Few feelings in life compare with the awful realization that you’ve lost critical data. Maybe you deleted some files by accident, or your hard drive suddenly started clicking and will no longer function properly. Thankfully, all is not lost: Professional services like DriveSavers can work magic on seemingly destroyed drives. But be prepared to pay for it: The magic doesn’t come cheap.
If you prefer cheap, check out Web Worker Daily’s roundup of free (or nearly free) tools for recovering data from problem drives. For example:
Roadkil’s Unstoppable Copier is a free file recovery application I’ve had success with, and it comes in a Windows version and a Linux version. It recovers files from physically damaged disks and allows you to easily copy files from disks with bad sectors, scratches, or unexplained errors. The application includes logging features so that you can see if you are getting a pristine copy of a damaged file.
To the author’s list I would add Staples, which recently started offering data-recovery services; CD Recovery toolbox for dealing with scratched or otherwise damaged CDs and DVDs; and PhotoRec for recovering files and photos from memory cards (as well as hard drives and optical discs). What tools or services would you add?
