Monday, 8 August 2016

How to Recover Files from RAW Partition?

“A few Days back virus attack ruined my whole hard drive and left it as RAW. I was very much tensed and want my data back.”

Usually, the partition is something which is required while operating a computer and read or write data on it. Partition is like a database for storing and saving data on the computer. It helps to divide the hard drive memory into separate sections to maximize the storage capacity of the hard drive. Partitions can be damaged due to various reasons such as virus attack, lost file system, accidentally deletion of partition, etc.

Hard Drive Partitioning 

When you have the brand new hard drive, then creating partitions is the first thing one should do before creating any file or directories. The disk space where it stores the information about each partition size, location, name, etc. is called ’Partition Table’. Once we create the partition on the disk, then each partition created on the disk appears as a distinct logical disk. By creating partitions on the drive, data loss chances become very less as all the partition have their own space on the disk. For example, if one partition has ruined, then the rest of the partition on the disk will not affect by that particular partition.

How to Manage Partition After Creating It On Disk?

When you have the brand new hard drive, then creating partitions is the

Once you have created the partition on the disk, you can change their size, name and other things easily by going through ‘Disk Management System’. In disk management system, you will find all your partition with their size, name, and status.

Where Disk Management Located?

Do a right click on My Computer and click on Manage to go to Disk Management system

Or, open ’Run Window’ and type diskmgmt.msc, and then press OK to open disk management system.


Is It Possible to Get to Know About Our Partition Healthy Status Via Disk Management System? 

Might be this the next question comes in your mind. Yes, it is possible to check your hard drive partition status with the help of disk management window. It shows the exact and current status of your all partitions. For an instance, if your hard drive becomes inaccessible because of file system corruption, then you can confirm this thing by going through disk management system. If there is the issue with the file system of partition, then it will show the status of RAW format. 

However, sometimes it happens when the whole partition from hard drive got lost. The reason behind the deletion of partition could be anything such as virus attack, accidental deletion, etc. But, the recovery of that deleted partition can only be done through professional help or professional data recovery software. 

If you have gone through the same data loss situation, then professional data recovery software is the most recommended solution. But, before downloading any data recovery software, make sure that the software is free from virus and have the great ability to recover your data from a raw drive or partition. People have a great experience with the data recovery software of Stellar Phoenix, so you can go with this software without taking any risk.

Conclusion: - When the partition turned into RAW or Unallocated format, then there is no option left to access the data stored on that RAW drive, other than the professional raw data recovery software. With the help of professional data recovery software, you can recover your raw hard drive data by yourself.

Thursday, 4 August 2016

Top 3 Methods to Recover Deleted Files from Windows 7 & 10

Sometimes, we have accidentally deleted our files or the files have been automatically removed from the system. This can happen with anyone at any time.

This article is for those who are looking for the solutions to get back their files after losing it from any storage media. But before moving to the solutions, I would recommend all of you to check your system again, might be your deleted files are still present on the computer. There are certain places where you can look for your lost files such as ‘Recycle Bin, Other Drives or Partitions, Online Drop Boxes’, etc. If you don’t find your files at these locations, then don’t get upset because there is still some hope left for deleted file recovery.

I know, this is the most pathetic situation anyone can face, but nowadays there are various simple solutions available that can help to recover your lost data. Let’s discuss them below to know what these solutions are. I am using Windows 7 and the Windows 10, so, I’ll discuss solution regarding the same Operating Systems.

Restore from Backup: Yes, this is the most recommended, easy and inexpensive way to recover your lost data from windows. But remember one thing, that this option can be used by those users who have already have activated backup settings in Windows. Backup and Restore option is not automatically set up by the Windows, even it requires some manual steps. If you haven’t setup the backup, then there is no possibility of data recovery with this option. Let’s move to another way of recovering data from Windows 7 & 10.

