So you’re at work, typing along in your computer, laser focused on the task at hand. All of a sudden, system failure, your computer goes black. You have a pretty intense freak out moment, because you spent hours working on your document; which by the way, contains a lot of sensitive client information.
Did you back up your data?
It is unbelievable that in 2017, we still have to repeat this: Backing up your work is always your first line of defense. Even if your system is new, don’t get too comfortable. Besides system crashes and server failures, you can experience a natural disaster, a virus such as Ransomware, or even an accidental liquid spill. Don’t be a victem of system failure. Regularly back up your work.
Did you lose a Word document?
Before you panic, figure out if the damage is an easy fix. For the most part, when a computer was shut down improperly, when you turn it back on and click on the Word icon again, you’ll get a dialogue box listing the most recent documents you were working on. If the box doesn’t pop up, click on “File”, then “Open Recent”. A list of your most recent documents should appear in a drop down menu.
If your document is not listed (or you can’t even troubleshoot this way because your computer won’t even turn on), you have to determine whether you’re dealing with a software, hard drive, or electrical failure.
Is the issue a software failure?
If that was the case, you still have hope that the information is unharmed and recoverable somewhere inside your computer. Get someone in your IT department (or a nerdy friend) to transfer the data to another computer by removing the hard drive from your computer and transferring to the second laptop via its USB port.
If on the other hand, the problem is the hard drive, it would have to be opened or replaced, which can be a pretty expensive fix. And if the problem was caused by mechanical failure, that may not do much for your data recovery efforts either.
If despite your best attempts at data recovery, you’re still hitting a dead end, it’s time to call data recovery experts to do the job for you. Soaring Eagle Consulting will not only assist you in recovering your data, but can also do a health check of your system to identify additional vulnerabilities that may cause you issues in the future. Contact us and let us know how we can help you.
