Picture the
scene, you have just bought a new 1TB hard drive, installed it into your
computer, fired it up, formatted it and see that it’s only 0.9TB in size. What
happened to the rest? Have you lost data or is the hard drive broken?
This is a common question we hear at Dave’s Computers in New Jersey. Very common in fact. Whenever we install new hard drives for customers and fire up their computer to show them, 9 times out of 10 we are asked why it’s smaller than what we said we installed.
The hard
drive is exactly the size we said it was but the way the operating system
reports it is different. You’ll have to bear with me as there is some math
involved.
Hard drive capacities
If you buy
a 1TB hard drive, it will have the capacity to store 1TB of data. However, once
formatted in Windows it will show much less.
1TB, or
terabyte equals 1,000,000,000,000 bytes. That’s a trillion bytes. It will have
somewhere in the region of 1,953,525,168 sectors of 512 bytes each. With the
help of my trusty calculator, that gives us 1,000,204,886,016 bytes of storage.
Slightly above the advertised capacity.
When you
format it in Windows, you won’t get those numbers. The reason is that round
numbers work fine in hardware but don’t work in software. A number has to be
equally divisible in software programming to make it work. So where 1TB is a
nice round number to hard drive manufacturers, it isn’t divisible by that 512
byte size.
Windows
will instead measure the drive in multiples of 1024 or 512 which will result in
a different size. Then you have to add the format data to that.
Think of a
file system like a library. The building itself could be large but once you put
the bookshelves in, the building looks a lot smaller. The same principle
applies to a hard drive. Once Windows loads its file system, the available
space is reduced. Then add Windows Shadow File System which is like a secure
copy of files and even more space has gone.
So you
haven’t lost any data and you haven’t been robbed. It’s just the differences in
how hardware manufacturers and Apple and Microsoft calculate size. Then add the
file system and essential data to come up with available space.
If you want
to try it yourself, open a CMD window in Windows. Select your new hard drive by
typing ‘D:’ or whatever and hit Enter. Type ‘vssadmin list shadowstorage’ and
hit Enter.
You will
see Shadow Copy Storage space of 5-10GB. This is some of the shortfall in space
and why Windows says your disk is smaller than it actually is.
While
Dave’s Computers will always be around to recover your data, it would be better
for everyone if you didn’t lose it in the first place. One easy way to do that
is to treat your hard drives the right way. While designed to be reliable and
robust, there are some practical things you can do to extend their working
life.
Hard drives
may be cheap but that doesn’t mean you don’t want to squeeze as much value as
possible from them. If you’re interested in stretching the life of your drive
to the max, follow some of these simple tips.
Reducing the chance of
data loss
Hard
drives, both HDD and SSD have an MTBF, Mean Time Before Failure, or around
100,000 hours. That sounds like a lot but the more you use them, the faster
that time runs out. It isn’t a hard limit but more of a guideline of how long
you can reasonably expect a hard drive to survive for.
To get the
most out of that, try these longevity tips:
- Try
to not move a desktop computer whenever possible. Sudden moves can damage HDD
drives irreparably. SSD less so but you still need to be careful.
- Avoid
overheating. Keep your computer clean, make sure all fans are working and use a
temperature monitor to ensure nothing gets too hot. Heat is the enemy of
electronics.
- Avoid
high intensity applications such as bit torrent. Bit torrent and other seed
programs utilize a lot of hard drive. It has to work very hard reading and
writing which can and likely will, degrade its operating life over time.
- Turn
on TRIM for SSDs. Solid State Drives do not need defragmenting as they have a
built-in system called TRIM to manage that. If you install an SSD on your computer,
make sure you never defragment it and that TRIM is enabled.
- Don’t
defrag HDDs too often. Windows will tell you when you need to defragment your
hard drive. Listen to it and don’t defrag unnecessarily. It puts a lot of
pressure on a drive so should be only be performed on a schedule.
- Back
up your important data now. Backups are only good if you plan in advance. You
cannot back up a failed drive so you need to be prepared. Back your data up to
the cloud and to a separate hard drive for maximum safety.
