How Can You Recover from An Unexpected Data Loss Event: 4 Steps

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Connie Yu
November 14, 2024 Preview 18 Preview 0
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Unexpected data loss event can be a serious issue that ruins your data base if you are running a business, wastes your time when you have to re-do the task, or takes away some of your valuable moments stored in a media. Once you’ve encountered with an unexpected data loss, you are at risk of losing more later on. But do not get overwhelmed at the idea that you are going to lose them forever. 

It is important to know what causes an unexpected data loss event, and recovery is often needed. In this guide, we will show you 4 easy steps to recover the files when you are facing such a data loss event.

 

Step 1. Stop Using the Device or Server

Immediately after realizing the data loss, you should stop using the device or server where you lost the data.

Lost data is recoverable, as long as they are not overwritten by the new data writing to the device or server, while keeping using the affected device will generate new data and finally replaced those lost data. 

But why? When we delete a file or some data is lost from a device, the system just marks the partition where stores these files as available, so there will be space to store new data. If the newly added data is stored right into the place where the deleted file was originally saved, it will be permanently deleted and becomes unrecoverable. Therefore, you are recommended not to:

  • Power ON or Off the affected device
  • Plug or unplug the affected device
  • DIY scan and check disk health
  • Browse website
  • Download files online

Before the data loss goes worse, you should transfer those important data to a safe storage as soon as possible.

 

Step 2. Find Out The Reason Why You Get Unexpected Data Loss

An unexpected data loss event happens without warning, but it does has a reason. A lot of people prefer to expanding their storage space via hard disk drive or server, which also increases the likelihood of data loss event. Therefore, it becomes important to know how we lose the data, then find a countermeasure.

According to authoritative reports, forum discussions and personal experiences, the reasons are often categorized into following:

  • Power failure: sudden outage often causes computer to shut down unexpectedly, this may disrupt the data transfer, saving, even corrupt the data.
  • Hardware damage/failure: any physical or logical damage on the hard drive may prevent a drive performing properly.
  • Data corruption: unintended changes to the original data will corrupt your files, this often happens in the processing of data.
  • Human error: accidental deletion, configuration changes or saving data to the wrong location also cause data loss. 
  • Software failure: system crash or application glitches also disrupt data processing and lead to data loss.
  • Virus or malware infection: malicious software may destroy your files beyond repair.
  • Hacking: unauthorized access to data in a system or computer also destroy your data

Theoretically, before an unexpected data loss event happens, there might be some symptoms on your device or server. For example, unrecognized hard drive that caused by hardware failure, app not responding due to software failure, suspicious extensions or software installed due to virus...And case by case, we will be able to recover the lost data using different methods, with a higher recovery rate.

If you are sure that the data loss is caused by virus or hacking, you should contact an expert to get it solved.

 

Step 3. Recover from An Unexpected Data Loss Event

Recovering from unexpected data loss is tough, but it is not impossible. Now that we’ve found out the reason why an unexpected data loss event happened, it is time to recover the lost data before they are gone forever. There are several things we can do on our own to recover.

Method 1. Use Cisdem Data Recovery

Even in the most severe cases, data can be recovered. And many users realize that using a 3rd party data recovery program is the easiest and quickest solution when data loss happens. 

If your data is lost due to sudden power off, system crash, app not responding, drive formatting, data corruption or accidental deletion, then try Cisdem Data Recovery.

Cisdem Data Recovery, available on Windows and macOS, offers excellent data recovery features and additional data management. It helps users to recover data under various situations, including but not limited to system crash, deletion, drive formatting, partition loss, hard drive damage, virus attack, factory resetting, from both internal and external drive. Cisdem also has a compelling toolset: nas/linux recovery, crashed PC recovery, video repair, file filter, unsaved file recovery, bookmark recovery, file preview, save to cloud, create OS installer, back up disk, etc. It scans a disk quickly, with easy pausing and resuming. The most important is, it has a higher recovery rate than competitors.

