Ontrack Blog

Can I recover my data from a physically damaged hard drive?

Ontrack — Wed, 11 Mar 2026 13:25:22 GMT

Has your hard drive ever fallen from your desk? Or have you ever accidentally dropped it? Scenarios like these could cause a hard drive to experience physical media damage (PMD) and as a result, lose data. But, believe it or not, your data may still be recoverable if your hard drive is suffering from physical damage.

Data Recovery Innovation Driven by Real World Demand | Ontrack

Ontrack — Tue, 10 Mar 2026 14:34:16 GMT

For over four decades, Ontrack has built its reputation on one principle: when data loss becomes complex, our tools must evolve even faster. Since 1985, our engineering teams have continuously expanded and refined our proprietary recovery technologies — often developing Just InTime (JIT) tooling to address unique, highstakes data loss scenarios for customers around the world.

Checklist: What to do in case of data loss?

Ontrack — Tue, 10 Mar 2026 14:03:52 GMT

1. Do not change anything about the current situation

Stop working and turn off the affected device. In the event of (incipient) physical damage, the medium and the data stored on it may be damaged beyond repair if you continue working. Of course, this is troublesome in a server or virtual environment. Do not write data away or install software on a system from which data needs to be restored. Overwritten data is lost forever.

Data Restoration vs. Data Recovery: What’s the Difference and Why It Matters | Ontrack

Ontrack — Fri, 06 Mar 2026 15:22:36 GMT

Data Restoration vs. Data Recovery: What’s the Difference and Why It Matters

In today’s digital landscape, data loss can strike at any moment, whether due to hardware failure, human error, or a malicious cyberattack. When disaster hits, two terms often come up: data restoration and data recovery. While they may sound similar, they refer to very different processes, and understanding the distinction can make all the difference in how quickly and effectively you bounce back.

How to recover data from a broken or damaged hard drive?

Ontrack — Tue, 20 Jan 2026 13:37:38 GMT

Like all components of a computer, the hard disk can fail, and there are many causes. A hard drive failure often prevents access to files that are, in most cases, recoverable. Read more to find out how to recover your data from a damaged hard drive.

Physical hard drive failure and data recovery

Unable to save files? If you cannot write to your hard drive, it has probably failed or in the process of failing. Data is then often becomes inaccessible, so as a priority back-up any data that you can. If your data is inaccessible, contrary to what you might think, data can still be recoverable, even in the event of a physical failure. Before going into detail about the recovery solutions, let's look back at the possible causes of failure.

6 Tips to Prevent Data Loss in Your RAID-based Storage Array

Ontrack — Thu, 08 Jan 2026 12:35:19 GMT

Since the introduction of the concept of RAID, it has redefined how storage systems manage and store data. The basic concept of this technology is actually quite simple: A RAID array is a configuration of many different physical hard disks that together create the used RAID architecture (RAID 0, 1, 5 etc.). The RAID architecture then distributes data over all disks because the RAID is one single disk to the operating system.

Even though the different RAID-levels have certain protection mechanisms against data loss due to physical failure of one or more hard disks, the technology is not bullet proof. Therefore, it’s wise to prepare yourself against data loss when using a RAID array and at least consider the following tips.

How can I recover data from a computer that won't boot?

Ontrack — Wed, 07 Jan 2026 13:00:43 GMT

There are several possible causes of start-up problems. Your computer may no longer start up. Or the PC may turn on, but Windows won't boot.

Finally, there are cases where the computer simply won't turn on. In either case, the question is whether the data is still recoverable. It very well could be, and here's how.

How to fix an unrecognised USB drive

Ontrack — Tue, 11 Nov 2025 10:54:28 GMT

The USB key is a practical way of storing and transporting data. Unfortunately, it is sometimes not recognised, and the data it holds becomes inaccessible. Find out why this happens and how to recover your data.

7 Deadly Threats to Your Tape Accessibility

Ontrack — Thu, 13 Feb 2025 10:41:38 GMT

Is your tape storage practice similar to that of most people? You might be ‘following the rules’ and making sure you regularly copy the company data into tapes, which you then diligently store and forget about for the next few years. However, those tapes store important information which you might have to access at the most unexpected moment. Would you be able to quickly find any requested information at the drop of a pin?

DIN 66399 Standard for Shredder Devices & Services: Clear & Easy

Ontrack — Thu, 28 Nov 2024 07:56:32 GMT

Anyone who has data media destroyed using a shredder, or plans to purchase a shredder themselves, should carefully study the DIN 66399 standards. Not every shredder, or shredding service provider, fulfills the necessary devices or safety certifications for the reliable destruction of the respective data media.