Getting Started With Backups

Feb 14, 2015 | Backups

How to Backup Your Data Wondering how to backup? Great! Our one wish for you is to avoid ever needing our service in the first place! The best way to do this is to save two or more copies of your files in two or more places. To The Cloud! A good all-round option for...

External Hard Drive Recovery

Sep 25, 2016 | Recovery

Is Professional Service or DIY Your Best Option? Your portable HDD has a problem and you’re researching external hard drive recovery options. In this discussion we’ll examine your options, based on the symptoms. As always, an informed decision is...

5 Tips For DIY Data Recovery

Sep 23, 2016 | Recovery

5 Tips for DIY Data Recovery Considering DIY data recovery? If your hard disk drive has failed and you need your files back, it could be a good option. The safest choice is often to immediately power down and take the drive to the professionals, but it’s not the...

How To Recover Deleted Files

Jul 25, 2016 | Recovery

Recover Deleted Files: Tips and Tricks for a Safe Recovery Q. I’ve just lost everything after accidentally deleting the wrong folder or file. Please help me recover deleted files! A. Immediately do nothing. Hands off the keyboard and mouse and take a...

Can Deleted Files Be Recovered?

Jun 24, 2016 | Recovery

Can Deleted Files Be Recovered? Preface: this is the first of a two-part discussion about the what-if and how-to of deleted file recovery. The discussion concerns recovering deleted data from a computer HDD, either an internal or external hard drive or SSD. It assumes...

The Golden Rule of Backing Up

May 3, 2016 | Backups, Video

Video: how to backup your data – the Golden Rule of Backing Up (Or, how to ensure you never need data recovery!) The idea: “Keep 2, and ideally 3, copies of your data in 2, and ideally 3, separate physical locations”. How to do it: As a...

What’s the Best Portable Hard Drive?

Apr 10, 2016 | Storage, Video

What’s the best portable hard drive? If you’re looking for the best brand and model to use for backing up and general computing, here’s an opinion from a data recovery professional. (Because a stroll through the bush beats sitting at the...

How To Securely Erase My SSD?

Mar 22, 2016 | Storage

How To Securely Erase My SSD? Q. I have a used SSD [Solid State Drive] that I want to sell. How can I wipe it to ensure my deleted data cannot be later recovered? A. Since opening it up and putting a nail through the NAND flash memory chips is not an option...

How To Securely Erase My HDD?

Feb 21, 2016 | Storage

How To Securely Erase My HDD? Q. Do you have a recommended program for wiping mechanical hard disk drives (not SSDs)? A. Buckle in, this one gets a little technical! This can prove to be a controversial question if asked in online discussion forums. Thankfully, the...

RAID and NAS Devices As Backup

Aug 14, 2015 | Backups, Storage

Do you rely solely on RAID and NAS devices as backup, without copies anywhere else? If your only copy is on a NAS with RAID as your backup, for either home or business, this may be worth a read. Why NAS with RAID is Popular As Backup NAS devices are becoming very...

Which HDD Test Utility?

Jun 14, 2015 | Storage

Which HDD Test Utility? Q. What software can I use to scan a hard drive for issues? A. Logical test utilities are largely useless when there are physical HDD problems and indeed can actually make things worse, as they operate with an assumption that what they read...

When Your Backup Is Not A Backup

Mar 14, 2015 | Backups, Storage

Why One Backup Copy Isn’t Enough You’re ready to backup. You’ve purchased your shiny new external hard drive and are ready to finally get your files under control. Great! You’ve copied your photos, music, videos and documents onto it for...