Recover Data from Previous Version: Both versions of Windows 7 and 10 give this fantastic option to restore your Windows drive or partition to the previous version. This option doesn’t require any manual configuration and can be easily used by the users easily. To restore the drive to an older version, you only need to do a right-click on the partition and select the Restore Previous Version option to restore your lost data. Sometimes, it happens, when this previous version option doesn’t show any data for recovery, but this happens very rarely. If it doesn’t help you, then move to the next option which is very easy and assures successful recovery.

Recover Deleted Files using Free Data Recovery Software: Data recovery software is the most favourable solution for data recovery. If you have lost your data from Windows, and also have tried a number of solutions for recovery, then, this is the last resort for you which gives you the assurance of successful recovery. But, before moving to the solution, remember one thing, that the software you are going to download for your precious data recovery is secure for use. There is some free data recovery software available which are full of viruses so beware of them. For Secure data recovery, you can download free data recovery software of Stellar Phoenix
.

This software is 100% safe for deleted data recovery from Windows. It provides four fantastic options for data recovery such as Quick Recovery, Deleted Recovery, Advanced Recovery, Raw Recovery. The user can choose any of them as per their requirement.

Features of Stellar Phoenix Data Recovery Software are:

Easily Retrieve Deleted Partition from Internal and External Hard Drives
Unallocated Hard Drive Recovery is Possible with this Astounding Software
You can easily ‘Clone’ your hard drive.
Recovers almost all types of File Formats.

Conclusion: - Windows 7 and 10 are the most popular Operating System in the World. They have amazing features to restore your deleted data. And, if they don’t work for you, then using a reliable data recovery software like Stellar Phoenix is the last resort for you to recover your deleted data.  

Tuesday, 26 July 2016

How to Recover a lost or Deleted File from Stellar Phoenix File Recovery?


How frequent we are saving our file or take the backup of it? We realize the importance of saving or backup of the file, when we lost it. Many people lost their file either not saving it or forgot after being deleting it. There are various factors which results into data loss such as you intentionally delete your file, your hard drive crashed, etc. If the file has been deleted by a user, then it goes directly to the Recycle Bin, but unfortunately, if by intention, a user has pressed “Shift+Del” on a particular file, then it’s not easy to recover that file.

What you should do, if your important data which you really need at the time of your important scheduled meeting, got Shift Deleted by you last night, when you are doing some work on your system? Well, don’t worry as there is a third party Software known as “Stellar Phoenix File Recovery Software” is available which helps you in recovering your files of any types whether it is a text, audio, video, etc. It has the ability to recover more than 300+ files formats.

Let us consider a case when you lose your data after pressing Shift+Del. The worst situation arises, if, at that time you don’t have backup of your data. At this moment, many people can run into few gotchas that how to retrieve their data back. So, they try doing experiments which results them into grim situation. 

Your system shows common warning signs of imminent failure, which warns you to create a backup of your data as anytime your system will end up in this mishap. Once, you lose your data, it is imperative to use Best Data Recovery Software which will help you in recouping your data back. 

Data recovery software uses the special and strong algorithms which makes them more powerful to recover the lost or deleted data. They comprise of the distinctive features, so that more people can take the advantages of such features. 

How the Stellar Phoenix File Recovery Software works?

Pictorial Example:

                                            The first view of this software is shown below:


Here you get four options to through which you can recover your data.

1) Drive Recovery: Once you clicked it, you get the options of your partitions with their name stored on your system. You can select the drive from where you want to recover your data.

2) CD DVD Recovery: You can recover your data from CD DVD also.

3) Photo Recovery: Once you are using this software, and for some reason, you want to shut down your system, then you can create an image of the place you want to resume again. This will help you to again resume the scanning from where you had stopped at last.

4) E mail Recovery: This tool will also help you to recover your deleted emails from MS Outlook and Outlook Express.

Let us suppose, you opt for the Drive Recovery.

