Casey Anthony’s Google Searches – Computer Forensics

Casey Anthony’s Google searches. Gone already and we hardly knew ye….

I vividly remember watching some of the Casey Anthony trial live as it was televised. This was one of the most talked about cases in recent history. Since the trial was such a ratings bonanza for the media, it was nearly laid out like an itinerary. We knew when Roy Krunk was going to testify, we eagerly waited for George & Cindy Anthony, and we all waited anxiously to see if Casey herself would testify.

Even the attorneys themselves had become household names to a certain extent and lightning rods for controversy as they so often are. Had anyone ever heard of Jose Baez, Mason Cheney or Geoff Ashton prior to the trial?

With the advent and increase in social media use, this modern day televised ‘soap opera’, was basically a made for media drama in the form of a true story. People were tweeting during the trial, and it seemed that most everyone had an opinion on whether she innocent or guilty. The hatred for Casey Anthony was palpable. It seemed to be the only thing that anyone was talking about during the summer of 2011.

I know it’s a ‘sin to comment on the obvious’, but if this were a fictional novel, the innocent verdict certainly would have been the ‘shocker’ in the last chapter. I know…still hard to comprehend. As hard as it may be to believe, I will repeat it. She was found innocent by a jury of her ‘peers’.

The point of this blog post is not to rehash the trial (or ‘mis-trial’) so to speak, as there are plenty of sources for every angle possible.

The point is…. The Orange Co. Sheriffs dept. committed a blunder of epic proportions. Orlando television station WKMG first reported that the sheriffs’ office computer investigators missed a Google Search for “fool proof” suffocation methods. Whoever conducted the Google search looked for the term “fool-proof suffication,” misspelling “suffocation”. Google in all its wisdom, for the most part, knows what you meant to search for and will suggest the correction. It’s as if Google is anticipating misspellings and has taken that into consideration. Very much unlike the the forensic ‘investigation’ that was performed on Casey Anthony’s hard drive.

Did that resonate with you like it did me?
They missed an entry for “FOOL-PROOF SUFFICATION”!!

Casey Anthony Google Searches

 

 

Most browsers will also ‘auto-fill’ the address bar in a browser.

Internet web browsers will start to autofill the URL once you start to type.

My mother, God bless her, is no computer expert and had to be coerced into getting a computer and getting online. Now she plays basic web based games, enjoys Facebook and surfs the internet.
Yet even she knows that she has two browsers available to her, and that some of her web based video games work better with Firefox.

Popular Browser Icons

In my opinion, equally as mind boggling is the fact that the computer investigators only looked at Internet Explorer Files. I just looked at the analytics for ECO Data Recovery. It appears that Mozilla Firefox is actually more popular than Internet Explorer amongst our visitors on computers running Windows.
(A snapshot of our website traffic reveals that Mozilla Firefox accounts for 26% while Internet Explorer accounts for 22%. It’s not a huge difference, but consider the fact that with our visitors, Mozilla Firefox is till a more popular browser. )

How on earth could the investigators have overlooked this? Since I have serious doubts of how thorough the hard drive investigation was, I can tell you that a quick look through temporary internet files would have revealed some very, very possibly damning evidence.

Now I know hindsight is 20/20. Investigative reports showed 17 vague entries from the computer’s Internet Explorer browser. However this hindsight reveals more than 1200 entries from the  Mozilla Firefox browser!! (Including the suffocation search.) From some of the news reports that I have read, the Orange Co. PD did not consult with the F.BI. nor the F.D.L.E. (Florida Dept. of Law Enforcement.)

With this particular case, data recovery software would not have even been necessary to possibly alter the outcome of this trial. A simple, basic search of the temporary internet files without even using data recovery software would have revealed the searches that could have had dramatic results. I’m sure that there would have been fireworks in the courtroom when this evidence would have been presented.

Of course it’s easy to comment on all of this information one year later, while I blog about it from the standpoint of  a data recovery service.

The fact of the matter is that: A competent computer technician would have been able to pull the temporary internet files, and with certainty would have known to check for multiple browsers.