If you do
suffer data loss, Dave’s Computer in New Jersey can help. Our data recovery
team has vast experience in recovering data from dead drives and many other
types of lost data. We would be happy to help!
We talk a
lot about backing up your Windows hard drive to prevent data loss and to speed
up recovery but we rarely mention Mac. While Apple computers are more stable
than Windows can be, it isn’t immune to failure or to faults. Today I’m going
to show you how to create a bootable clone of your Mac hard drive.
Here at
Dave’s Computers, we deal with lots of Macs in various states of repair. With
many years’ experience with Mac from all generations, it’s good to see the
hardware and software develop steadily. That said, some faults still make it through
and Macs do have a few foibles we need to manage.
Clone your Mac hard drive
Cloning a
hard drive is the process of taking an exact copy, bit by bit until it is
completely duplicated on another drive. It is different from copying files, as
it includes the file system, operating system, drivers and every single bit and
byte of data. It is an exact one-for-one copy of your drive and means you can
switch drives and be up and running again immediately if something happens to
your main drive.
MacOS has a
built-in utility that can handle this process so you don’t need to buy or
download any extra software. What you will need is another hard drive of the
same type and the same size or larger. I suggest using an external drive but
you can use what you like.
Here’s how
to clone a Mac hard drive:
- Open up the Utilities folder on your
Mac and select Restore.
- Select your external drive as the
restore target and your main drive to Restore From.
- Select Restore to set the process
running.
Typically
you would reverse that to restore files from an external backup to your main
drive. In this instance we have flipped that so we make a full clone backup of
your main Mac drive.
The process
can take a while depending on the speed of your Mac and what kind of hard drive
you’re using. If you’re using SSD, the process can be done in a few minutes. If
you’re using an HDD, it will take longer.
Once
complete, you can boot from your external drive by hitting Option when the Mac
boots to access the boot switcher. As long as your external drive is connected
and powered on, you can choose to boot from it and work on your computer as
normal or restore your main drive as you normally would using Restore.
Cloning a
Mac hard drive is surprisingly easy yet is something not all Mac owners know
how to do. If you take a copy of your boot drive today, you may not need our
data recovery services. So what are you waiting for?
After putting together ‘Can you repair a broken hard drive?’ last week, I began wondering if there are some practical things you can do to maximize the life of a working drive. Data recovery is a big part of what we do here at Dave’s Computers in New Jersey but we really wish it wasn’t. Hopefully, if you take regular backups and follow these tips, you should never experience data loss.
There isn’t
a whole lot you can do to maximize the life of your hard drive but there are
some things we can suggest that can help you get the most out of it. The good
news is that these tips will maximize life of all your other components too!
Live long and prosper
Most
computer components have an MTBF, Mean Time Before Failure. That essentially
means the length of time the manufacturer things you can reasonably expect
before that piece of hardware begins erroring or failing. Different hardware is
rated with different MTBF. You can maximize that with some simple tips.
Take regular backups
While I am
offering tips of getting the most out of your hard drive, we equally have to
plan for the worst. Taking regular backups of your critical files means that
when the end does come, it won’t be as devastating as it could be.
Be gentle with it
If you’re
using a desktop, once you have it set up, try to not move it wherever possible
Certainly don’t knock or jar it, bash into it or place it where you might trip
or kick it. Sharp motions are the enemy of electronics so try to minimize them
where at all possible.
If you’re a
laptop user, try to avoid knocking or dropping it. They are made to withstand harsher
treatment than desktops but aren’t invulnerable.
Keep it clean
Heat is the
biggest killer of computer components and dirty and dust can cause components
to quickly overheat. This is especially true if you’re a gamer and run your
computer at higher temperatures. Keep your computer as clean as you can and
perform regular dusting and cleaning on the internals and dust filters. Make
sure fans are free of dust and that you keep your computer as clean as you can.
Don’t defragment SSDs
You don’t
need to run defrag on Solid State Drives. In Windows ,Trim does that for you.
Running defragmentation can significantly lower the operating life of an SSD drive
so don’t do it. If you use HDDs, then defragmentation is still useful but never
perform it on an SSD.
