Before looking at the following recommendations and suggestions, make sure that the files have actually been deleted; in some cases they may have simply been moved. You can search the hard disk drive for the files you believe to be missing by running find or search on the computer.

• Recover file from backup – If the file has been backed up to floppy disk or other medium it is recommended that the file be restored from that backup if the file cannot be found.
• Restore from Recycling Bin or Trash – If you are running Apple MacOS, Microsoft Windows 95, NT, 98, 2000, ME, XP, Vista, or later operating system and the file has been recently deleted it is possible that the file may still be in the Trash or Recycle Bin. If present within this area it can be recovered.

The first and most reliable way to avoid accidental deletion or other forms of data loss is to make regular backups of your important files

User error isn’t the only way you can loose important data, photos, schoolwork or projects. You can experience a sudden power outage or power surge or even a dead hard drive. In case of hard drive failure, don’t keep your backups on the same drive you are backing up. Use another drive or burn them to a CD.

There are also free and paid online storage sites. A few offer up to 5GB of free space and include sharing. With any free storage site read the fine print. Some sites allow larger amounts of space but they limit uploads per month (1GB or less). In other words you can’t get large files uploaded all at once

• Did you backup all information on your hard disk drive?
• Although most current operating systems have driver support for most hardware have you made sure you have the diskettes/CD’s for your computer hardware devices so you can reinstall the hardware after erasing everything?
• If you are reinstalling Windows 98 or lower do you have a boot disk?
• Have you tested the boot disk or bootable CD to make sure it loads properly?
• Do you need an operating system CD or Restore CD to reinstall the operating system?
• Do you have the necessary licensing and OEM numbers needed to register your software again?

USB (Universal Serial Bus) is an external bus developed by Intel, Compaq, DEC, IBM, Microsoft, NEC and Northern Telcom and released to the public in 1996 with the Intel 430HX Triton II Mother Board. USB has the capability of transferring 12 Mbps, supporting up to 127 devices and only utilizing one IRQ. For PC computers to take advantage of USB, the user must be running Windows 95 OSR2, Windows 98 or Windows 2000. Linux users also have the capability of running USB with the proper support drivers installed. USB cables are hot swappable which allows users to connect and disconnect the cable while the computer is on without any physical damage to the cable. USB cables should only be a maximum of 5m (16ft) in length, as defined by the USB standard. When exceeding this length or utilizing extensions in the cables, data loss will occur.

Most of us at some time or another have either accidentally lost an important file or had one damaged in some way that prevents us from opening it. Twenty years ago, unless you were a computer expert, that would have been catastrophic. But things have changed. If you really know what you’re doing, it is sometimes possible to recover this type of data loss yourself. However, that is not the situation with the majority of people. You can, however, make the job easier for the data recovery experts.

How do you do that? By making sure that you make regular backups of your data files, either on a daily basis for the files you have been working on, or on a weekly basis, or better still by sticking to a backup strategy. If you do make regular backups it may be possible for you to recover the lost data yourself without even calling in the data recovery experts such as ourselves.