ECO Data Recovery provides forensic computer investigations and digital forensics for cases of corporate espionage, employee sabotage, and even marital cases where infidelity is a factor. There was a time in the not so distant past that we performed computer forensics for numerous Law Enforcement agencies. As you might imagine with the rise of the technological revolution, there has also been a rise in computer related crimes. Now, it’s not uncommon at all for a Law Enforcement Agency to have their own in house digital crimes unit.

We recently had a local agency bring us a hard drive that had been held for possible evidence against a perpetrator. Once the hard drive did become a focal point of the investigation, the detectives learned that the hard disk drive was not suffering from a physical failure, also commonly known as a head crash. We rebuilt the drive to a functioning state, and provided back to the agency so that they may perform their own computer forensics on the hard drive.

Who’s to say if this evidence would have changed the outcome of trial? To me, as a layperson the evidence that was submitted seemed more than sufficient for a conviction. Since our court systems has a procedural defense known as Double Jeopardy.

This means that a person who has been acquitted of a crime, cannot be charged with the same crime twice.

Casey Anthony could confess, write a book, and even upload a “How To” video to Youtube , yet she will never be able to be charged with the death of her daughter.

ECO Data Recovery
800-339-3412
1391 N. Military Trail
West Palm Beach, FL ~ 33409
http://www.ecodatarecovery.com

Discounted Data Recovery Prices for Victims of Superstorm Sandy – Hurricane Sandy Recovery

Discount Data Recovery Prices for those affected by Superstorm Sandy

Being a data recovery service based in South Florida, you might imagine that we have weathered our fair share of hurricanes. Personally, I have lived here since 1970 and have been through a few moderate to severe storms. Thankfully I can say that I have never been through a storm as devastating as Superstorm Sandy.

Superstorm Sandy

The sheer magnitude of destruction of this ‘perfect storm’ is truly hard to comprehend. One can only imagine just how many times “Oh My God!” was uttered as an involuntary reaction to pictures and videos of the damage. Houses, possessions, cars, belongings and basically any material items can be replaced. People cannot.

From the comfort of a mild and sunny South Florida afternoon with temperatures in the 70’s in November, it can be easy to type statistics. I’ve read that the death toll has exceeded 100 in the United States, and of course there are numerous deaths reported from the Caribbean islands.

It can be easy to overlook the fact these ‘statistics’ were someones husband, wife, children, grandparent etc. This type of loss can never be re-gained. Only time can heal a loss so profound as someones life.

Hurricane Sandy Damage

There are just as many stories of heroism and survival as there is devastation. The undeniable spirit of recovery and fortitude that resides in all of us is now back on display in full force across the Northeast. As of today November 9^th, I read that FPL (Florida Power and Light) has dispatched more than 1,000 employees and contractors to assist in the recovery.

I would not even know where to begin in calculating the number of computers that will no longer boot up due to storm related damage. Something as seemingly innocuous as losing electricity, even for a brief period of time can result in an electrical surge, spike or brownout conditions that can wreak havoc on sensitive electronics. One such device that usually is not given much thought until after the fact is a computer’s hard drive. Computers are basically ‘disposable’ electronic items, such as television sets, radios, microwave ovens etc. As a data recovery consultant, in my opinion the most important item in that category may very well be you or your computer. Specifically the computer’s hard drive. And of course I’m not speaking of the actual hard drive hardware, but rather the data that has been saved to that hardware.

No matter how nice your 60” flat screen television or stainless steel refrigerator may be, there is no critical data that is stored on it. With homeowners insurance and a lot of patience and perseverance these items can be replaced. I also know that within the past few years more insurance companies are taking a closer look at digital data and  intellectual property.

As people continue to dig out of the rubble and try to put their lives back together, there will be hurdles to overcome. The rebuild and recovery process may take longer and be more extensive than initial forecasts.

Devastating Fire Damage from Sandy

It’s somewhat awkward to say the least, to be blogging about someone’s lost computer files when in fact that same person may be struggling to stay warm tonight or provide food and shelter for their family. However as more and more people and businesses dig themselves out from the destruction and move forward with rebuilding and recovery, the value of critical data will be a hot topic for many.

The only person that can accurately place a worth or dollar value on data is the person who owns the data. Not too terribly long ago disaster recovery primarily entailed rebuilding and or recovering physical property.