Watch for SMART alerts
If you have
a SMART-enabled hard drive, you may see an alert telling you something is wrong
with that drive. It’s a useful early warning that allows you to take remedial
action and a backup just in case something happens. Not all hard drives use
SMART, but if yours does, keep an eye on it.
If you do
suffer hard drive failure, bring it straight to Dave’s Computers in New Jersey.
Our data recovery experts can potentially save your data.
You only
realize how much you depend on your computer when something goes wrong. Or how
much data you store that you never want to lose until your hard drive stops
working. The data recovery experts here at Dave’s Computers in New Jersey contend
with these issues every day. Perhaps the most common question we hear is ‘can
you repair a broken hard drive?’
The answer is,
sometimes. Most often it’s a case of trying to recover data from the drive and
copying it to another before a drive fails for good. That’s why we always
recommend backups for just this situation.
Repairing a
broken hard drive depends entirely on the type of drive it is and the
manufacturer. Newer SSDs cannot usually be repaired as they have no moving
parts and are essentially flash memory soldered onto a chassis. Older hard disk
drives can occasionally be repaired, but again, it depends on the manufacturer
and what happened.
Checking for a broken hard
drive
Issues with
your computer OS reading your drive may not be a physical problem but a
software one. If you see messages like ‘Cannot read drive D:’ or ‘Unable to
access drive D:’ this could be either a physical or software problem. Rather
than trying to fix it yourself, I suggest bringing the computer or just the
drive to our data recovery team for us to check it out.
Before you
do that though, take a look inside your computer to make sure all the
connections are secure between your motherboard and the hard drive. This is
especially important if you have been inside your computer case for any reason.
If Windows
doesn’t recognize your drive or cannot read it but your system BIOS/UEFI does,
it could be a system error rather than hardware. If you use Windows, open a CMD
window, navigate to the drive having issues and run the check disk utility. For
example, if your D: drive is playing up, do this:
- Open a CMD window as an
administrator.
- Type ‘CD D:’ and hit Enter.
- Type ‘chkdsk /f /r’ and hit Enter.
- Allow the process to complete.
This utility
is built into Windows and is pretty good. It can detect and automatically
repair many kinds of software issues with your drive and could have you back up
and running again.
If you use
MacOS, you can use Disk Utility to check the SMART Status of your drive. This
checks everything to much the same level.
If Windows really cannot access the drive, chkdsk won’t work so you had better bring your drive to Dave’s Computers in New Jersey. Our data recovery guys should be able to work their magic and recover your data even if we cannot repair the drive.
Those old tricks of putting your hard drive int he freezer or using impact mechanics don't really work so you are much better off trying to save what you can and replacing the drive. If you have any questions at all about hard drives or data recovery, contact us and we will help.
With Black Friday behind us and Christmas not far away it is a popular time for selling old tech to make room for the new. If you’re buying a new laptop, desktop or even hard drive and plan to sell your old one, you need to learn how to prepare your old laptop or computer for sale!
Thousands of people every year sell their old tech with identifiable data still present on the drive. We don’t have to tell you how potentially damaging that could be!
There are lots of stories online about how companies lost data when selling old tech but home users do it too. Dave’s Computers in New Jersey wants everyone to be safe this holiday season so here is how to prepare your old laptop or computer for sale.
Get your computer ready to sell
There are a couple of things we need to do before you list your computer. We need to back up your data so you don’t lose it and then securely delete it from your hard drive. Once done, it will be safe to sell.
Backup your stuff
Back up all of the data you want to keep. You can use OneDrive if you use Windows or another cloud service. You could use an external drive or another drive you are going to remove from the computer before you sell it. However you do it, make sure to save all of your data somewhere safe.
Make sure to check documents, downloads, user folders and the rest of your drives for data to save.
Securely wipe your hard drive
There is only one tool I use for wiping older hard drives and that is DBAN. It’s free and includes everything you need to securely wipe your hard drive to NSA levels. If you have an SSD, you can skip this part and go straight to wipe an SSD.
- Download DBAN from here and burn it to a CD or USB. A CD is best if you have a drive otherwise a USB can work too.
