In a perfect world everything on your computer would have a backup. The resume you wrote for your current job, the pictures you took last summer, your entire music collection, and the high score you achieved last night would all be copied to more places than just your computer’s hard drive. But the world isn’t perfect and people sometimes forget to backup until their drive doesn’t mount, their computer doesn’t boot, or there is a nasty metallic sound replacing their computer’s healthy purr. When this happens getting the data off the drive is more important than fixing the problem. Because after all a electronics store can sell you a brand new hard drive, but they can’t replace the hundreds of hours you spent getting your game to level thirty.

Disk Utility

A forthcoming hard disk failure can present many symptoms including poor performance, crashes, and unusual audible noises. Disk Utility’s S.M.A.R.T. (Self-Monitoring Analysis and Reporting Technology) status can determine if a hard drive failure is to blame. A “Verified” status is always better than than the more ominous “About to Fail,” but just because a disk is determined to be physically healthy doesn’t mean it is free of problems. File system errors and bad sectors can all be missed by a verified S.M.A.R.T. status and sometimes Disk Utility’s filesystem check is not enough. When things get really bad and a disk won’t mount, or my computer won’t boot it is time to call in the warrior.

DiskWarrior

Alsoft’s DiskWarrior is a time tested Mac utility for creating a replacement file directory to match the contents of your hard drive. Disk warrior can often make an unmountable disk available when Disk Utility’s simple file system check is unable to fix the problem. The best way to run DiskWarrior is by booting from the included CD or from a Mac First Aid Kit which includes the DiskWarrior application. Because Disk Warrior can also check a drive’s S.M.A.R.T. status is often the first place I go when I have a disk I am unable to mount.

SpinRite

When Disk Utility is no use, and DiskWarrior is out of the fight your hard drive’s problems are more serious than directory issues alone. GRC’s SpinRite goes below the directory layer discovering and fixing issues that are affecting the drive’s surface itself. SpinRite does this by testing the platter of your drive, analyzing the contents, and refreshing the magnetic disk surface to allow your drive to operate more reliably. If any damaged portions of your disk are discovered SpinRite attempts to recover the data that may not be readable via the operating system and copy it to a new block on your hard drive. The resulting operation identifies and fixes bad sectors that may have prevented DiskWarrior from rebuilding your drives directory. The problem is SpinRite cannot be run on a Mac so removing your hard drive and installing it into a friend’s PC is required. Some people say SpinRite can achieve miracles, but no tool, not even SpinRite, can save your data from physical aliments such as a defective circuit board, drive motor, or other mechanical part. When the physical components of your hard drive start to break down it is time to call in the professionals.

Drive Savers

Triage is over, and a drive’s data is still not accessible. It is time to call the data recovery experts. Drive Savers performs their magic by replacing the faulty components in your drive just long enough to retrieve your data. Due to the sensitive nature of hard drive components these operations must be performed in a ISO 5 Certified Cleanroom. A visit to DriveSavers can cost several thousands of dollars, but if your data is worth it you may have no where else to turn. A costly lesson towards learning to back up your data in the future.