Fast forward to 2012 where data can be ever so critical and crucial for daily operation of a business or it can be a persons only valuable ‘possession’. It can be a ‘lifetime’ of family photos, hours and hours of research, an entire media collection, far too many types of files or data too possibly mention.

Just as of last night on the National news I was hearing of reports of 369,000 people have applied for FEMA aid. Considering that this storm was the size of Europe, I imagine that those figures too will also increase.
There are reports that some towns in New York and New Jersey that have still yet to see any type of relief or aid including The Red Cross, which by most accounts has been doing an outstanding job with the resources available.

Today, November 12th there are still 46,000 people still without power on Long Island alone.

I could research and write for days on various aspects of the Superstorm Sandy, the anomalies that made this the ‘perfect storm”, the damage in all it’s forms and finally the recovery efforts that are under way.

Hurricane Sandy Rebuild & Recovery Underway

The small bit of relief that ECO Data Recovery can provide was the originally intended subject of this blog post. Once I started writing, it seems that there is just so many aspects of this storm that can be covered.

Besides contributing to the Red Cross directly, we have decided that the most beneficial way that we can help is to provide some pricing relief for victims of the damage of hurricane Sandy.

From now through the end of the year  ECO Data Recovery will offer extremely discounted hard drive data recovery. We know that there is still untold stories of damage, destruction and ultimately recovery. As these stories unfold, and people try to put their lives back in order, some businesses and individuals will need to recover data from desktops, laptops, and servers.

If you, your business, or anyone that you know needs to recover data from a hard drive and you are located in one of the states affected by Hurricane Sandy, we can help.

Call ECO Data Recovery for special discounts on Data Recovery Services from all types of hard drives. You could save hundreds or possibly even thousands of dollars.

WARNING for Water Damaged Hard Drives!

• If you do have a hard drive that has suffered from any type of water damage, do not attempt to dry it out. Providing that the damage is not too extensive, a quality data recovery service can recover data from water damaged hard drives.
• Do NOT try to power up a water damaged hard drive.
• Place hard drive in zip lock baggie with moist paper towel. (This will help to prevent the drive from drying.)
• In most cases the water itself does not damage the platters, but rather the residue and minerals left over from the water.
• Contact a professional data recovery service ASAP to make arrangements to have your hard drive recovered.
  (Delaying matters could make recovery efforts more difficult.)

ECO Data Recovery
1-800-339-3412
http://www.ecodatarecovery.com

 

Data Recovery Software

Data Recovery Software: When and when not to use.

Never use data recovery software on a mechanically failed hard drive.

There have been some amazing advances in data recovery software throughout the years. I would have to imagine that not too long after computers and digital storage were invented, someone realized the very real and urgent need to recover files from a damaged hard disk drive.
(That’s not to mention floppy disks, which at 1.44MB were certainly a viable source of storage at the time.)

Fact: With most Windows Operating systems, deleted files can generally be recovered providing that the files have not been ‘overwritten.’

In layman’s terms, under a Windows Operating System, if you delete a file, it is still residing on the hard drive. (Not to be confused with the Recycle Bin) Deleting the file simply shows Windows that there is now that much more storage space. However the ‘pointer files’ that show Windows where the file is located are now gone. Think of it similar to the Yellow pages, or an address book for your Windows files. There are numerous consumer level software packages available that can recover a deleted file in working condition.

With some software, the recovered files will be renamed “File 1”, File 2”, ‘File 3” for example; however the files are in fact there.

Even if a hard drive has been formatted, with Windows in most cases data can be recovered,  if, and this is important,IF there has been no data written to the hard drive. Once data has been written to the hard drive, the new “1’s and 0’s” will be residing on the hard drive where data was once stored. While on the subject of Windows, if the Windows OS becomes corrupt or data is inaccessible, data recovery software can be a real lifesaver. There must be hundreds of data recovery software packages, some surely better than others. I certainly do not envy anyone that would need to search for data recovery nor actually need data recovery for that matter. It can be pricey and can be the source of stress and grief for someone who needs to access their data.

 

Never attempt data recovery software on a mechanically failed hard drive!