                                          The second view of this software is shown below:


Here, you get the option to select the partition you want to recover. You can select the drive and start recovering your data. Suppose, we want to recover E:/. Then, you can select E:/ drive shown in the screenshot and choose the options on the right side of the software screen. Let us suppose we opt for Quick Recovery, then we step onto the next step which is shown below:


                                          The third view of this software is shown below:


After selecting the Quick Recovery option, the scanning will automatically and it will scan all the files/folder present in the selected partition. Do remember, here, we have selected E:/ drive. The next step after all the files/folders have been scanned is:

                                  The fourth view of this software is shown below:



After the completion of scanning, you can select the file which you want to recover. After selecting it, you get the option for the Activation Key. If you have an activation key, then choose the second option shown above, else go for the first option. After selecting the first option, you will have redirected to the website page and get the following option on your running software:

                                            The fifth view of this software is shown below:


If you want to avail the full version of this software, then you have to purchase it. After purchasing the software, you’ll get an Activation code, which you have to fill in the box shown above. This will allow you to run this software and recover your data back.

You can download this software from here

Final Verdict:

Deletion of file is not a big issue. In the World of Advanced Technology, there are various options available to recover deleted files. One of the best option is buying the third party software which can easily scans and recover your deleted files.

Wednesday, 29 June 2016

Importance of Partition in Hard Drive and How to Recover Data from It

As we all know, hard drives now become an essential part of our life, even we can not imagine our perfect business life without the hard drives. Today in this article I am going to explain about hard drive, how it works and what to do when it gets damage. Most PC or Laptop comes with the hard drive from manufacturing factory without partitions. It comes as the local drive mostly name as C drive, but thanks to the disk management system tool that allow us to easily divide one hard drive into number of the partitions. Partitioning helps to allocate different and desired space in the hard drive for data storage.

To store data, a physical disk drive is divided into several partitions. They hold important data and files that are needed to boot the system. Every partition holds different data.

To make partitions in the hard disk, you need to run the disk management utility. You can do this by typing diskmgmt.msc in the ‘Run’ tab. All the hard drives available would be displayed, along with the partitions and available space. You can then shrink the partitions and create new ones out of the extra space.

There are three types of partitions: primary, extended and logical partitions. A primary partition contains one file system. There can be only one active primary partition. It is not possible to have more than four primary partitions. Logical partitions are created within the extended partitions.

Why need partitioning?

There are several reasons to partition a hard drive, some of them are: 

Helps Computer Run Faster

As the computer only has to scan a partition and not the entire disk, it can locate data faster. The overall speed of the system improves. It even makes the maintenance tasks quicker for the computer.

Limited Data Damage

If one partition is deleted- accidentally or due to some error, there will be limited data loss as the other partitions will still have their data intact. Most viruses attack the C: drive. When this happens, you will lose the data in the C: drive, but the data in other drives will remain secure.

Multiple Operating Software’s

You can boot and manage multiple operating software on your computer by creating partitions. A boot loader can be used to switch between the two operating software.

Organized Data

With partitions, you can easily keep your data organized. You can store your images in one partition, important documents in another.

Partition Loss

Often, these partitions get damaged, resulting in data loss. A particular partition could get damaged or deleted, or all partitions in the hard drive could go missing.

There are several reasons for loss or damage of partitions. 


Computer Virus


This is the most common reason for damage of partitions. Often, a virus like Boot Sector Virus could damage or delete the partitions. Therefore, it is recommended to have a good anti-virus software and keep it updated.


Hardware or Software Problems


Problems with the hard drive or bad RAM could lead to partition loss. If the disk is damaged completely, the user will not be able to access the OS. In case of partial damage, there could be partition loss after restarting the computer.

Similarly, installation of defective software on the system could cause problems. One must always install software from trusted software.

Improper Shut Down

Instant Shutdown, due to a power cut, or a hard restart could lead to partition damage.

Accidental Partition Loss

A user who is not so well versed with computers may accidentally delete partitions due to incorrect operations.

You can detect partition loss when the drive or partition is not shown in Windows Explorer and Disk Management. When facing partition loss, it is recommended that you immediately turn the power off and connect the hard disk to another computer. But if you do not have the technical knowledge for that, then you need just to stop writing and saving any new data to the damaged disk.

Also, do not try to format the disk on your own. That would just cause the data to disappear and reduce chances of recovery. There are number of software available for partition recovery online. However, an incorrect software could worsen the problem. Using a trusted software like the Stellar Phoenix Partition Data recovery, is recommended.