- Remove all other drives from your computer before you begin, just to make sure.
- Reboot your computer and boot from the DBAN CD.
- Type ‘autonuke’ when the blue DBAN screen appears.
- Allow the process to complete.
- If it’s your main drive you’re wiping, reinstall the operating system.
Securely wipe an SSD
Solid State Drives (SSD) work differently and delete information immediately. You don’t need to use DBAN for these. All you need do is download a specific tool from the SSD manufacturer. The tool usually tells the drive to forget everything. You will need to navigate to the SSD manufacturer’s website to do this though.
There are third party tools out there that can do the same thing but we don’t use them. We prefer to use those manufacturer tools. Those tools include Intel Solid State Toolbox, OCZ Toolbox, Corsair SSD Toolbox, Samsung Magician and SanDisk SSD Toolkit. These change regularly so I won’t link them here.
Wiping your hard drive is essential if you want to keep your private data private. Once complete, you can sell your old tech safe with the knowledge that it won’t come back to bite you later!
If you want to be extra safe, bring your computer to the data recovery experts at Dave’s Computers. We can securely delete your data for you.
One of the most ‘popular’ causes of data loss is ransomware. Here at Dave’s Computers, many of the data recovery requests we see are from virus or malware infections, especially ransomware. It is one of the worst types of attacks on the internet and a cause of a lot of angst for computer users.
They key to surviving any type of virus or malware risk is prevention. They say in medicine, ‘prevention is better than cure’ and the same goes for computers. If you want to avoid losing data or worse, you have to do everything you can to avoid becoming infected by such things.
As Dave’s Computers performs data recovery for both home and business users, I include both in these tips.
What is ransomware?
Ransomware is one of my pet hates. It’s nasty and while it can be less destructive than a virus, its intent is the worst. Imagine this: You’re sitting at your computer, surfing the internet or doing some work and you suddenly a notice appears on the screen saying
‘The files on this computer have been encrypted. You have 96 hours to submit payment to receive the encryption key, otherwise your files will be permanently deleted.’
In some cases, the warning looks like an FBI notice, in other cases it doesn’t pretend to be anything other than it is. An attempt to hold you to ransom by locking down your computer. It will show a Bitcoin or MoneyPak address and a countdown clock to force you into action. A variable dollar amount will also be shown which the hacker wants you to pay to get your computer back.
There are two types of ransomware, locker and encryption. Locker ransomware will lock you out of your computer and only allow access once you get an unlock key after paying the ransom. Encryption malware will use very strong encryption to lock down your hard drive. You only get the decryption key once you pay.
The main issue with ransomware is that even with our advanced data recovery tools, we will be unlikely to recover any of your data if it falls prey to ransomware. All is not lost though as you will find out.
How to avoid ransomware
Ransomware depends on social engineering to work. That means enticing, fooling or forcing you to do something using psychology. This is a powerful attack vector but also its Achilles heel as you will see.
Know the risks and educate staff
The single most effective way to avoid ransomware is to know the risks. Don’t go to websites that look risky. Don’t click on links sent by email even if they don’t look phony. Don’t download anything if you’re not sure of what it is and never, ever open an email attachment unless you are completely sure you know who it is from.
Run regular backups
Even home users can benefit from running regular backups. Data recovery would be so much easier if we had a recent backup to work from. You could even do it yourself. Windows and Apple both have backup utilities built in. There are also some pretty good third party software programs that can automate it for you.
Use email preview
If you use Outlook or other mail program, you have the option to view the email in preview mode. Most web-based email will have this by default. In preview mode, you get to see what an email contains without anything being executed. So if the email is infected, it won’t necessarily infect your computer automatically.
Strip code and attachments from email
Both home users and businesses would benefit from telling their email program or server to automatically remove code and attachments from email. This could avoid a huge number of ransomware risks right away. If the attachment is legitimate, you can always get a copy from webmail. In exchange, your computer will remain much better protected.
Use a quality antivirus and malware scanner
Many good quality antivirus or malware products will include email scanning in their repertoire of skills. Use one. Not only can it help protect you from ransomware but also other threats too. No computer that ever connects to the internet should be without both antivirus and malware scanning. That includes Apple.
