The following terms and definitions are those that deal with computer data recovery in personal computers and office computers. Understanding these terms may help you better understand your computer data issues and better communicate with the computer data recovery company you hire.
accidental file deletion
Files that are intentionally or accidentally deleted are referred to as accidentally deleted files or accidental file deletion. This may be malicious or accidental due to long work hours. Software solutions exist to accidental file deletion, but computer data recovery specialists may need to be called in some cases.
Also known as: deleting files, accidentally deleted files
archive
A copy of data on computer drives that is maintained for historical reference or use as a reference document is known as an archive.
Also known as: archiving
auto save
A feature in some computer programs that automatically saves work on a set schedule. Auto Save is designed to help recover files or make them easier to recover in the event of power loss or unexpected computer shutdown. Auto save may not save documents immediately, but it can keep users from losing all of their work by making available a recent draft of their documents.
backup
The process of periodically saving copies of files is known as backup or backing up files. These files are often encrypted for additional protection. Backup may be automatic, scheduled or performed by the user. These backup files may be saved on the computer, an external hard drive, or to the digital cloud.
Also known as: back up, back-up, computer backup, document backup, hard drive backup, automatic backup
backup location
The location to which backup files are saved is known as a backup location. Backup locations can be on the same machine, external hard drives, CDs or DVDs, USB drives or thumb drives, to the digital cloud, online backup servers, or remote servers.
Also known as: local backup, remote backup, external backup location, cloud backup
cleanroom data recovery
Cleanroom data recovery, also known as clean room data recovery, are data recovery services performed in a clean room, or one that has very low levels of dust, microbes, chemicals and other potentially damaging pollutants. Cleanrooms are specially controlled for fewer and smaller particles. This protects the computer hard drives and data against further damage and corruption.
Also known as: clean room data recovery, cleanroom hard drive repair
cloud backup
Cloud backup is a form of file and data backup that saves copies of your data on online servers. These online servers are maintained offsite at an external location by an online backup service. Most of these cloud backup services are automatically set to update every time the user saves or accesses a file. Others can be force backed-up or backed up on a set schedule (i.e. every day at midnight, etc.).
Also known as: online backup, remote backup location
computer forensics
Computer forensic data recovery is the use of special data recovery techniques that find, restore, save and preserve files and data for use in legal matters.
Also known as: forensic data recovery services, computer forensic backups, computer forensic data recovery
corrupted file recovery
Corrupted files, including corrupted executable files, are those that become suddenly unusable, inoperable or inaccessible. This may be due to a bug or defect in software, a hardware problem, a virus, or another problem with the hardware or software. Good computer data recovery services may be able to recover corrupted files and repair them; other times complete repair and retrieval is impossible and the best that can be done is to recover an earlier saved version and replace the newer corrupted version with a less-recent version of the same file. This doesn’t preserve the entire content, but can often retrieve most of what was lost.
Also known as: corrupted file repair, damaged file recovery, damaged file repair, corrupted executable file repair and recovery
damaged drive recovery diagnostic service
Most good computer data recovery companies offer diagnostic services to locate missing or damaged files, explain the reason for the damage or data loss, and gauge the chance of recovering and restoring that data. Some companies offer this as part of a package deal for recovery and repair, while others will perform the diagnostic service separate for customers who want to attempt to recover the data themselves, or to see if recovery is possible before purchasing a package or signing a contract for computer data recovery services.
Also known as: damaged drive recovery, damaged drive diagnostics, missing file recovery
data loss
Files that are not accessible, damaged or missing due to physical or logical damage to a computer hard drive or storage disk. Computer data recovery may be needed to restore and recover these files.
Also known as: computer data loss, lost files, lost data, damaged hard drive data loss
data recovery service
A data recovery service specializes in locating, restoring and retrieving lost data from damaged or corrupted computer drives.