Stellar Phoenix Partition Recovery

Repairing a damaged partition is simple with a tool like Stellar Phoenix Partition Recovery. Whatever the reason for damage: virus attack, hardware failure or system problem, Stellar Phoenix can help you to recover deleted or damaged partitions and retrieve lost data from them. For recovery from a hard drive, software provides four types of scans options:


  • Quick Recovery- This is the fastest and most recommended scan. It scans all files, including deleted files and retrieves them.
  • Deleted Recovery- This is a scan exclusively for deleted files and folders. Once retrieved, you can save them
  • Advanced Recovery- This is for formatted NTFS or FAT files.
  • RAW recovery- An advanced feature called RAW recovery helps search for data in drives based on file types. This can help in recovering data from extremely corrupt storage media


This tool has some advanced options like Cloning and Imaging. The Cloning tool helps make an exact clone or copy of the primary hard drive. In case your drive fails, this cloned drive can help recover data. Imaging creates a copy of the hard drive or removable media, which can be used in case the hard drive takes too long to get scanned.

Conclusion: No matter which company's hard drive you are using. But, if haven’t partitioned it, then you cannot utilize it in an optimistic manner. If you want to work with your hard drive without facing any hamper, then making the partition on it is necessary. So, if you don't go for partition, then there is a chance of data loss or you can lose your data if your hard drive gets failed, then to recover your data without taking any risk you need to use professional data recovery software Like SPWDR Pro.

Thursday, 2 June 2016

How to Do Data Recovery from Windows 10?

Nowadays, lots of people upgrade their existing windows to windows 10. Windows 10 come up with the latest and smooth technology. It provides a very easy working environment. But recently, I have gone through some forums site and find that people are facing the data loss issues after upgrading their old windows to Windows 10. They lost their data after installing the new Windows version.

If you are new to Windows 10 and want to know about its amazing features, then here is a short description of it. Windows 10 screen just looks like a phone and worked like PC. It is also best for the gaming. There are much more existing features in Windows 10 which will encourage you to install it. You can have detailed information about windows 10 by visiting this link.



Have Lost Data After Windows 10 Upgrade?

If you have upgraded to windows 10 without taking backup of your precious data, then you are in big trouble as it will delete your entire data from C:/ folder. Once you install the new windows, then it overwrites the existing drive on which your old windows were installed. However, data recovery is still possible with the professional data recovery tool but don’t forget that all tools are not efficient enough to perform the successful recovery.


Being a Reviewer of Stellar Phoenix Windows Data Recovery Software, I would recommend you to use this tool to Recover your Lost Data

Stellar Phoenix Windows data recovery is designed to recover your data which was get lost due to Windows upgradation. This tool works with the advanced techniques which help to recover deleted data from hard drive. Data that you have lost because of Windows 10 upgradation still become available for recovery until unless it is not overwritten by other files. If you have lost your precious data from hard drive and don’t want to take any risk, then use professional and trustworthy data recovery tool.

This utility provides four recovery options: quick recovery, deleted recovery, advanced recovery & raw recovery to recover the lost data from hard drive. You can choose “deleted recovery” option to recover your deleted files from Windows 10 drives.




After completing the recovery process, it gives the option to take a preview of all recovered files. You can preview all your files by clicking on the file name one by one. Once you have reviewed all your deleted files, then you can click on the recover button to complete the recovery process. When the software completes its recovery process, then it will give you the option to save your files at desired location. You can choose your desired location and safely restore your files.

Other Solution:

You can look for your lost data in C:\Windows.old folder, this is the only resort where you can find your lost data. If you don’t find your files in Windows.old folder, then there is no other way to recover your lost data except using a professional data recovery software. 

Conclusion: 

Windows 10 is the feature rich version which helps to maintain your files in structured and safely manner. Whereas data loss is the problem which can occur anytime without giving any notice but to overcome from the data loss problem you should always have a backup copy of your data. 

