What to do when you lose critical data - PRR Computers, LLC

Data loss can happen for many different reasons:

• Accident: everyone who works with computers sooner or later deletes something accidentally. It’s just human nature.
• Disk or other hardware failure: sometimes, these things just go wrong.
• Deliberate erasing: perhaps you got rid of something and later you find you need it, or maybe someone maliciously deleted vital files.

However, many times, your data can be recovered. Even if the whole disk seems like it’s not working, there are sophisticated tools that can access your data.

Don’t try to fix it yourself unless you know exactly what you’re doing. You could make it impossible to recover the data, and you could be invalidating your warranty.

First steps

Two really simple things to try when you accidentally delete a file. Yes, they may be obvious, but in the heat of the moment, we’re all inclined to panic.

1. Try Undo: Most programs have an Undo option. (It’s usually under the Edit menu, or else you can try pressing CTRL-Z) If you’re lucky, it’ll give you the option to restore a file you just deleted. This doesn’t often work, but it’s always worth a go.
2. Check the Recycle Bin: if you’ve recently deleted a file from your computer, it’s probably in the Recycle Bin. Open it up, look for the file you need, and click Restore.

Check your backups

If it’s a file you had a while ago, you may be able to restore it from a backup. If you’re using cloud services to provide your backups, your file may well be available online right away.

This has saved us on numerous occasions. The first time you get something back that you think was gone for ever, you’ll be so relieved you won’t know what to say – and if you’re not taking regular backups, then start doing it now!

Call a professional

If none of the above work, or your problem is hardware rather than a few missing files, then call us at 239-244-1579. We’ll take a look at your disk and see what we can do. We are partnered with a professional data recovery lab to provide the highest quality service and get data from disks, USB sticks, flash cards, and more.

See more about our data recovery services.