Also known as: computer data recovery companies, computer data recovery services
deleted data
When information on a computer is removed by the computer system or user activity either by accident, malfunction or on purpose, it results in deleted data. Deleted data is rarely completely erased when it is deleted, however. Instead, it remains on the drive in whole or in parts until it is overwritten or wiped clean. Even in these instances, deleted data may remain in metadata form on the computer. Computer data recovery companies may be able to restore this data using professional and expert techniques.
Also known as: deleted file, accidentally deleted data
deleted file recovery
Files that are accidentally deleted may be recovered, especially if the computer user notices their mistake or that the files are missing shortly after they’ve been deleted. Saving or accessing other files may make it harder or impossible to recover deleted files, so the sooner the files are recovered, the more likely it is that they’ll be fully recoverable.
Also known as: deleted file restoration, accidentally deleted file recovery
forensic data recovery
Files that have been purposely deleted or scrubbed from computers, hard drives, flash drives, and other data storage devices may be recoverable and usable for legal purposes. Forensic data recovery is a specialty offered by some computer data recovery services, and can often be used in civil and criminal investigations, auditing purposes and other investigations.
Also known as: criminal data recovery, forensic data retrieval
hard drive recovery
Hard drives that are corrupted, damaged, broken, have crashed or experience other problems that make data access impossible can often be repaired or the information on them can be retrieved by professional data recovery companies.
Also known as: corrupted hard drive data recovery, hard drive repair, hard drive restoration
head crash
When one or more of the read-write heads touch the rotating disk surface rather than floating on the air cushion over the disks. Sometimes scraping and grinding noises are audible. A head crash causes severe damage to disks. Data loss may be major or complete, and it may be impossible to retrieve all data on the drives. Hard drives subject to head crashes require repair with specialized tools in a clean room.
Also known as: hard drive crash
logical drive damage
Damage to a hard drive caused by file corruption, hard drive corruption or operating system failure. Logical damage is usually caused by computer viruses or malware infection, but may include physical damage to a computer, and power surges.
Also known as: drive damage, physical damage, file corruption, operating system corruption, operating system failure
logical drive damage repair
Logical damage is the term for computer data errors and corruption that occur with the software rather than the hardware. This often occurs when data on a computer’s hard drive is unreadable or inaccessible due to damage to the partitions or file system. It may also be a result of media errors. These require a software solution such as file corruption repair, file systems repair, and media errors repair. Not all data may be recoverable in these events; sometimes repairing the damaged systems can only retrieve some of the data lost.
Also known as: logical damage repair, logical drive repair
missing data recovery diagnostics
Diagnostic services that may locate missing or damaged files, explain the reason for the damage or data loss, and gauge the chance of recovering and restoring that data. Some companies offer this as part of a package deal for recovery and repair, while others will perform the diagnostic service separate for customers who want to attempt to recover the data themselves, or to see if recovery is possible before purchasing a package or signing a contract for computer data recovery services.
Also known as: missing data recovery diagnostic services, missing data diagnostics, missing data recovery, missing data repair, damaged file recovery, missing file location, missing data location
overwritten file recovery
Files that are accidentally deleted and overwritten or those that are accidentally saved over are often recoverable. The best advice for individuals who have accidentally deleted or overwritten a file is to stop using the computer immediately. Accessing, changing or saving additional files can contribute to the damage. Local computer data recovery services in Nob Hill, North Beach, the Sunset District, SOMA and the Bayview District and other areas can usually recover overwritten files (or fragments of them) by using software built for that specific purpose.
Also known as: accidentally deleted file recovery, overwritten file repair
USB flash drive repair / recovery
Damaged, broken or corrupted USB flash drives, memory cards and other storage devices can falter and lose data just as can hardware storage. Good computer data recovery specialists can restore and recover files from flash drives, memory cards, USB drives and other external storage devices and locations.
Also known as: memory card recovery, memory card repair, damaged memory card repair, damaged USB drive repair, flash drive recovery
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