There are a seemingly endless number of data recovery companies available online who promise to help you recover lost data due to hard drive failure or other difficulties. Some of them are excellent, well managed service providers who offer great value for your money, while some, unfortunately, are not.
If you're looking for someone to help you retrieve lost files or other data, the information is likely quite valuable to you and you want to choose a provider who gives you the best chance to get your files back. So how do you choose the best service provider from all the available choices? Here are the top 10 things you should look for when choosing a data recovery company:
1. Check to see if they are recommended by computer manufacturers.
Computer manufacturers sometimes recommend specific data recovery companies that they know well and that they are confident can handle the task of recovering your information. While some very good companies may not be well known enough to the manufacturers to make the list, you can be sure that any companies on the list have been in business for a while and have a good track record in their field.
2. Make sure they have access to a clean room environment.
Access to a Class 100 clean room is necessary for most physical data recovery operations. A Class 100 clean room means that atmosphere in the room has 100 or less particles of a given size per cubic meter. (For comparison, the average urban environment has approximately 35,000,000 particles per cubic meter)
A clean room environment is necessary to work on a damaged hard drive because the internal components of the drive are so small and finely tuned that dust particles can get into the drive and interfere with its operation. This is also the reason you should never try to disassemble your drive on your own, chances are, you will make recovery more difficult, or even impossible.
3. Check out the company's history with the Better Business Bureau.
The Better Business Bureau keeps track of complaints against a company and can tell you how long they have been in business at their current location. In most cases, a company that has been in business for several years and has few if any complaints against it is a reputable service provider.
4. Make sure the company has a physical address, not just a P.O box.
Unfortunately, there are scams out there on the web, so as a minimum requirement, make sure the business has a physical address and that you can verify the fact that they are an actual company that conducts business on a regular basis.
5. Make sure that the company actually does their own repairs on site.
Some data recovery companies send their customer's hard drives out to have someone else do the repairs. In other words, they are middlemen, charging you for the repair and then sub-contracting the actual work. A company who does business this way is likely more expensive than a company who does its own work on site.
6. No hidden fees.
Most data recovery providers offer a free evaluation to find out the extent of the damage and determine if your data is recoverable. After the evaluation, you should receive a quote for the cost of recovery that doesn't include any hidden or "extra" fees. Make sure you know exactly how much it will cost before you sign any agreements.
7. A proven success rate.
Good data recovery companies keep track of their success rate and can retrieve your files in 80 to 90% of cases. Of course, there's always a possibility that your data may be one of the 10-20% of cases that are unsuccessful, but in general, a company with a high success rate gives you a better chance to get your files back. If the company doesn't know or want to discuss its success rate, you're probably better off to go with someone else. On the other hand, companies that promote a 100% success rate are likely not telling you the whole story.
8. Availability.
Many good companies have client representatives who are available 24/7 to answer your questions and concerns. This availability can be a real benefit if you're in the midst of a data loss emergency.
9. Word of mouth.
As with all businesses, word of mouth feedback from previous customers is often the best measure of a company's effectiveness. Check with your friends or employer to find out which companies they have used and whether they were satisfied with the results.
10. Don't accept a quote based on the volume of data to be recovered.
Some companies will charge you based on the volume of data to be recovered, rather than the actual work required. The work involved in a specific data recovery job depends on the type of repair and the extent of damage to the drive. It doesn't cost the provider more to recover greater volumes of data.
