I am often asked whether data recovery and data backup are not mutually exclusive. If you perform a regular backup, then surely you do not need data recovery? The answer is yes and no. Of course, a regular backup is a necessity. It protects against the loss of data and enables their recovery in the event of a crash or similar. As always however, the devil is in the detail: a “regular” backup implies that it is carried out at specific times. Between the execution times of two backups there is always a gap where changes or additions to the data files cannot be saved. If you have ever restored a backup, then you will know what I mean: the last settings, documents, images – everything is gone and you have to painstakingly reconstruct it all, or often create it all over again. But what if this is not possible? What if you downloaded, for example, vacation photos from your digital camera to your PC and formatted the memory card in order to make new recordings? If these images are not saved, they are lost forever. Or the recent changes to that important document or presentation that you have to give the next day at work.
“Regular” can also mean once a year
But that’s not all: what exactly is “regular”? Once a day, a week or a month? Or is “regular” whenever you find the time to do it? When exactly did I do the last backup again? And where is it actually saved? This series of questions is not at all easy to answer for many users. And that is exactly why most users never create a backup at all. Not because they are not aware of the danger, but because backups are often perceived as complex, lengthy and “annoying”.
Self-help is the best help
If a data loss does occur then good advice comes at a price. Entire industries of specialists using controlled laboratories dedicate themselves to this subject. And these specialists cost money, so much so that a data recovery can quickly run into the hundreds and thousands of dollars. But if the data is important, then there is no alternative. Or is there? “Normal” PC users can also recover their data easily, quickly and professionally themselves. There is a large range of software solutions for this purpose, of which the new O&O DiskRecovery 8 is one of the most powerful and yet one of the easiest to use. The wizard guides the user step-by-step through the entire process and recovers all data that is still recoverable. And it is vital that this data recovery software is already to hand should a data loss occur. After all, you don’t wait until you have injured yourself before you go to buy a plaster, rather you have a stock at home just in case.
Conclusion
A regular data backup is the basis for the recovery of your data. But to “safeguard” the period between two backups, professional data recovery software is recommended so that changes and additional documents that have been added since the last backup can also be recovered. The two concepts go hand-in-hand for maximum protection of your data, and belong therefore to any PC.
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