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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.
Data Recovery Help for Your Business
Give us a call today at 602-456-0150 and we’ll come to your business and show you how we can eliminate the worry of data loss by installing the perfect backup and recovery systems for you. We look forward to the opportunity to help!
Hopefully this post can help you solve an issue if you’re experiencing a situation with no audio while connecting to a Windows 10 VM in Hyper-V, but audio is not passing through via RDP.
A client had a Hyper-V deployment on Server 2012 R2, hosting a Windows 7 Virtual Machine. They were using Remote Desktop via a Windows 10 client computer to connect to the Windows 7 VM. Within the RDP shortcut on the Windows 10 machine, they had several options checked under ‘local resources’, ‘configure remote audio settings’:
Remote audio playback, play on this computer was checked
Remote audio recording, record on this computer was checked
In addition, within the same RDP shortcut file were the following applied settings (edited with notepad):
audiocapturemode:i:1
audiomode:i:0
audioqualitymode:i:2
From within the Hyper-V host, the VM had ‘allow enhanced session mode’ and ‘use enhanced session mode’ applied for both user and server.
Under these settings and while connecting to the Windows 7 Virtual Machine, audio pass-through via RDP was functional. The Windows 10 machine was able to RDP into the W7 VM and play audio files within the VM that would pass through to the local machine’s speakers.
The problem arose after performing a Windows Update that updated the Windows 7 VM to a Windows 10 VM. The update went smoothly and all application data and user data was preserved during the update process. The client was using the same RDP connection settings to connect to the new Windows 10 VM as described above. However, no audio was passed through the VM to the local machine. In fact, there was a red X shown on the speaker icon from within the VM in the taskbar, and upon hovering over the red X the message displayed was “No audio device” and “Code 45”.
Several troubleshooting steps were attempted, including all the following:
Verify on the local windows 10 machine that the following services were running and set to automatic startup: Windows Audio, Remote Desktop Services, Remote Desktop UserMode Port Redirector
Verify that all of the same services were running on the Hyper-V host server
Look for the ‘Remote Audio’ device from device manager on the Server 2012 R2 Hyper-V host system, which existed.
Attempt to uninstall, then re-install the ‘Remote Audio’ device on the Windows 10 VM, which failed.
Verify that all updates were applied to both the Hyper-V server and the Windows 10 Virtual Machine, which had no impact on the issue
On the server, looked at the Group Policy settings under Computer Configuration, Administrative Templates, Windows Components, Remote Desktop Session Host, Device and Resource Redirection and verified that “Limit audio playback quality” was set to “Enabled” and “Audio Quality” was set to “High”
SFC and DISM scans were ran within the Windows 10 VM to verify that no OS files were corrupt
The most unusual aspect of this issue was the fact that, when connecting to the Windows 10 Virtual Machine using the Hyper-V Manager, and using ‘Enhanced Session’, the remote audio played on the VM would work just fine and would transfer through for playback on the local machine. Since audio redirection worked just fine when connecting via the Hyper-V Manager, but not RDP, I was certain that it was a setting pertaining to the RDP that connection that was the source of the problem.
After some additional reading, we first thought that the VM was faulty, as it was initially setup as Generation 1 for Windows 7, whereas most recommend using Generation 2 for Windows 10. However, after several days of tweaking settings and testing, we finally found the true source of the issue.
The fix was found in the group policy “Enable Remote Desktop Protocol 8.0”. This setting was set to “Enabled” under the Windows 7 VM for whatever reason. After the update to Windows 10, the setting remained, and caused the audio redirection to fail. Changing this setting from “Enabled” to “Not Configured” followed by a reboot allowed audio redirection to work again. Finally, audio could be passed from the Windows 10 VM to the local Windows 10 machine for playback.
Tablets and Smartphones can be a lot of fun for kids. There are plenty of games to play, websites to look at and apps to experiment with. These devices may also seem like convenient babysitters when you’re busy with work or chores. However, simply handing your mobile device over to your little ones poses several potential problems if you don’t take the time to child-proof it first.
Device Dangers
Giving the kids free reign of tablets or Android phones opens the door for them to access inappropriate web content, rack up accidental credit card charges and possibly even damage your device. Before letting your child play, it’s important to take precautions to ensure that both they and your Smartphone or Android tablet stay safe.
Always Monitor
The most obvious way to prevent youngsters from doing or seeing something they shouldn’t is to keep an eye on them. You never want to put your child in front of any electronic device without supervision, be it the television, the computer or your Android tablet. Monitoring your son or daughter’s activity lets you catch problems before they happen and gives you opportunities to teach them what is and isn’t acceptable when it comes to technology.
Keep Content Kid-Friendly
There’s a lot of content out there that you don’t want your children seeing. Fortunately there are many apps available to help you filter out anything objectionable. Mobicip is a kid-friendly browser that uses the same standards that schools do to filter out inappropriate web content. Norton Safety Minder lets you keep an eye on web activity as well as block certain sites. Other apps such as PlaySafe, Kids Place and ChildrenTV give you various tools to manage which apps, games and other content your children are allowed to access when they use your Samsung tablet or other device.
Lock Down Purchases
Accidental purchases, both of full apps and of items within apps, can result in credit card charges that you aren’t prepared for. iPhones include a setting that allows you to turn off in-app purchases, but currently the only way to prevent accidental charges on an Android phone is to block access to apps that may include them. The Famigo Sandbox app gives you a way to do this by allowing you to control which apps your youngsters use as well as minimizing access to other device functions such as text messaging.
Get a Protective Case
Whether it’s grippy or squishy, chunky or sleek, padded or gel-like, get a case for your device before handing it off to your child. Protection is more important than style. Little hands often lack coordination and are therefore more apt to drop things, including expensive electronics. Cases can even become part of the fun. Make your device look like a little person, wrap it in a high-density foam grip or nest it inside a squashy pillow. Whatever type of case you choose, you’ll know your Smartphone or Android tablet is safe and sound.
Before you let your little ones use your Android phone, Samsung tablet or other mobile device, make sure that you’ve taken the appropriate steps to make it safe. Cushion it with a case, install kid-friendly apps and keep an eye on your children as they play to ensure that they have a positive, fun experience.
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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.