Tuesday, 31 May 2016

How to Recover Data from Raw Partition

                                       

A filesystem is the way files are organized on a storage device. Operating systems use filesystem to access and keep track of data residing on the storage. In absence of a file system, the partition is called a Raw partition and it cannot be used to store data. Examples of file systems are NTFS, HFS+, FAT and more. Normally, a Raw partition is not accessible and requires formatting it to make it usable. In addition, before a partition can be used, it needs to be mounted in the system for the operating system to work with it. NTFS file system was developed by Microsoft and is widely used in its systems. In this article, we will discuss identifying Raw partition, why a partition may change from NTFS to Raw and recovery options.

Identifying Raw partition:

A Raw partition can be identified with following characteristics:

• The system will ask to format the partition before it can be used. It is advised not to partition the partition if it contains data as this will lead to loss of data

• During certain console operations system will pop up an error saying filesystem cannot be identified. This indicates that a partition was not at all formatted or it has changed to Raw partition due to an error

• Windows explorer will display used and free space as 0 bytes and will not mention any filesystem format type

• Disk management will show it as a Raw partition. It can be checked at Control Panel > Administrative Tools > Computer Management > Storage > Disk Management.

• The CHKDSK command will say the partition is RAW and the command is not available for Raw drives

Filesystem changes from NTFS to RAW:

A working NTFS formatted partition may change to a Raw partition and data becomes inaccessible due to many reasons. In such a case, if the partition is formatted, all data residing on the partition is lost. Let us see most common scenarios that lead to this situation.

1. Bad sector formation on the partition may cause the filesystem to turn into Raw partition. The partition remains inaccessible in this state.

2. A sudden power failure will lead to improper shutdown of the system and after turning it on again, may show a particular partition as not formatted. This will restrict access to the data residing on it.

3. Partition table corruption may also be a possible reason for this inaccessibility issue.

4. Damage to a hard drive while its improper removal from the system is also one of the reason why this happens.

5. A corruption caused in the file system itself due to many reasons will make certain partitions turn to Raw partitions.

6. Virus infection that causes disruptions in a partition table will make the partition to change from NTFS to Raw.

7. Hard disk drive cable failure will also cause a partition to go raw and may have damaged the file system.

Recovery from Raw to NTFS filesystem:

It becomes a nightmare if the NTFS partition on the hard drive storing important data turns to Raw format. This makes all data, which may include important financial data, inaccessible since the partition will not open at all. Here we will look at few manual methods that may help to recover from a Raw partition to NTFS partition without causing much data loss.

Follow The Steps to Complete the Process:

1. Right click the affected partition from Control Panel > Administrative Tools > Computer Management > Storage > Disk Management.

2. Select the option to Change the Drive letter and path.

3. Enter a desired drive letter to easily distinguish it from other partitions.

If you try to open this partition from My Computer, it will show the message saying whether to format this partition. Select NO to preserve the data. Formatting it will lead to complete loss of data on the partition.

Next,

1. Go to Start > Run

2. Enter cmd This will open up the command prompt.

3. Enter chkdsk [Drive letter] :/f (option f will ensure that chkdsk function will try fix the errors on the disk.

If the command ran successfully, it will convert the Raw partition back to NTFS and make the data accessible. Immediately back up all your important data to secure it against such a failure again.

In case, the chkdsk function did not work, TestDisk, open source software is available to recover lost partitions. It is an efficient tool that can be used to recover data from affected NTFS partition that changed to Raw format.

Note: In case the change from NTFS filesystem to Raw partition happened, any attempt to write the data on the partition should be avoided. In addition, if user is unsure of using any method to recover the data from hard drive or partition, a professional help is advisable as repeated repair attempts may damage the partition completely.

Best practices:

In order to maintain the filesystem in healthy state and avoid situation of data inaccessibility following precautions should be taken. Here is the list of such best practices:

1. Keep an external power source (UPS) to avoid unexpected shutdown of the system which may lead to filesystem corruption.

2. Keep a periodic check on the cables that connect the storage to the system to replace them if any damage has occurred.

3. Always close the applications running on the system properly. An unexpected closure of some application may lead to damage to the partition.