I have written other posts about noisy hard drives that click, tick, grind or that can make any other host of highly unusual noises. A noisy hard drive is almost always indicative of a hard drive crash or possibly one on the horizon. With that being said there are a few other tell-tale signs the point to a mechanical hard drive failure. The one that instantly comes to my mind is if the hard drive is no longer detected or ‘seen’ by Windows or the BIOS.

If the hard drive cannot even be detected as even being present or connected to the computer, or perhaps not even spinning, how on earth can data recovery software work? Software cannot work on a piece of hardware that for all intents and purposes, might as well not even exist in the eyes of the computer.

This is regardless of the price paid for the software and regardless of advertised success rate. Quite frankly, having worked for a data recovery lab since 2003, I would not trust any software that advertises a 100% success ratio. That is just impossible.

Without getting into the actual ‘nuts and bolts’ of it all, a professional data recovery services such as ECO Data Recovery located in South Florida, do have extremely advanced ‘software’ so to speak, that is leaps and bounds beyond consumer software and what most basic computer repair shops would have access to.

WARNING!

Know when it’s time to call the professionals!

Here’s where a situation can go from bad to worse and even catastrophic in the blink of an eye. If a hard disk drive is in fact making noise, the audible noise is rarely the result of anything less than a mechanical hardware failure. Most people have seen internal pictures of a hard drive.

Hard drive that has been opened for data recovery purposes.

There are discs inside of a hard drive that are coated with a magnetic flux that is  polished to a mirror finish. By manipulating this coating at microscopic levels, you are in effect writing “1’s and 0’s” to the hard drive. Millions upon millions of “1’s and 0’s” in combinations of 4 are what eventually will result in computer code and ultimately will comprise your files.

In fact some of the exterior packaging for hard drives, display an open hard drive right on the box. I assume that it’s just to satisfy peoples curiosity, show people the inside of a hard drive or a sales presentation as really there is no reason that anyone other than a certified data recovery service would ever need to open a hard drive.

I really cannot stress this enough: Never, ever should a hard drive be opened by anyone other than a professional data recovery service. With that being said, knowing who and when to send your hard drive to can make all the difference in the world in successfully retrieving your data. As previously mentioned, quality data recovery software can recover deleted files or files from a corrupt OS in a pinch. However, by running software of any kind on a mechanically failed or failing hard drive can easily turn a bad situation, into a much worse one.

When software is used on a mechanically unstable hard drive, it can be very easy for someone to inadvertently damage the media beyond recovery even when attempted by the professionals.

The actual value of your files whether monetary or sentimental is something that only you can determine.
From family vacation pictures to company payroll, financial information to years of archived information,
if and when a hard drive crashes it will not discriminate against your data.

ECO Data Recovery has been recovering data from hard drives and all forms of digital storage since 1987. Throughout our history, our data recovery experts have worked with individuals, small, medium, large businesses, and Fortune 500 companies recovering thousands of gigabytes worth of data.

ECO Data Recovery
1-800-339-3412
http://www.ecodatarecovery.com

Florida Based Data Recovery Service – ECO Data Recovery

Florida Data Recovery Service

Once upon a time, ECO Data Recovery was the only quality data recovery service located in Florida. We have been in the very same location for over 17 years. There were, and still are, some really good data recovery companies based out of California, New York, Minnesota, etc., that have multiple locations and some have since gone on to open numerous labs around the country. In fact, a very select few of the larger Data Recovery companies now have a global presence.

Data Recovery Companies

We still receive phone calls and emails, in which a person is searching for an invasive level data recovery company located in their specific home town. There may in fact be a data recovery service located in your city and there is some really fantastic data recovery software on the market now.
This wasn’t always the case. We used to, and still to this day often say to our customers; “There are only a handful of quality, invasive level data recovery companies.”

Hard Drive Data Recovery

Hardware level data recovery, sometimes referred to as “Level 3 Data Recovery” can be classified as a bit pricier depending upon the extent of the physical damage, and the time and resources involved. If the hard drive has suffered from a mechanical failure, any and all of the physical issues with the hard drive will need to be addressed and overcome prior to any data being recovered. This is where the price for data recovery can start to escalate. A point to remember is that simply because the hard drive has crashed; do not assume that your data is gone until you have consulted with a professional hard drive data recovery service.

