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Generally this is quite difficult, if not impossible, especially if the password is nowhere to be found.

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This can be a serious problem, because in Outlook all of the emails, calendars, contacts and notes are stored within one single file (.pst file). In the event of something happening to this file, you risk losing everything.

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Some disk imaging utilities omit unused file space from the source media, or compress the disk they represent to reduce storage requirements, though these are typically referred to as an archive file, as they are not a literal disk image.

Data Carving usually searches through raw sectors looking for specific desired file signatures. The fact that there is no allocation information means that the investigator must specify a block size of data to carve out upon finding a matching file signature.

This presents the challenge that the beginning of the file is still present and that there is (depending on how common the file signature is) a risk of many false hits.

Also, data carving requires that the files recovered be located in sequential sectors (rather than fragmented) as there is no allocation information to point to fragmented file portions. This method can be time and resource intensive.

Physical damage always causes at least some data loss, and in many cases the logical structures of the file system are damaged as well. This causes logical damage that must be dealt with before any files can be salvaged from the failed media.

Most physical damage cannot be repaired by end users. For example, opening a hard disk in a normal environment can allow airborne dust to settle on the platter and become caught between the platter and the read/write head, causing new head crashes that further damage the platter and thus compromise the recovery process.

Furthermore, end users generally do not have the hardware or technical expertise required to make these repairs. Consequently, costly data recovery companies are often employed to salvage important data. These firms often use “Class 100″ / ISO-5 cleanroom facilities to protect the media while repairs are being made. (Any data recovery firm without a pass certificate of IS0-5 or better will not be accepted by hard drive manufacturers for warranty purposes.)

Despite this, there are many accounts of users getting a bad disk going long enough to pull their data off, often via slightly bizarre tricks. These include making the drive cold (in the freezer) or spinning it manually on the ground, both actions being used to unstick a jammed platter.

Most data recovery professionals deprecate the use of tricks such as these, since they can cause additional physical damage to the drive if the existing damage is such that further harm will be caused if the drive is operated before first being repaired.

This can be useful when you have accidentally deleted data that you want to retrieve as experts will be able to get your data back. But what if you have deleted sensitive data and you want to make sure that even experts cannot get it back? Do we have to live in fear of our data being recovered when it should have been gone forever?

Let us start with the deleting process and what happens on the hard disk. When a file is deleted from a disk, the actual file contents are not touched at all. All that happens is that the file is marked as deleted.

You can easily restore it from the Recycle Bin. When the recycle bin is emptied, the data will still be exactly where it was, but now the space will become available again for re-use. Until the space is overwritten with new data, it is still possible to recover the data from your deleted file.

What other methods of data erasure are there? And do they really ensure that data recovery is impossible?

First, there is degaussing. This involves placing the disk into a moving magnetic field that is strong enough to realign the molecules and remove any data. The down-side of degaussing is that there is not any way to check if the data has actually been totally removed, since the disk will not operate anymore.

There is erasure software on the market to help you get rid of data by writing it over with other data. In the most extreme case, the software will overwrite on every available section of your hard disk and none of the original file system will remain. Only re-partitioning and formatting the disk will make it usable again.

More selective erasure applications allow you to overwrite only the ‘deleted’ files, so that no un-deletion can be done. However, some data might be left. A disk has always more sectors then you are told about. There are always some reserve sectors that are used to replace bad sectors. When a disk suffers an error writing to a disk sector, it will mark this sector as bad sector and it will stop using it.

This happens without you noticing it. A defect list entry will be created detailing the bad sector and the sector to use in its place. Any attempt to access the bad sector will actually use the section reallocated from the reserve. Data from these bad sectors might still be recoverable, and there is a remote possibility that it might contain some of your sensitive data. It is all very unlikely, but not impossible.

Is it possible for disk recovery from overwritten disks?

The answer here is very short: No. It is not possible to read data that is overwritten. In the world of “James Bond and Spectre” it might be possible to use electron microscopes to work on infinitesimal differences in recording strength to rebuild data, but this is nothing but a fiction.

Even if electron microscopes could be used in this way it would take ages for the reading process to finish. Even if a person lived long enough to finish the reading process, and managed to decode the data, all they would find is data that would by then be long out of date.

When handling with sensitive data, be cautious, follow good sensible procedures, but do not believe in Hollywood science fiction.

Called Racetrack Memory, the technology is able to store information in magnetic domains (groups of atoms) and then use electrical current to move the domains along the wire and over read/write heads. Current mechanical hard drive technology stores data on platters and uses a spindle motor to rotate the platters under the read/write heads.

Theoretically at least, these devices could operate on a single battery charge for “weeks at a time”, and could last for decades.

Stuart Parkin, the lead researcher for IBM, also hinted that “the promise of racetrack memory could unleash creativity leading to devices and applications that nobody has imagined yet.”

If the expected data densities of the technology are realized, it could enable a portable MP3 player to hold up to 500,000 songs. Parkin disclosed they are working on building a prototype but that it could take up to four years to produce and another three or four to refine it for commercial use.

FileX is one of the myriad companies out there trying to make operating systems, their applications, and their data more resilient.

The financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed because FileX is a privately held and relatively small.

Hard drives especially, are very fragile and need extra special care when they are worked on. You have to be careful with the small components inside of them, which is why only a trained specialist should be attempting data recovery.

When you first take your hard drive to a specialist, they will perform an evaluation then get back to you and tell you the problem, as well as the cost. When most people get their price quote, they immediately think the price is too high. As this happens, the individual will decide to try their own data recovery.

This isn’t the smartest idea, as it normally results in your data being lost forever. In most cases, where individuals attempt data recovery themselves, the data is so far gone that even the best data recovery specialist can’t bring it back.

When the hard drive crashes and data cannot be accessed, most people will think about using a disk repair utility. This isn’t a good idea, as the software will normally write to the disk, causing the data that is currently stored to be overwritten. These types of software programs can be very complex, and in most cases, won’t fix the problem. They should be avoided at all costs, for the simple fact that they won’t bring back your data - they will only make things worse.

Another common mistake people make, that should never be attempted, is to open up the hard drive and try to rebuilt it. Hard drives are full of very delicate components, many of which are very small, and very fragile. The platters are the most sensitive inside of the hard drive, as they are small and contain a layer of magnetized material. This material is very fragile, and sensitive to debris, dust, and especially your fingerprints.

If you don’t know how to handle the platters, you can easily scratch their surface, which could indeed damage them forever.

There is a spindle inside of the drive, which constantly moves the platters. A motor is there as well, which determines the speed that the platters revolve. The platters store data for the entire drive, which is accessed by an actuator arm. When the hard drive is in operation, the platters and the actuator arm move at very fast speeds, which is why everything has to be perfect.

If you go to tamper with the drive and attempt to rebuild it yourself, you’ll more than likely damage something. The technicians that work with data recovery on a daily basis are experts with hard drives, and know exactly how to handle the devices. They know how to handle the platters, the actuator arm, and how to put everything back in a complete working fashion.

Some people out there have been told that hitting or even dropping a hard drive can fix common hardware problems. This is not the case, as hard drives can easily break if they physically abused in any way. The interior components are very fragile and do not react well at all to any type of abuse or physical mistreating.

Whenever something happens to your hard drive and you lose your data, you should always leave it to the data recovery experts. Companies who specialize in data recovery can recover your data, and do it the right way - which can save you time and money in the long run.