Kroll Ontrack Offering $850 Data Recovery Discount

Kroll Ontrack Inc. is offering free diagnosis and an $850 flat fee for data recovery of all desktops, laptops and USBs affected by the tornado in Oklahoma. This offer runs through July.

Valuable information is stored on business and personal computers and laptops – critical financial information, irreplaceable and sentimental photos, videos, music, tax forms, contact lists, and passwords. In fact, experts predict that 99% of all information is now stored electronically and much of this information is not backed-up. When natural disasters occur, it can cause devastating data loss scenarios. This fact is reinforced by the increase in the number of jobs Kroll Ontrack receives following natural disasters.

"The widespread power outages caused by heavy storms poses a major threat to business and personal property, and can cause devastating data loss scenarios," said Todd Johnson, VP of operations, Kroll Ontrack. "While many possessions can be replaced, and are usually covered by insurance, the same cannot be said for digital data."

The extent of damage to digital files and information stored on HDDs will remain unknown until power is restored. Fortunately, the majority of digital data can be recovered from water-damaged or power-affected drives with the help of data recovery software and or services.

"When we learned Hurricane Sandy was approaching, we sprang into action and made a backup of all of our servers to be on the safe side," said Mukesh Trived, IT manager, Modernfold Styles. "However, we couldn’t have predicted that the river half a mile from our office would have flooded to the extent it did, leaving all of our servers and our backup tapes submerged in 28 inches of water. I found Kroll Ontrack through an Internet search, and it is a good thing I did. They were able to recover 100% of Modernfold Styles’ data, an office space design company that has been in business since 1957. Without their efforts and success, we would have to rebuild our business from scratch."

Kroll Ontrack also recommends that victims fearing loss of their vital information consider the following before assuming that the damage is permanent:

• Never assume that data is unrecoverable, no matter what it has been through;
• Do not shake, disassemble or attempt to clean any HDD or server that has been damaged – improper handling can make recovery operations more difficult which can lead to valuable information being lost;
• Never attempt to dry water-damaged media by opening it or exposing it to heat – such as that from a hairdryer;
• Do not attempt to operate visibly damaged devices;
• Do not attempt to freeze-dry media;
• Do not use common software utility programs on broken or water-damaged devices;
• If you are dealing with large servers, make sure they have adequate air conditioning. Increases in computer processor speed have resulted in more power requirements, which in turn require better cooling -e specially important during the summer months;
• Invest in some form of UPS, which uses batteries to keep computers running during power outages. UPS systems also help manage an orderly shutdown of the computer – unexpected shutdowns from power surge problems can cause data loss;
• Check protection devices regularly: At least once a year you should inspect your power protection devices to make sure that they are functioning properly. Most good ones will have a signaling light to tell you when they are protecting your equipment properly;
• For mission critical situations, contact a data recovery professional before any attempts are made to reconfigure, reinstall or reformat.