4. Use reliable antivirus software to avoid damage caused by a virus attack on the system. A malware or a virus invading the system may cause considerable harm to the filesystem.

5. Do not abruptly remove or be aware of accidental removal of storage device while the system is powered on. This will risk the filesystem to get corrupted.

6. Take a timely backup of the data on an external storage to keep the data safe against unexpected loss due to failure of the filesystem.

Thursday, 14 April 2016

Concept of Boot Sector

Boot Sector is that section of the hard disk or any other storage device which holds device code to be loaded into RAM by a system’s built in firmware. Boot sector is the most significant part of the hard disk which allows booting process of a computer. It is having a length of 512 bytes. It simply instructs the computer on how to boot any storage device. Boot Sector are divided into two parts: i) MBR, i.e., Master Boot Record, ii) Volume Boot Record.

Hard drives are made up of number of sectors and the boot sector is the most important sector in them. The boot sector is located as first sector in each partition of hard disk drive. It helps to load an operating system on drive. Boot sector exist in the internal part of drive and this is the only reason that it may easily get affected by viruses.

How Boot Sector Works?

When we start a computer, the very first thing that occurs is it send a signal to a motherboard which in return send a power supply to a computer to start. After supplying the power to each device, it sends a signal called “POWER OK” to BIOS (Basic Input/Output System) which is in the motherboard.

Once the BIOS receive this “OK” Signal, it starts the booting process by first initializing the “Power on Self-Test(POST) process.  The work of a POST is to check whether all the devices are getting the appropriate amount of power supply or not and then check for the memory status whether it is corrupted or not.  Then it initializes each devices and the handover the control to the BIOS for further Booting Process.

Now, only the final step of booting is left. For this, the BIOS first search 512 bytes of image known as “Master Boot Record(MBR)” or boot sector from the floppy disk or hard disk which is used for booting. The priority is set by the user in the BIOS setting.

On finding the boot sector, BIOS loads the image in memory and execute it. If a valid boot sector is not found, BIOS remain searching in the next drive until it gets a valid boot sector. If a BIOS is unable to find a valid sector, it stops the execution and gives an error message “Disk Boot Failure”.

What are Boot Sector Errors?

A sector should have a specific disk signature which makes it highlighted as the boot sector in BIOS. A boot sector signature should be 0x55AA and is contained in its last two bytes of information. If, somehow, the boot sector signature gets corrupted or changed, then error will take place. BIOS will not recognize the boot sector and also not able to perform further commands.

Following Errors will represent the Issue with Boot Sector: 

Invalid Partition Table
Boot Manager not found
Missing Operating System
A Disk read error occurred
Error loading operating system

How to Repair Damaged Boot Sector Windows 7?

Use Window Recovery to troubleshoot the Windows bootable issue. For this, you just get a startup repair option in the system recovery window. If this doesn’t help you out, then use Bootrec.exe tool to repair MBR or boot sector or boot configuration data store.

Learn How to Run Bootrec.exe tool?

Assuming, you are a Windows 7 user. Now just put the Window 7 media in the DVD drive and then start your system.

1. Now press a key when you are prompted
2. Select a language, a currency, a time, an input method, and then click Next.
3. Now click on repair your computer
4. Select the Operating system that you want to repair and then click next.
5. Click Command Prompt in the System Recovery Options box.
6. Then type Bootrec.exe and then enter.

Bootrec.exe tool will give you various options to repair Bootsector of the hard disk such as /FixMBR, /FixBoot, /ScanOS, /RebuildBCD. You can choose any of them as per the requirement to repair your hard drive boot sector.

Have you lost your data After Repairing Boot Sector?

Most of the time it happens, when after completing the Boot sector repairing process, user lost their precious data from hard drive. This is the most painful situation that ever faced by any computer user. To overcome from this problematic situation user should take help from professional data Recovery Company instead of using any manual recovery options because manual recovery can make the situation worst.  User can download any free data recovery software from a trustworthy site like Stellar Phoenix to recover their lost data from hard disk drive.