NTFS Recovery
The Windows NT File System, or NTFS, is used on systems such as Windows NT, 2000, XP, Server 2003, Server 2008, and Windows Vista. The NT file system brings about a number of improvements over the old FAT32 architecture, generally introducing faster read/write times, as well as a variety of other useful options. Hard drives, however, remain prone to both software and hardware failures. Although NTFS has introduced a number of improvements, it cannot completely protect the user against potential data loss.
Data loss can occur for any number of reasons. The simplest failures are caused when a user accidentally deletes a file on their own. This is a simple mistake that is very easy to make. Luckily, there are dozens of NTFS recovery programs available on the internet that can correct this problem. This is not a serious problem, because when a file is “deleted”, the memory actually remains on the hard drive. Specifically erasing memory when a file is deleted would be inefficient.
Instead, the operating system marks that segment of memory as being writable. The next time the hard drive needs to record something, it may overwrite that segment.
NTFS recovery programs such as Undelete Plus are designed to make recovery of files as simple as possible. When the program scans the hard drive for recently deleted files, it then displays a list of those files to the user. Depending on the condition of the file, the user may then be able to restore the file. If the hard drive has since written over a segment of the file, it may be more difficult to recover. This is why it is important to act quickly when a file is accidentally deleted and emptied from the Recycle Bin. Waiting too long may end up in the file being overwritten.
Other causes of hard drive failure can include the accidental deletion of partitions, or even something as extreme as a complete format of the disk. Although these are serious problems, a number of NTFS recovery tools on the market today can recover lost data in these situations. Partitions are what the operating system uses to index files, and without a good partition, the data will appear to be lost. Partitions can be accidentally deleted, or even suffer memory corruption. Fortunately, a variety of tools exist that can reconstruct and replace a bad partition. Once the partition has been replaced, the data reappears, in perfect condition. File Recovery Wizard is one NTFS recovery program that can help in these situations.
NTFS recovery tools can usually bring back the contents of a drive, even if the operating system will not boot. In cases like this, connect the bad drive to a separate computer, running the OS off that computer’s primary drive. You may even be able to browse the contents of the unbootable drive. If not, use a utility such as File Recovery Wizard to test the drive. TestDisk is another extremely useful utility that is free of charge for the public.
Filed under: NTFS Recovery