Use a quality firewall too
A firewall analyzes traffic in and out of your computer or network for threats. They come either as software firewalls that install on your computer or as hardware firewalls as their own device or built into a router. You must have at least one of these running at all times. I tend to suggest using a software firewall on each connected device and a good quality router with a hardware firewall component built in.
Don’t use the Administrator account
This mainly applies to Windows users. Once you have your computer set up how you like it, create a Guest account and use that for everything except making system changes. It has far fewer privileges than an Administrator account which means if ransomware goes get through your defenses it can do much less damage.
Keep your device updated
Finally, make sure to allow your devices to automatically update themselves. Many Windows and Apple updates include security patches and vulnerability fixes which can help plug holes in your defenses. Both operating systems default to allowing automatic updates so make sure to not change that.
Those are some of the main ways to prevent becoming a victim of ransomware. If you do find yourself infected, Kaspersky, AVG and other security companies offer decryption methods for some but not all ransomware.
If you get stuck or need some help, bring your device to Dave’s Computers in New Jersey. We cannot promise to fix the issue but we have decades of experience with computers and malware and can usually work something out. Otherwise, our data recovery experts may be able to work their magic and save the day as long as it isn’t encryption ransomware causing you trouble. We make no promises except the promise that we will do our best!
Contact us at 908-428-9558 if you ever need our help.
Data recovery has been an industry since shortly after IBM computers became widespread in the 1980s. As soon as people began storing data on hard drives, hard drives began failing and data began to be lost. Thereafter, an industry was born.
As someone who has been a part of that industry for many years, I have seen myths come and go. Some of those myths seem to hang around while others go the way of the Dodo. As we hear quite a number of these myths here at Dave’s Computers, I thought it time to quash them. So here are the most popular data recovery myths that we hear in our Hillsborough store.
Anatomy of a hard drive
First a quick overview of a hard drive. A hard drive is the older form of storage that uses moving parts. Not to be confused with SSD, which is a solid state drive. SSD are completely different and are not discussed here.
A hard drive has platters and heads as well as a circuit board and a motor. Data is stored on the platters, a bit like a continually rewriteable DVD. The heads do the reading and writing and the motor spins the platters. There are multiple platters and heads within a single hard drive.
Freeze the hard drive to recover data
The theory behind this myth is actually sound. It is the practice that lets it down. Stuck platters or heads used to be a very common cause of data loss in hard drives. The theory is that if you freeze the drive, the metal within it contracts freeing it up. Then, you can quickly connect it to a computer and copy the data across before it thaws out too much.
In practice, this very rarely works. A domestic freezer is way too moist an environment to place any delicate piece of electronics. Water and electronics do not mix, which is why this technique rarely works. Find somewhere with dry ice and you might be lucky, otherwise, don’t bother.
Impact mechanics
Impact mechanics is the technical term for hitting something to make it work. If the platter or heads are stuck, impact mechanics can free them up. However, it is all too easy to hit it too hard and scratch or crack the disc, break a head or something else. If you do any of these things, that repository of all your data instantly becomes an expensive paperweight.
Hitting a hard drive is the worst thing you can do aside from putting it in the freezer. Not only does it not miraculously bring a hard drive back to life, it will also prevent us from recovering any of your data.
Removing the platters
This is a popular trick in TV shows. Remove platters in a broken hard drive and put them in a working drive and you instantly recover all the data. While technically possible to remove platters, it isn’t something that can usually be done. Platters and heads are unique to that specific model of hard drive, so not only do you have to have a data recovery lab, you also need the same hard drive to donate the platters to.
It takes truly expert technicians to safely remove a hard disk platter without damaging it. It isn’t something the guys here at Dave’s Computers can do or would ever suggest doing. In fact, as far as I know, only enterprise-level experts or the manufacturers themselves would even consider this.
Data loss is covered under warranty
If a hard drive fails and it is still under warranty you’re covered right? The manufacturer can fix the drive and save the data. Wrong. The hardware itself is covered under standard warranties but the data is not. All storage manufacturers will say the same thing. Hardware is covered but any data loss or damage is outside the warranty.