With the increase in personal computers, and more importantly the data that is created and stored, it’s not hard to see where the need for data recovery has come from. I distinctly remember getting phone calls on a daily basis in which I would hear: “I only need my pictures!” These days there are a whole slew of photo sharing, social media websites that ‘can’ be used as a backup so to speak. (Of course there are always true and dedicated online backups as well.)

If you do find yourself in a predicament in which you do need a Florida Data Recovery Service, feel free to contact ECO Data Recovery for a firm, up front quote for hard drive recovery. Even though we prefer to keep all of our ‘talent’ under one roof, we provide hard drive data recovery to not only United States clients, but to clients all over the world.

ECO Data Recovery
1-800-339-3412
http://www.ecodatarecovery.com

Data Recovery Services Cost: But I can buy a new computer for that price!!

Data Recovery Services Cost

Data recovery costs how much?!?!?

Data Recovery Costs How Much?!?!

Data recovery is niche service that almost no one ever thinks about until a situation arises in which it is needed. At that point, it can easily go from zero to sixty in an instant. Suddenly you start realize the value of everything on your hard drive that you can no longer access. A flood of thoughts race through your mind, and your ‘files’ may flash before your eyes. Your documents, your email, your photos, music, or perhaps more seriously, data that is absolutely critical to maintaining your business. Throughout the years, I’ve explained the data recovery process across the spectrum from people who have simply lost their “Sims” characters, to customers who are in much more dire situations and need the multi-million dollar contracts or information that can only be found on their hard drive.

But I can buy a new computer for that price!

ECO Data Recovery

I worked the phones for quite a few years here at ECO Data Recovery, and more often than not people did suffer from some form of ‘sticker shock’ when calling for data recovery prices. If only I had a dollar for every time I heard “But I can buy a new computer for that price!” Truer words were never spoken. If I was to find myself in this predicament and that was my concern, by all means I would buy a new computer as opposed to paying for a data recovery service. The only person who can accurately place a ‘dollar worth’ on their data is the owner. In some cases the importance of the data may not be immediately felt.

The urgency may not be felt until you need to get to your Outlook, or possibly you need to get to Excel files in your ‘My Documents’ folder. Then suddenly what was initially not all too terribly important has now become a top priority. So, the first call is to your ‘computer guy’. He promptly diagnoses a hard drive failure, and being a knowledgeable technician, he knows that powering the computer on and off can cause further, possibly irreparable damage to the hard drive. He hands you your hard drive and says that you will need to find a data recovery service. Ok, this wasn’t in the plans, but it certainly isn’t the end of the world. Right? So off to Google you go. And you type in “Data Recovery” in the search field.

Now, before becoming overwhelmed by the millions of listings, you may want to narrow down your search by searching locally. We have been located right here in South Florida for over 17 years, so we do get web traffic from people who search for: “Florida Data Recovery”, maybe even more specifically,  “West Palm Beach Data Recovery”.

But what if you lived in a less populated area? Perhaps there are no real, invasive level data recovery labs with onsite cleanroom in your immediate area. Now what? Well the reality is that there is really only a handful of high quality, invasive level data recovery services throughout the entire U.S. On a side note, I am pretty amazed at just how many computer repair stores, mobile computer technicians, and even ‘Big Box’ electronic outlets that now provide hard drive data recovery. I have seen the number of companies that offer data recovery, grow exponentially over the past 8 years. I can’t say that data recovery is ‘recession proof’ by any means, but judging by the amount of newcomers, and stores that currently offer it, one would certainly think so.

(I have to leave the often overlooked, but ever so critical fact that unfortunately some of the “Geeks” that are out there are doing more harm than good, by tinkering with a mechanically failed hard drive. We’ve had hard drives arrive here that have been opened in somebody’s kitchen, or maybe on their desk, or the back of their computer repair shop. A hard drive should never be opened except in a cleanroom by a professional, *certified* data recovery technician. I’ll definitely have more to say about this in another post.)

Ok, back to the point. So, you call some of the data recovery services that you have found via a web search. There are no hard and fast rules of how hard drive data recovery should be handled, priced, sold or guaranteed. I usually equate this with something akin to me calling around and talking to mechanics about car repair. They could tell me that I was low on blinker fluid, and I would ask: “How much does that cost?” I just do not know very much about automotive repair.

