a SQL server, because all of the data transactions will be occurring on a single machine.
Supported Version of SQL
Microsoft SQL 6.5 Typically one, or more, large DAT files. We extract the table information from the bad database and create new tables in a new database. Ontrack has full support for this version, including tables and deleted row information.
Microsoft SQL 7.0 Same as SQL 6.5, database file names are typically MDF
Microsoft SQL 2000 Same as SQL 7.0
Microsoft SQL 2005 Same as SQL 7.0

Important Terms
Dropped Table Table in an SQL database that has been deleted.
Dropped Database SQL database that has been deleted.
Deleted Row Row information in an SQL table that has been deleted.

Recovery Abilities
Corrupt File A database file that cannot be opened by the database engine. Either directly from the customer, after the file has been restored from a Tape Recovery, or after the file has been copied out after a Drive Recovery.
Deleted File A database that has been dropped by the database engine. This is a deleted file recovery first. If the file is not present after a deleted recovery then it is a Lost Page recovery.
Dropped Objects Deleted tables in SQL are supported. Deleted rows in SQL are supported.

Hard Drive and Clean Room Technology

2008-06-16T10:52:00.001-07:00

Hard disk technology has been around since the Fifties. The large multi-platter based systems, IBM 305 RAMAC, were only used in large mainframe systems. It wasn’t until the Seventies and Eighties that hard disk storage became more available. This was due to cost reductions, innovation from magnetic media formulations, storage capacity, performance, and manufacturing techniques.

Hard disk storage manufacturers have been always working to improve the technology. Storage space, data transfer rates, and internal error checking have been the guiding principles of hard drive technology. Ontrack Data Recovery works hard to maintain our capabilities to be compatible with these emerging technologies so that we can provide the best hard drive recovery for your client’s data. What are some of the advancements in hard disk storage devices? What are some common data loss scenarios with hard disk storage? What are some of Ontrack Data Recovery’s capabilities that set it apart from other data recovery companies? This document will help answer these questions and more. Let’s begin with looking at the inner workings of the hard disk itself.

Hard Drives — Technology in Action

As you know, hard drives are a combination of sophisticated electronic and mechanical systems that incorporate a number of specialized motors and electro-mechanical components to read and write data.

Hard drive technology has substantially advanced in the past 10 years. In fact, hard drives are designed to manage themselves in addition to reading and writing data. Hard drives today use a number of algorithms to verify data on the drive and also maintains a ‘Defect Management’ list internally that constantly monitors their own health and performance . If a sector is beginning to fail, the hard drive’s electronics will remove that sector from use. In addition to this, S.M.A.R.T. (Self-Monitoring, Analysis and Reporting Technology) circuitry has been incorporated on many hard drives and is used to monitor all of the internal systems.

Despite these safeguards, hard drives can fail. There can be a number of reasons for hard drive failure, for instance physical damage can result when the hard drive or case is jarred while operating or even when powered off. Power spikes or fluctuations can damage the electronics or corrupt the data on the drive. Internal mechanical parts can seize up due to high temperatures if the drive does not have enough airflow to keep the unit cool.

Types of common failures include:
Problem Description
Internal Mechanical Failure This is the failure of any moving mechanical component found within a storage device.
Intermittent Failure This is the failure of a storage device to operate reliably. In some cases it may not be possible to isolate the exact fault.
Physical Media Damage This can occur when a head has physical contact with the surface of platter. When the head(s) come into contact with the platter it digs into the platter removing a chunk of the media. As the platter spins, debris is scattered causing read errors.
Media Corruption This type of damage can effect the magnetic information stored on the media. It can affect both the user data stored on the drive and the critical drive servo information that controls the positioning of the heads.
Electronics Failure This is the failure of a storage device’s circuitry (the brain of the storage device).

Hard Disk Recovery — Exposing the Myths

A common misconception about hard drive data recovery is that repairing hard drives means replacing parts. If only it were that easy! Hard drive technology is always changing— manufacturers are constantly using different mechanical designs.

Today’s hard drives have no room for errors when it comes to platter and head alignment. The tolerances are so exacting that hard drive manufacturers even design ways to keep the Base-Casting Assembly, where all the components are attached to, from shifting due to high temperature situations. For instance, one hard drive manufacturer of high performance SCSI based drives actually designs their Base-Casting Assembly with pre-stress points. The assembly does not line up from corner to diagonal corner—it’s pre-torqued. When the casting assembly heats up, the unit actually twists back (thermal expansion) into a true line-up from corner to corner. With the byte-density of most large hard drives today being 4gb to 6gb per square inch, absolute precision is required for these high capacity and high speed drives to operate reliably. Hard disk manufacturers are working to increase how many bytes can be squeezed into a square inch.

The mechanical precision of today’s hard drives makes head assembly replacement nearly impossible without specialized tools. Platter removal is dangerous and will affect how the drive reads the sectors. As previously mentioned if just one component is out of alignment, the drive will not find the required sectors. If the hard disk electronics cannot find the sectors requested by the controller, it may endlessly try to find those sectors or it will shut down the unit.

Mechanical precision is just one side of hard drive technology - the electronics are just as finite. Exchanging circuit boards between drives used to be a quick way to work around a failed circuit board in the past. The electronics are much more complicated, and as a result the different revisions of a circuit board are rarely compatible. The innovations of the past 15 years have made a circuit board swap as a solution a thing of the past.