The software supports Windows 11, 10, 8, 7 or macOS 10.9 and earlier. Users can download the software and evaluate for free. Here is how to recover from unexpected data loss using Cisdem:

  1. Download and install Cisdem Data Recovery on your Windows or Mac.
    Free Download Windows 11/10/8/7 Free Download macOS 10.9 or later
  2. Select the drive where you lost the data, then click Search for lost files. If you want to recover data from NAS or Linux, you need to go to NAS & Linux, then enter the credentials.recover lost data cisdem 01
  3. After the scanning, go to Type, check the lost files in different folders according to file type. Also you can check the Unsaved Files folder or use filter tool to quickly locate a lost file.recover lost data cisdem 02
  4. Double click on the file to Preview, then select and click Recover to save them to a safe location.recover lost data cisdem 03

 

Method 2. Check AutoSave Location

If the unexpected data loss event is caused by unresponsive apps when you are editing or saving a file, make use of the auto save feature built right into the apps to recover your data. A lot of apps, including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Photoshop, CorelDraw, Illustrator has the auto save feature to automatically save a file every 5 or 10 minutes, even you don’t click on the Save button. And the unsaved files will be kept in the autorecovery location, which makes it possible for you to recover.

Here we will take Microsoft Office Word as an example to show you the recovery process:

  1. Launch the app to see if the unsaved file shows up, if yes, save the file again.
  2. If not, check the auto recovery location:
    Windows users go to C:\Users\xxx\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Word\,
    Mac users go to /Users/Library/Containers/com.microsoft.Word/Data/Library/Preferences/AutoRecoveryrecover unsaved data 01
  3. Open the unsaved file in MS Word, then save the file. recover unsaved data 02

 

Method 3: Recover from Back Up

In the case that your data is lost due to corruption or other human error, you can also easily recover, as long as you have a backup. Basing on how you back up the files, we have 3 solutions for you.

Windows Users: File History

If you encounter an unexpected data loss event on a Windows PC and you have enabled File History on your PC to backup the files to an external hard drive, here are the easy steps to get your files back:

  1. Connect the backup drive to your PC.
  2. Open File History from Control Panel, then click on Restore personal files.recover data from backup 01
  3. Go the place where you store the lost files, check the files you want to restore, select a previous version.recover lost data from backup 02
  4. Click Restore button.

 

Mac Users: Time Machine

If you work on a Mac, there is a similar way to Windows File History, by using Time Machine, the free utility in macOS to backup and restore files. Here are the easy steps to recover from unexpected data loss event on Mac via a backup.

  1. Connect your Time Machine backup drive to Mac.
  2. Enter Time Machine from Apple Menu bar.recover lost data from backup 03
  3. Go to the place where you store the lost file, select a version from the backup list.
  4. Browse the file and choose a previous version, then click Restore.recover lost data from backup 04

 

Cloud Drive Users: OneDrive, iCloud, Google Drive, etc.

In the case that you have synced your files to a cloud storage platform, such as OneDrive, iCloud or Google Drive, and turned the sync off before data loss, you should check the back up files in the cloud. If you still keep the copy, re-download the file to your device. Here we will use OneDrive as an example.

  1. Go to OneDrive website and log in.
  2. Go to My file, select the backup of the lost files, and click the 3-dot icon > Download.recover lost data from backup 05
  3. If you cannot find the backup in your Drive, go checking in the Recycle bin or recently deleted folder.recover lost data from backup 06

 

Method 4. Seek Professional Support

If the lost data is crucial to your business or work, you should seek professional support, instead of DIY solutions that might lead to further data loss.

And it is very important to find a trustworthy data recovery service provider, besides checking online reviews and testimonials about the service, the key is to inquire before a payment. You should ask about the success rate, pricing structure, data security measures, estimated turnaround time, service availability, and make sure the service will meet your needs.

 

Step 4. Prevent Data Loss in The Future

As our world is very reliant on data, data loss prevention has become more critical than ever, even though we pay more attention to data backup, data loss still happens a lot. The cost of data loss is always high, we should take proactive approaches to avoid this as much as possible, here are some tips:

  • Backup files to external drive or cloud storage, it is worthy to upgrade your free account to have more storage space;
  • Encrypt sensitive and important data via advanced technology
  • Set up secure network
  • Educate users and provide them with more expertise to handle data safely & efficiently
  • Install anti-virus software on the device
  • Create detailed and strict user access policy
  • Update equipment regularly

 

Final Words

The best method for recovering from unexpected data loss event is always via a backup, free and 100% successful. So, we should always keep a copy of important data in another safe place. In the case, the event happens without a backup kept, this guide has provided you with multiple methods to recover. For data loss caused by human error, Cisdem Data Recovery is a good first option.

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Connie Yu

Connie Yu has been a columnist in the field of data recovery since 2011. She studied a lot of data loss situations and tested repeatedly to find a feasible solution tailored for each case. And her solutions are always updated to fix problems from the newest systems, devices and apps.

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