The ‘blinker fluid’ analogy was just a joke. I always have them change it for me when I have the oil changed.   : )

By calling some of the data recovery labs yourself, you will notice that each one will present itself and how they stand apart slightly different. I myself have called for a data recovery quote. In one case, the person I spoke with sounded as if she was reading directly from a script. That didn’t exactly instill in me an overwhelming confidence in their abilities. She was having difficulty in even reading through the script. Some data recovery services will promise you everything that ask for and then some!

(Caution: There are numerous horror stories on the internet of being quoted one price for data recovery, only to have that price double or more once the drive has been delivered to the data recovery service provider.)
In another case, I called a data recovery service that was located in Georgia. I mentioned to the ‘salesman’ that I was speaking with that I was in Florida, and was hoping to find someone a little closer. I was told “We own the South East. There are no other data recovery labs near you.”   Ummm… ok.
(I automatically felt bad for all the people that would call the very same place under similar circumstances only to be told the same thing.)
And for the record, there are also plenty of reputable, upstanding data recovery companies such as ECO Data Recovery, OnTrack, DriveSavers to name a few.

Here at ECO Data Recovery, we do provide a firm, guaranteed, price up front, so you will know exactly what the data recovery services cost will be, prior to sending in your hard drive. I have often said that “Data Recovery” and “Expensive” are often uttered in the very same sentence. And once again, all data has a dollar worth, and the data’s owner is the only person who can determine that worth.

So, the next time that someone says: “But I can buy a new computer for that price!” I will say, “You are exactly right.” Because if that is the concern, you really should buy a new computer rather than opt for data recovery from a hard drive.

I know that if that was my concern, that is what I would do.
If however, you have critical data that you need to recover however, call ECO for a free data recovery quote.
1-800-339-3412

Western Digital Today, Maxtor & Seagate Tomorrow

It seems that occasionally we will see an exponential increase in certain hard drive manufacturers that are coming in to ECO for data recovery. Now this is nothing more than a strange coincidence; however it does seem as if there is a noticeable increase for whatever reason. There have been times in which we seemed to take in nothing but clicking Maxtor desktop hard drives, 750GB Seagate external drives that are not detected, or Toshiba laptop hard drives that are making ‘grinding sounds’. Certain HDD manufacturers just seem to come in for data recovery in waves.

Western Digital Data Recovery

Well, it looks as if August and the beginnings of September are showing all the signs of being “Western Digital Data Recovery” kind of months. There are numerous Western Digital models, sizes and form factors that will all fail eventually, and there really is no ‘rhyme or reason’ as to why we have certain runs of a particular hard drive manufacturer. But it does sometime seem as if nearly every other phone call or request for data recovery quote is for a Western Digital hard drive.

Some of the more frequent or common WD models that consistently come in for recovery are: Western Digital Caviar (Blue, Green and Black respectively with various features.)
Popular external drives from the WD line include the Western Digital Elements Portable and Portable SE, as well as the “My Passport” essential. The 2.5” laptop drives made by Western Digital include the WD Scorpio Blue, and the WD Scorpio Black.
No hard drive regardless of manufacturer is immune to mechanical failure. I’ve repeatedly said: “It’s not a matter of *if* your hard drive fails, but rather *when* your hard drive fails. Unfortunately it’s a basic fact of computing, regardless of who makes the hard disk drive, nor the age. We have drives come in for data recovery that are over 10 years old, and we have drives come in that are not even 3 months old.

When your hard drive fails, regardless of who it is made by, creating and maintaining current backups of any critical data, can make this a much more tolerable experience and certainly soften the blow. (If you have valuable data stored on the crashed hard drive, a good data backup can also eliminate the need to search out a data recovery service.)

Western Digital also produces a rugged case for their My Passport series called the WD Nomad. Their website has a graphic of a hard drive being dropped from 7ft and is touted as being impact resistant. I do like the idea that the hard drive manufacturers are finally putting a little more thought into protecting the product these days. I’ve also been a fan of how LaCie makes some nice cases/enclosures also.