So yes, you can return the hard drive to the store or the manufacturer for repair or replacement but don’t expect it to contain any data.
Free data recovery software will save my data
As with anything, not all data recovery software is created equal. Ironically, some software both free and paid-for will overwrite some of your data to save it. Most of the time this doesn’t work. To be truly effective, data recovery software needs to write as little as possible to the drive to save as much data as possible.
Check reviews and do your research if you want to try free software like this. Make sure any software you use writes to the disk as little as possible. Here at Dave’s Computers, we use some pretty advanced data recovery software. It is designed to touch the damaged drive as little as possible in order to preserve that data for recovery. It makes no sense to overwrite it as it makes recovery more difficult!
Data on a formatted drive is lost forever
Data on a hard drive is written to the platter by the head. It contains an index link segment and the data itself. The index link tells your operating system what piece of data is contained within that segment. When you format a hard drive, you just remove the index link and not the data itself. Only when you overwrite the drive does the data actually disappear.
So if you accidentally format a hard drive, the data itself may still be present. As long as you don’t do anything else to the drive, our data recovery experts should be able to rescue at least some of your lost data.
I can recover my data myself
It is true that you may be able to recover your own data, but it isn’t guaranteed. If you are computer literate and know how a hard drive works and data is stored, it is entirely possible to do it yourself. However, much like you would get an engineer in to service your furnace or A/C or take your car to the shop for a service, sometimes it’s just better to pay a professional to do it for you.
Not only do you get the peace of mind of a professional working on your case but we can often do it faster and more effectively. In the end, it comes down to one simple question. How much is your data worth to you?
If you work in a quiet room, hearing the rattle and whirr of a hard drive (HDD) can quickly become an annoyance. As the inside of a PC case can act as an echo chamber, the smallest noise can be amplified exponentially until all you can hear is that mechanical noise as your computer reads and writes to your hard drive.
A noisy hard drive isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Sure, if it grinds and sounds like a washer in a tin can that you might need my computer repair services. But other than that, any mechanical device with moving parts will make noise. Fortunately, there are a few ways to quiet that noise.
Anatomy of a hard drive
A hard drive is made up of several moving parts. They are comprised of round platters that spin. This is where the data is saved. A motor drives the platters and a reader needle reads and writes to the platter. Much like a needle interacts with the surface of a vinyl record, the reader needles can make tiny scratching sounds as it works. All this noise can combine to make a noisy hard drive.
Quieten a noisy hard drive
There are a couple of things you can do to silence your PC. One is to shift from hard drive to solid state. A solid state drive (SSD) has no moving parts and is made up of a circuit board with memory attached, much like RAM. It is silent in operation and makes no noise whatsoever. The downside is that it is a little more expensive than a traditional HDD. Plus, if your HDD is otherwise working fine, why replace it?
The other way to quiet an HDD is to use a couple of tricks. I use both of these to quiet hard drives for Dave's Computer Repair customers.
The first is to stick the hard drive down. If you have a larger PC case with space on the floor of the case, this method works like a charm. You will need to buy a strip of Velcro from a dressmaker or hobby store to make it work which only costs a couple of dollars.
Stick one side to the underneath of your HDD. Stick the other side to a flat section of your computer case. Stick the two together but be careful to engage the Velcro without pressing down too hard. The Velcro acts as vibration canceling and absorbs the noise. It also keeps the hard drive in place if you need to move your computer.
The second method is to use elastic bands or dressmaker’s elastic strips. Again, this works best if you have space in your computer case. Using the elastic bands or strips, fashion a sling for the hard drive. Fix each end to either side of the hard drive cradle in your case with enough slack to hold the drive without it touching the base. Place the drive inside, connect it up and away you go. The downside to this sling method is you have to secure the drive before moving it.
Do you have any tricks to quieten a noisy hard drive? Tell us in the comments section if you do.
Thank you for reading Dave's Computer Repair Blog, if you ever need computer repair or data recovery assistance give us a call or fill out the contact form on the bottom right of the website.