Data Recovery Tips
DO NOT WRITE ANYTHING TO THE DRIVE THAT CONTAINS YOUR IMPORTANT DELETED DATA!
When you install software, data is written to the disk, which can permanently overwrite your deleted files. If you have only one logical drive, physically remove the hard drive from the computer and install it as a secondary drive on another computer where data recovery can be performed safely.
DO NOT SAVE RECOVERED DATA TO THE SAME DRIVE THAT CONTAINS THE LOST OR DAMAGED DATA!
When saving recovered data, records are written to the file table. Writing these records to the same drive that contains the damaged data may destroy the file table records you are trying to recover, and potentially the records of other deleted entries as well. Always save recovered data to another logical, removable, or network drive.
CREATE A RAW DISK IMAGE IF YOU HAVE A SPARE HARD DRIVE OR LOGICAL DRIVE WITH SUFFICIENT FREE SPACE!
A Raw Disk Image is a single file that stores all data from a logical drive or physical device as a mirror image. Before you begin recovering deleted files, it is strongly recommended to create a Raw Disk Image of the affected drive, provided you have sufficient space on another drive. If something goes wrong during recovery — for example, if files are accidentally recovered to the same drive — you will still be able to recover the data from the Raw Disk Image created in advance.