Ultimately, you have to trust your judgement when choosing a data recovery provider. If you are uncomfortable with the answers to any of your questions, you may be better to keep searching until you find someone you're completely comfortable with. Your data is important and you will likely only have one opportunity to retrieve it, so make sure you entrust your files to the company you feel has the best chance of making a successful recovery.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/6060331
03 May, 2011
MySQL Table Corruption
MySQL RDBMS (or Relational Database Management System) provides users the choice of using a variety of storage engines according to their workload. These storage engines are capable of handling different types of tables. MyISAM is the default storage engine used in MySQL which handles non-transactional tables. It facilitates high-speed storage or retrieval and has full text searching capabilities. The MyISAM table is stored in three files on the system hard disk i.e. the data file (.MYD extension), index file (.MYI extension), and the file storing table format (.frm extension). Many times, a MyISAM table gets corrupt due to a number of reasons making all the data records stored there inaccessible. In such situations, you should go for MySQL recovery through a reliable third-party utility to recover back all your precious and invaluable data.
For instance, while trying to save, update, or access a MySQL table, you may encounter the following error message on your computer screen:
"#1034 - Incorrect key file for table; try to repair it"
Cause:
The following reasons may be responsible for the above error message-
An improper system shutdown may interrupt the read or write operation to the database.
A virus or malicious software infection may cause damage to the MySQL tables.
The internal structure of the table may get damaged due to some application errors.
A file system corruption issue may also result in database inaccessibility.
After the occurrence of the above error message, the MyISAM table becomes completely unusable and you will not be able to perform any operation on the table. In this case, you may use a backup to recover MySQL database. However, if the backup is unavailable, try to follow the below given resolution steps.
Resolution:
These steps may help you fix the problem-
Use the 'myisamchk' command line utility with the 'r' option.
'myisamchk -r tablename'
Use the 'mysqlcheck' command-line utility as follows:
'mysqlcheck -r databasename tablename'
If the problem still persists, you should take help of an efficient MySQL database recovery software. These software repair corrupt or damaged MySQL tables to restore various database objects including tables, views, indexes, user-defined functions, stored procedures etc. They create a log report to save all the details about the recovery process.
Stellar Phoenix MySQL Database Recovery is a powerful utility that repairs MySQL tables created in MySQL 3.x, 4.x, 5.x, and 6.x versions. Furthermore, it is compatible with Windows 7, Vista, Server 2003, XP, and 2000.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/6058522
For instance, while trying to save, update, or access a MySQL table, you may encounter the following error message on your computer screen:
"#1034 - Incorrect key file for table; try to repair it"
Cause:
The following reasons may be responsible for the above error message-
An improper system shutdown may interrupt the read or write operation to the database.
A virus or malicious software infection may cause damage to the MySQL tables.
The internal structure of the table may get damaged due to some application errors.
A file system corruption issue may also result in database inaccessibility.
After the occurrence of the above error message, the MyISAM table becomes completely unusable and you will not be able to perform any operation on the table. In this case, you may use a backup to recover MySQL database. However, if the backup is unavailable, try to follow the below given resolution steps.
Resolution:
These steps may help you fix the problem-
Use the 'myisamchk' command line utility with the 'r' option.
'myisamchk -r tablename'
Use the 'mysqlcheck' command-line utility as follows:
'mysqlcheck -r databasename tablename'
If the problem still persists, you should take help of an efficient MySQL database recovery software. These software repair corrupt or damaged MySQL tables to restore various database objects including tables, views, indexes, user-defined functions, stored procedures etc. They create a log report to save all the details about the recovery process.
Stellar Phoenix MySQL Database Recovery is a powerful utility that repairs MySQL tables created in MySQL 3.x, 4.x, 5.x, and 6.x versions. Furthermore, it is compatible with Windows 7, Vista, Server 2003, XP, and 2000.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/6058522
There are many times that you lose important
There are many times that you lose important data from your computer system and retrieving it turns out to be a mission in futility. This with little doubt cause you or any other computer user lots of headache but that could as well be a thing in the past following the realization of the server backup services. Since they help in the recovery of lost files, these services are very important thus you need to try them out as a way of solving any data disappearance problems with your system. The most encouraging thing about these remote backup services is the fact that they offer you a wide range of options to choose from thus it will not depend on which type of storage device you are using to determine how you enjoy them. However important they are to you, it is vital that you have a clear understanding of how they work so that you are capable of doing it on your own in case you lose some data from your system. To that effect, here are some few but important server backup recovery tips you can consider when retrieving lost files from your system.
