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Technology Triage: Data Recovery Specialists Ply Their Trade

Data Recovery Article: TechBIZ – Dallas Fort Worth – December 10, 2001

A system wide computer failure resulting in lost data can strike any business and originate from just about any source: hardware or system malfunction, corrupted software, viruses or physical disasters like water damage or fire.

When it happens, there are but a few specialized companies that can handle the arduous task of retrieving data from damaged drives and disks. For the data recovery specialist, successful outcomes usually hinge on a combination of innovative logistics, applied problem solving and “technology triage” – the process of stabilizing a company’s affected system quickly, analyzing and treating its wounds while preparing it for surgery.

Today’s recovery specialists are asked to deal with such diverse situations as retrieving client information for the welfare program of a nation or state, extracting billing records on behalf of a multimillion-dollar company or restoring a student’s master’s thesis.

Because their goal is simply to harvest data, recovery organizations do not usually repair operating systems or applications. Instead, they write new code and apply unique tools that help them drill into damaged databases and bypass problems created by corrupted files.

After being dispatched, the triage team’s leader will fix a game plan with the customer and set priorities, such as targeting which files are needed first or which are absolutely vital to business operations. Clients also can ask to recover files in other formats, like text-only, when retrieval time is crucial.

After priorities have been established, the data recovery team will completely analyze the situation and develop a status report outlining exactly how the operation will proceed. In three out of four cases, clients should have their lost data recovered within 24 hours.

In most instances, the triage team will transport damaged drives to their clean room, where the equipment can be copied onto a duplicate drive for line-by-line decoding – a process that can involve hours of continuous work. The logistics of getting a team in to evaluate the problem and sending damaged drives and media to their laboratories is just part of the challenge. Their employees also need to be skilled at rebuilding rare or obsolete equipment and experienced in dealing with customers from a wide assortment of industries.

There are, however, no manuals for data recovery and no single approach. Each project has to be analyzed on an individual basis and initiated only after a comprehensive action plan has been developed.

With users storing greater amounts of personal and commercial data on their desktops, the potential for data loss has escalated dramatically in recent years. The impact on an affected company also is much more severe, given the value placed on information in today’s economy.

A study by accounting firm McGladrey & Pullen L.L.P. estimated that one out of every 500 data centers would experience a severe computer disaster this year. Almost half of those companies will simply curl up their toes and go out of business.

CONFRONT THE PROBLEM
How corporations and individuals respond to a data crisis often reveals how they deal with day-to-day business challenges. Typically, the ones that confront the issue directly and escalate rapidly are the most successful.

If it happens to you, the most important thing to remember is that no matter how dire the circumstances, at least some data almost always can be recovered – usually between 75 percent and 85 percent.

Almost all procedures to protect data are rooted in common sense:

• Keep the system in a dry, shaded area that is dust-free.
• Back up data and test restoration capabilities regularly.
• Have a complete understanding of the system setup before attempting to install new software.
• Make sure all antivirus software is up to date. Check all incoming disks and e-mail for viruses.
• Replace the drive if a disk scan indicates a bad sector.
• Never attempt installations or repairs without experience.
• Avoid moving computers, especially when in operation.
• Never use software-recovery utilities to repair data when the hardware is failing.
• Do not attempt to operate a visibly damaged hard drive or one suspected of damage.
• Use diagnostic utilities with caution.
• Defragment drives regularly. This will help simplify data-retrieval efforts if they are required.