Now, would these cases and enclosures make a difference if the hard drive was dropped while running? As much as I would like to think so, I do suspect otherwise. A great analogy I had read some time back is to think of the Read and Write heads floating above the platters that are rotating at 5k, 10k or 15k rpm at 1/10^th of a human hair. This would be the equivalent of trying to navigate a Jumbo Jet plane cruising at 6 inches off of the ground. There’s not a whole lot (if any) room for error. This leads me to conclude that if a drive was dropped from approx. 3ft. while running, even a padded or protective case would not prevent the heads from impacting the platters. (Which can be a catastrophic event!) If enough damage is done, there are instances in which no data can be recovered.

All Hard Drives Will Crash

When I was still working the phones, I frequently heard: “XYZ brand hard drives are junk!” “I will never own a XYZ hard drive again!” (Insert any hard drive manufacturer in place of ‘XYZ’.) I’ve always had the opinion that in a majority of these types of cases, the customer who may have never even known nor cared who the HDD manufacturer was, now knows that this brand of hard drive has “let them down”, they now need a data recovery service, and that they will avoid that type of hard drive in the future. I always took that with a grain of salt, as Western Digital is one of the premier, and oldest hard drive manufacturers still around. I personally have a Western Digital in my home desktop, and it has been absolutely problem free. (I hope I didn’t just curse myself!) Just as with all products including hard drives, there are economy models, mid grade models, and models which sell for slightly more, and are built for longevity.

Something to keep in mind is, regardless of the manufacturer, model, price or form factor, one day the hard drive will cease functioning. Without a backup of your data, the lifespan of the hard drive is of little consolation.

Who knows what next months ‘trends’ in hard drive failures and hard drive recovery will be. It could be Maxtor, Seagate, Toshiba, etc. Either way, we will let you know.

Noisy hard drive? Shut Down ASAP to avoid data loss!

Have you ever booted up your computer only to hear a strange sound coming from the hard drive? When a hard drive is succumbing to a mechanical failure, or has already failed, often times they will make some very identifiable sounds. A mechanically failed or failing hard drive can make clicking, ticking, grinding, scraping, scratching and other similarly unusual noises. As a matter of fact, a common term for hearing a clicking hard drive is: “The Click of Death”.

There are many reasons that a hard drive can crash, one of them being “Old age”. Not to get off track, but in regards to a hard drive, a death from “old age”  occurs exponentially sooner than it may have even just a few years ago. Just like everything else; “They don’t make ‘em like they used to.”

Hard drives can also fail with no advance warning or noise at all. However if you do hear noises from your hard drive, it’s a safe bet that it is on its way out. Hearing and talking about hard drive crashes, and data loss for 8 years, I know that if it were me hearing sounds, I would be frantically backing up any critical data that I really would not want to lose.

I have actually experienced a hard drive crash myself on my home computer within the past couple of years. However, I do consider myself fortunate, as I did have all of my documents, family pictures, and even program installation files backed up to another hard drive. I personally use an external USB drive that I keep unplugged from the UPS/Battery Backup and my computer when not in use. I probably have duplicate copies of my files on DVDs as well. I was prepared.

Although no one ever looks forward to, nor expects a hard drive crash, my resolution was to install a new hard drive, reinstall Windows and then import my data from my backup. This may seem like a lot of work, but compared to the alternative of buying a new computer, cost wise it was the best option for me. (Not to mention, that if a similar situation were to happen to someone with valuable data, and no back up, hard drive data recovery may be the only solution. My computer was still adequate, and I’m actually still very happy with Windows XP.

Fair Warning; If you do hear any unusual sounds from your hard drive, shutting down your computer ASAP could possibly make all the difference in the world. It could make the difference, between being able to safely copy and backup your critical files or perhaps needing a much more costly solution: Needing a Data Recovery Service. No one ever wants a data recovery service, but often times, they will need a data recovery service.

ECO Data Recovery, Located in West Palm Beach, FL

By maintaining current backups of any data that you would not wish to lose, you  could avoid this, and similar hard drive recovery situations all together.

However if you do find yourself with a data loss situation, and hard drive data recovery is needed, ECO Data Recovery has been providing hard drive repair and hard drive recovery since 1995.

ECO Data Recovery
1-800-339-3412
1391 N. Military Trail
West Palm Beach, FL 33409
http://www.ecodatarecovery.com