• As a computer user you know well how your system functions therefore it goes without saying that you must be in a position of knowing when it is about to fail or performing below par. Look out for signs like slowness in loading pages as well as a totally ineffective hard drive and once you have noticed that then it's the right time to employ the remote backup services to save your data from disappearing. Once the system has crashed down you will get it hard recovering anything so doing it before it dies down is the right time.
• Another server backup tip is to secure all the important data in your system well in advance because you never know when disaster will strike. This will primarily involve saving it in a different storage device preferably a removable one and keeping it safe where it cannot be affected in case anything bad happens to your system. It can be a fire breakout at your office or even the system being stolen which cannot stress you anymore since all the data is safe and secure somewhere. The place where you keep your backups should be safe and easy to access when need arises not to cause a lot of inconveniences.
• When you have your backups stored well, it is good that you keep updating them on a regular basis because they are not immune to being affected by virus or any other destructive objects. If you fail to do that, then your server backup may fail to open up when needed and thus will not have served its expected role. If necessary, carry scans to your remote backup devices very often to deal with any foreign objects that might be detected and this will ensure your backed up files are safe.
• In case you are connected to a long line of computer users, ensure all the others in your line have enlisted remote backup services for additional protection. Under such circumstances, systems use the same CPU and if one computer experiences some problems it might affect all the others. Since you cannot manage to take risk with your important files, make sure they have their data backed up as well.
• To be on the safe side, never use your own computer as the backup server but lease some space from a dedicated web host which is more experienced on how to handle such a matter. Seeking services from a web hosting company is even more beneficial in that it is flexible to offer you a wide range of programs to choose the best one from.
Generally, it is good that you have a backup for your computer data well in place to avoid frustrations whenever the system fails to work or you lose some important files in the process. Equally important is knowing how to do it on your own, since using experts everyday is too costly.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/6225583
• As a computer user you know well how your system functions therefore it goes without saying that you must be in a position of knowing when it is about to fail or performing below par. Look out for signs like slowness in loading pages as well as a totally ineffective hard drive and once you have noticed that then it's the right time to employ the remote backup services to save your data from disappearing. Once the system has crashed down you will get it hard recovering anything so doing it before it dies down is the right time.
• Another server backup tip is to secure all the important data in your system well in advance because you never know when disaster will strike. This will primarily involve saving it in a different storage device preferably a removable one and keeping it safe where it cannot be affected in case anything bad happens to your system. It can be a fire breakout at your office or even the system being stolen which cannot stress you anymore since all the data is safe and secure somewhere. The place where you keep your backups should be safe and easy to access when need arises not to cause a lot of inconveniences.
• When you have your backups stored well, it is good that you keep updating them on a regular basis because they are not immune to being affected by virus or any other destructive objects. If you fail to do that, then your server backup may fail to open up when needed and thus will not have served its expected role. If necessary, carry scans to your remote backup devices very often to deal with any foreign objects that might be detected and this will ensure your backed up files are safe.
• In case you are connected to a long line of computer users, ensure all the others in your line have enlisted remote backup services for additional protection. Under such circumstances, systems use the same CPU and if one computer experiences some problems it might affect all the others. Since you cannot manage to take risk with your important files, make sure they have their data backed up as well.
• To be on the safe side, never use your own computer as the backup server but lease some space from a dedicated web host which is more experienced on how to handle such a matter. Seeking services from a web hosting company is even more beneficial in that it is flexible to offer you a wide range of programs to choose the best one from.
Generally, it is good that you have a backup for your computer data well in place to avoid frustrations whenever the system fails to work or you lose some important files in the process. Equally important is knowing how to do it on your own, since using experts everyday is too costly.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/6225583
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)