Dear Computer Lady,
I recently lost my hard drive. (Don’t know why.) I hired a local computer repairman who told me only that I needed a new drive. He could not “rescue” my data. Could I send you my old drive to see if you can get it off and onto a cd or flash drive?
Mary Jane
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Dear Mary Jane,
If your local computer repair shop was not able to get your files off your hard drive, I doubt that I would be able to retrieve your data.
Once your hard drive has died (and they all do eventually) your only real hope of getting your documents off the drive is to send it in to a company that specializes in data recovery. One company that I am familiar with is Ontrack Data Recovery. Their website is: www.krollontrack.com/data-recovery You can start out by calling Ontrack’s support line at 800-872-2599 and tell them what has happened with your drive. They will advise you on what to do next, and how much it will cost. You should expect to spend hundreds of dollars.
From now on, make sure you have your important files backed up. If, like me, you are not good at remembering to back up your files on a regular basis, get one of the online backup services like Carbonite or Mozy and let their software do the work for you. I currently use Carbonite to back up the files on my server, and Mozy to back up the files on my desktop.
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Elizabeth
I’m a little confused here. Why doesn’t Carbonite also back up the files on your deskstop, having to use another program (Mozy) to do that?
Cindy,
I don’t need to have both programs, either Carbonite or Mozy all by themselves would work fine. I just wanted to see how each one works, and be able to answer questions about them.
Elizabeth