Which Data Recovery Program?

Selecting a data recovery program isn't something that should be done in the midst of an emergency. We have all deleted files or even formatted disk drives and later discovered that critical data was unintentionally erased. Other reasons for needing a data recovery utility may include: virus infection, unexpected shutdowns or software failure.

The key to a successful recovery is preparation and in particular having a data recovery program ready to use when disaster strikes. Panic is a normal response when data is lost or erased. Furthermore such disasters inevitably happen when time is of the essence. The pressure to do something is intense and the problem compounded. Emergency data recovery is a high risk business, but especially when the basic tools need to be identified and evaluated before work can begin.

When it comes a selecting a data recovery program there are important decisions to be made:

1. Choosing between free, shareware and commercial data recovery tools. If the exercise involves critical data recovery the decision is academic. Go for the best data recovery tool every time and that means using a commercial product. Free data recovery options are rarely successful and adequate commercial options are not expensive.


2. DIY data recovery v. using a data recovery company. The decision will depend on how critical it is to recover the data and whether the data was lost as a consequence of mechanical or physical factors. Data recovery programs are usually useless in the event of physical damage such as a head crash. On the other hand using a data recovery specialist can have a downside as well. If a disk contains highly sensitive data there is the issue of secure data recovery. Who else may get access to the data? Onsite data recovery maybe a solution.


3. Cheap data recovery v. best data recovery. Fortunately these options aren't mutually exclusive. The best products facilitate easy data recovery. They will non-destructively scan your disk drive and report on the level of success that can be expected from paying for the full product. At a cost of $30 to $40 they're a bargain.

Most of the available products target the PC data recovery market. Check that your preferred solution is compatible with Windows Vista, even if you're only interested in XP data recovery or even some earlier version of Windows. If a product isn't compatible with Vista by now it's a strong indication that it's no longer supported and may not have a future.

The good news is that with the exception of data loss resulting from hardware failure we have found our choice of data recovery utility to be consistently reliable in achieving successful results across many Windows platforms. Our cost of data recovery compared with using a data recovery specialist has been trivial.

In summary the best data recovery protection is to be prepared and that means not just backing up regularly but also having the best data recovery tool ready to use when disaster strikes.