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In our previous blog we talked about the need to back up a variety of data and systems to protect your company’s most valuable resource, its’ data. But how, exactly, do you get that data back if it has been lost to a hardware or software malfunction, hacking, theft, server crash or even human error? Let’s take a look at different ways we can recover data that has been lost.

Four Data Recovery Methods

There are four main data recovery methods. Which of these you’ll need depends on many factors including, how was the data lost, do you have a working backup of the lost data, and whether or not the original equipment is still available.

Method One – Software File Recovery. File recovery, if previously enabled, is the easiest of the four data recovery methods. Many modern operating systems, such as Windows 10, can be configured to automatically save backup copies of files. This feature, called Previous Versions, creates a copy of a file and holds in a special backup storage area. In addition, server software such as Microsoft Exchange for example, have configurations where you can specify that backup emails should be retained for a certain period of days even after a user deletes them. Other software, such as Quickbooks or Microsoft Office, have features that automatically save or prompt you to save backup copies of databases and files each day. With a previously enabled file recovery feature setup in your software, restoring a lost file is sometimes as simple as right clicking on a folder to quickly browse through all files available for recovery.

Method Two – Restore from Backup. In some cases, restoring from backup is the only possible way to get your data back, especially in the event of theft or some types of hardware damage. Backup restoration is moderately difficult and there are two major factors that contribute to making restoration from backups so difficult. First, you must identify the method used to generate the backup and verify that you have a valid, recent backup containing the data you are looking for. Second, you must find a way to restore the data in a way that brings back data you need without destroying other working parts of the system in question. If everything lines up correctly meaning you have a recent, valid backup of the missing data, and you have the necessary equipment ready to restore it, restoring the data from backup can be accomplished quickly.

Method Three – Scanning for Lost Files. This is a highly advanced data recovery method and is only necessary when a backup isn’t available, file recovery is not enabled, but the original hardware is still working. With this method, various software tools, such as GetDataBack, are used to scan a hard drive and evaluate data fragments that have been lost but are still available to recover because they have not yet been overwritten. Unfortunately, this method is not guaranteed to recover lost data but has been known in some cases to help retrieve missing files.

Method Four – Clean Room Hard Drive Recovery. This is definitely the most advanced data recovery method and, sadly, is the last resort to restore missing data. This method is only necessary when all other methods have failed. File recovery was not setup, there are no recent backups, and scanning for lost files is unable to find any available files. This method is often the only way to recover data when a hard drive completely fails and a backup had not been made. In this method, the equipment is sent to a special processing lab where they attempt to physically extract data from a failed hard drive.

Preparing for Easy Data Recovery

As with everything in life, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. The best way to make sure we can recover all of our data in the event of data loss is to plan ahead. Proper data disaster planning involves setting up and maintaining all of the software and equipment so that the previously outlined steps work as intended. It means that, while everything is working correctly, we must configure file recovery options in our software, make sure that our data backups are running on a daily basis and backing up all important data, and secure our hardware and backups from theft and damage.

Hiring a competent IT firm such as My PC Techs to protect your data, systems, databases and e-mail ensures that you’ll have technology experts on hand who can keep your backups and data secure. In addition to evaluation and configuring data backups and security, another part of the data recovery process is practicing recovery – even when recovery isn’t required. Making sure you can recover data on a regular basis ensures that, when the worst-case scenario hits, down time is minimized and access is restored quickly.

Let’s face it, the most important asset your business has is data – without it, your business could be lost. Given that, it’s surprising how many businesses don’t do enough to protect this incredibly valuable asset. Whether your business is small or large, it is imperative to have a data backup and recovery strategy in place so you’re not scrambling to put something together after a data loss or breach occurs. With such a plan, you can have your systems backed up and running quickly even in a worst-case scenario.

Here at my PC Techs, data backup and recovery are just two of the many computer maintenance functions we perform for our clients, from both a prevention and recovery perspective. Today’s blog will deal with the various types of data backup, how they are different, and the need to maintain and update your data on an ongoing basis; our next post will deal with the recovery process.

Overview

Let’s go over a few terms before we get too far into the types of backups. First off, a data backup is simply a copy of all your business’ records and data, stored in a storage system that is separate from your regular business operating system. This could be in the cloud, an off-site storage facility, or in a separate, on-site location. These backups can take many forms depending on what you are backing up, how secure it needs to be and how quickly you may need to retrieve it in the event of a data loss, hardware failure or theft. With the proper system, you will be able to restore data to your business computers or servers quickly, so your business is equipped to continue operating seamlessly.

Even the most comprehensive data backup and recovery plan is useless, however, if you don’t back up the data frequently – if you suffer a data loss event and the last backup was a week or 10 days prior, you have just taken a giant step backward.

Types of Backup

There are four primary types of backup, each of which has its own specific benefits and levels of security. These types of backup are data; system; database; and e-mail. Let’s take a closer look at each of these types of backup and exactly what each of them protects.

Data Backup

A data backup is exactly what it sounds like – it makes copies of your business’ files from their desktops or work stations and assures that data and information your company needs to operate is secure and available. Data backups are a good general solution to keep your business up and running in case of a data loss or breach, but does not back up your operating system, databases, or e-mail, any of which could be lost in a hard drive failure. It does, however, give your employees access to all their work files, and the primary cause of data loss is human error – accidentally deleting a file.

System Backup

While a data backup provides a baseline level of protection, a far more comprehensive solution is a system backup. This goes well beyond a standard data backup, saving operating systems, programs and settings as well. With a system backup, should you suffer from hardware failure or theft, a computer’s entire operating system can be restored including all the software and configurations. It also is an excellent tool to have in the event of a software upgrade: by constantly updating and saving your system settings, it allows you to implement changes in the system and know there is a reliable backup in place to protect you from crashes or accidental data loss. System updates are generally ran nightly and, in the event of a server with mirroring RAID drives, in real-time.

Database Backup

This is exactly what it sounds like – a copy of the back-end databases for your production software or servers. Any business that relies on a software solution to manage projects, accounting, or reaching out to clients or prospects on a regular basis should consider this type of backup. Like a system backup, this too is a “snapshot” backup that saves everything up to the moment of the last backup. With this type of backup, you also will have access to the backup to restore your database without affecting other system operations.

E-Mail Backup

E-mail is an extremely important communication tool for modern business. Most businesses use email heavily all day long, both to respond to incoming messages, as well as searching previous messages to recall prior conversations. And e-mail data is lost more often than you think, but not from servers crashing or hard drives failing. The most common way e-mail in formation is lost is by human error: accidentally hitting the delete button on an e-mail message or contact. To protect against this, my PC Techs recommends backing up your e-mail so your contacts, messages, calendars and other vital information can be retrieved in case of either a system failure or human error.

Which Backup Option is Best for Your Company?

Obviously if your budget allows it, implementing all these backup options provides your business the greatest security. The cost of these services varies depending on the size of your network. If you are looking for computers experts who are capable of helping you setup and manage the correct backup solutions for your business at a fair price, you’ve come to the right place. my PC Techs has delivered expert IT solutions you can trust for over 15 years and we can help develop, install, and implement a data backup and recovery plan that is capable of handling virtually any event.