What is the Data Recovery Process?
Losing important data is never a good thing. If this has happened to you and you need data recovery, how is this done? What is the data recovery process? It can vary depending on the data and how it is being recovered but below are the most common steps in the process.

• Evaluating the drive (or other media source)
• Recovering the data
• Data security
• Returning the data
• Future data protection

If you take your drive to a data recovery service or company, they will need to evaluate your drive to determine if it can be recovered as well as how much, by what methods, what it will cost and how long it will take. You should usually receive this information within 24 hours of taking your drive to the service or company.

Next, your information will be recovered, usually by a technique called “cloning” where they copy your data from your hard drive onto another media source. They will make a duplicate of your original drive that can then be returned to you.

Data security is very important and you should go with a company that has strict policies regarding this. If you feel it is needed, you may want to go with a service that will sign a non-disclosure agreement with you. You also want to be sure that after the successful recovery and reinstallation of your data, the copy will be purged from the company’s system and files.

Your data may be returned to you in different ways. In some cases, your hard drive may be repaired. If it can not be repaired or if the service you used does not offer this option, it may be returned to you on a new hard drive, writeable CD, Zip/Jazz cartridge, or tape system.