Logical Corruption
Logical damage or logical corruption refers to drives or media in which the error that causes the data loss is not a problem with the hardware and a software solution can recover the data. Software recovery varies on the issue but frequently is because of deleted files, lost partition tables or corrupt file systems, formatted drives, viruses. In the majority of these cases, the data can be recovered.
What causes software data loss?
Deleting files accidentally is one of the biggest things I see. Users do not mean to delete a file and sometimes realize it right away or sometimes much later. This typically users delete files or folders and then empty the recycle bin.
Viruses and malware or malicious software are accounting for an increase in data recoveries in the last few years. Malware is incredibly sophisticated and in cases like Cyptolocker will hold your data for ransom.
Other common issues are a partitioning error, a drive that was accidentally formatted, lost partition tables, or corrupt file systems
Professional data recovery services are now available.
What data is recoverable?
Typically all data is recoverable unless it is securely destroyed or overwritten. I can recover data from Windows, Mac, Linux, smartphones, tablets, USB flash drives, SSD, external hard drives, CD/DVDs, laptop and desktop computers, and more. I also can recover from many file systems including NTFS, FAT, exFAT, HFS, HFS+, HFS, and HFS+.
How do I know if I need a software recovery?
The hard drive or media will need a data recovery diagnostic for me to be able to tell for certain but I would estimate 50 percent of the disk recovery projects I receive can be repaired with software only. The remaining 50 percent have a hardware issue (hardware only or hardware combined with software).