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Once you are in a hole it is time to stop digging
Posted by Mark on Sep 23, 2008
“There is just one more thing we want to try” has sometimes been the sentence that I have heard from the other end of the phone immediately prior to some data being lost to this world forever.
This is not a plug for using data recovery companies, I work for one and don’t believe that it is always the best option, but it is a good idea to emulate the calm and measured approach that a professional would take.
First, stop and take stock. What has happened? Sit down and write a brief chronology of events, list the symptoms, and what the impact is. What data have you lost? Do you have copies of things elsewhere? Is the disk clicking or silent? Can you still see the drive via the operating system? Once you have done this then you should have the facts well marshalled and it is time to decide the next course of action.
This can be a good time to talk to someone from a data recovery company, but one where you get to speak with a techie rather than someone who really just wants to get your credit card details. From your description of the symptoms you should be given a good idea as the nature of the problem and whether it is likely to be terminal, expensive, straightforward with which to deal, and if it is something you might be able to handle yourself without the expense.
The thing to remember is that whilst the disk, tape or other device is sitting doing nothing then the problem is not being made worse. Once you start doing things then the problem can be resolved, or it can be made much worse.
Once you have all of the available facts and a degree of advice then it is time for the next step. Within a business it is worth now discussing the problem with others, someone else might have a copy of the data that you have lost, it might be that the decision makers are going to decide to do without it or get it re-created and that leaping in to spend money on the problem is unnecessary.
You might end up spending money, you might find a way around the problem without much trauma, but by taking a measured and considered approach based upon facts and sound advice you stand a chance of avoiding rushing in and making things 10 times worse.