Today’s hard drives are designed from basic primary components as the foundation first and then other components are built around that. For instance, research and development improvements in platter and magnetic media require research and development improvements in head design. These designs require that the electronics be ‘custom-made’ for that drive. Hard drives are ‘fine-tuned’ to the properties of the storage media and read/write heads. Similar to how a radio is tuned to a specific radio frequency; hard drives are finely tuned to complement data signals that are read from the storage media.

Hard drive manufacturers make large batches of drives so there will be similarities between drive models. However, the Revision Code (proprietary hard drive read-only software that is used by the electronics to manage and operate the hard drive) changes frequently within the same model and batch. Hard drive innovation requires drives to be constantly improved upon. All of this requires extensive training in electronics and computer science to be able to work with these storage devices.

Qualifications of Hard Disk Recovery

To be able to work on hard drives, Ontrack Data Recovery clean room engineers have engineering or electronic degrees. Ontrack Data Recovery has a dedicated research and development department that is made up of clean room engineers from our domestic and international offices. They work together with the hard drive manufacturers to find the best scientific approaches to hard drive failures.

The technological innovations in the hard disk storage industry have inspired Ontrack Data Recovery clean room engineers. They closely follow advancements made within the industry. Ontrack Data Recovery designs it's own software, hardware, and electronic tools to work with hard disk storage devices. Storage hardware should not be considered unrecoverable until determined so by Ontrack Data Recovery’s engineering staff. Ontrack Data Recovery has performed successful recoveries on drives that have been in fires, floods or that have had damage to the Base-Casting Assembly. In some cases where there is physical media damage, Ontrack Data Recovery engineers can force the drive to read around those bad areas using specially designed electronic modules and software that work directly on the hard drive.

What does this mean for you?

You are well positioned to be a recovery solutions provider for your clients by working with Ontrack Data Recovery. Advancements from Ontrack Data Recovery clean room engineers worldwide result in quality recoveries. This attention to advancing technology has saved severe losses in time, money and digital resources for thousands of companies. While most companies have a backup program in place, data recovery produces the latest original files - not an older copy of the file.

Ontrack Data Recovery works with hard drive manufacturers in producing software for hard disk installation. Ontrack Data Recovery also writes hard drive analysis software for manufacturers. Many manufacturers and OEMs recognize Ontrack Data Recovery’s leadership in this field. Ontrack Data Recovery’s experience with hard drives goes back to our roots - the founders of Ontrack Data Recovery came from the storage division of Control Data Institute.

By partnering with Ontrack Data Recovery you have extended your capabilities in disaster recovery. While a disaster is a traumatic and frustrating experience, having a hero during rough times is reassuring. By utilizing Ontrack Data Recovery recovery capabilities you can be that hero. We will work with you to get your client’s data back as soon as possible. Our clean room staff will not stop until they get every last bit of recoverable data. Our data recovery lab engineers will do all they can to put the file system back in order so that the original data is found. If there should be corruption in some of the files, we will work on the files with Ontrack Data Recovery’ EasyRecovery FileRepair software to get all of the usable data back.

All of this provides you with the edge when a disaster happens. Being an Ontrack Data Recovery Partner means you have Ontrack Data Recovery’s worldwide resources working for you.

What is Data Recovery?

2008-06-16T10:45:00.000-07:00

Put simply, data recovery is the process of retrieving computer data that, for any number of reasons, has become inaccessible using normal methods. Ontrack has the right tools and experience to solve your data loss problems.

"No one in the data recovery business comes close to challenging Ontrack's leadership. It is by far the most technologically advanced company in the field." - Joe Sullivan, Securities Analyst, Dougherty Summit Securities

Don't assume that your data is unrecoverable; Ontrack provides the following data recovery services recovering lost data:

* RDR® - Remote Data Recovery™ Service
Using patented technology, Ontrack engineers perform lab-quality data recovery service right on your server, desktop, or laptop through a modem of Internet connection. Additionally, the connection is secured by using a proprietary communication protocol, encrypted packets, and safe facilities.

* In-Lab Data Recovery Service
Ship the damaged drive or storage device to an Ontrack lab and let our experienced engineers determine what is necessary to recover the data. Most standard data recovery jobs are completed in 3-5 days for the fastest turnaround time in the industry, and we return the data on the storage media of your choice.

* EasyRecovery™ Professional Software
EasyRecovery Professional provides and easy to use, do-it-yourself solution to meet data loss needs and restore valuable data. EasyRecovery Professional offers a complete solution for disk diagnostic, data recovery, and file repair needs.

Regardless of the Ontrack data recovery option that you chose, you can be sure that:

Ontrack Data Recovery software and data recovery services are complete and safe.

Our engineers pioneered the technology used in this field and continue to produce ground-breaking solutions. You can rest assured that your data is in the most competent hands.

Ontrack data recoveries return current data.

Although many people rely on backups following a data loss, the most recent backup may not be recent enough.

Ontrack Data Recovery software and data recovery services are fast.

Every second that passes following a data loss means time and money. Our data recovery specialists help you quickly determine which data recovery approach is the best for your situation.