Firms are being advised to take a "golden hour" before
deciding what to do whenrecovering data from computer
hardware.
Most avoidable data damage occurs in the first 60 minutes after
a computer failure, as users attempt to open the casing, unsafely
remove hardware, or tamper with small but essential components,
said Ontrack Data
Recovery.
In many cases, said Ontrack, this "data recovery do-it-yourself"
can prove fatal and render vital data irrecoverable. It can also
cost companies dear in terms of lost revenues and man-hours spent
replicating the information - if this is even possible.
The "golden hour" time out is therefore vital, as people often
panic when trying to rectify data damage, rather than thinking
about the situation logically.
Robert Winter, chief engineer of data recovery at Kroll Ontrack,
said, "Sometimes the casing has been opened and exposed to the
elements, or dropped before it is sent to us or while in transit.
Other common mistakes include drying out wet equipment on a
radiator or cooling down over-heated hardware in a freezer, neither
of which are successful ways of recovering data."
Winter said firms should instead leave a device alone, assess
how valuable the information contained on the media is, then make
an informed decision as to whether the best course of action is to
send it away for recovery, or download specialist tools to ensure
the best chance of success.
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