Backup and Recovery
Data Recovery
Hard Drive – A hard drive (or multiple hard drives) store all the valuable user data in a computer or server
Hard Drive Failure – A hard drive can fail at any time. Mean Time Before Failure is from 3-7 years for most drives.
A computer that stops working usually has most or all of the data intact. However, it is not accessible or not recognized by the filesystem. In case of damage to the filesystem, data can usually be recovered using specialized software.
There is no way to recover lost productivity for a business that is having data recovered.
Grundig IT can perform 90% of the data recoveries that are normally performed by a specialized data recovery lab
Grundig IT charges by hour for data recovery, unlike most outfits. They charge a flat rate up to and beyond $2500 or $3000. My typical time to recover data ranges from 1-3 hours and it can be completed the same day or overnight. RAID recovery takes longer.
Physical damage to the platter(s) inside a hard drive is usually caused by faulty head. Grundig IT can determine this in approx ½ hour and help you determine the best course of action for recovery.
Backup (the best way to avoid having to worry about expensive, time-consuming data recovery)
The best backups are automatic, not manual. Backing up to a thumb drive is risky. They can break or get lost. Better options are below . . .
1) Online backup using Mozy, Carbonite or iBackup is inexpensive and easy to setup
– Cost: $6-$10 / month for desktops, $0.50 / per month per Gigabyte of data for servers
2) Backup to an external hard drive is inexpensive and can usually backup more data than online backup
– External hard drives can hold from 500GB to 2TB (terabytes of data) and cost from $70 – $200
– Network-attachable storage from Western Digital or Seagate is basically a hard drive with a network card. It can be attached to the network by plugging in an ethernet cable
– Backup is performed using software such as NTBackup, Windows Backup, Comodo, etc.
3) System image can be created using Window Imaging Tool or Acronis True Image
TIP: The best backup is a combination of 2 or more of the above backup methods. Local backup (backup to a hard drive) offers the quickest recovery. Online backup works in cases where the computer and backup drive have been stolen, crash or are otherwise missing or damage.
