When you experience a hard drive crash you need a simple solution, either with a recovery service or do-it-yourself software. An easy to use, uncomplicated software package that recovers your data is far better than a complicated, hard to use software package that recovers your data.

Different types of things can cause your data to be lost. Accidentally deleting your documents, a virus attack, even hardware failure can cause a crash. Maybe that backup you have been doing is getting stale, and is weeks out of date, so restoring from backup isn't really an option. Whatever the situation you still need to recover your valuable data, as lost time is money.

Using a data recovery program means that most if not all of your data can be easily recovered. Most versions of data recovery software also support recovering data from different file systems, so you should verify that the software will at least support the following:

• NTFS or New Technology File System: Used by Windows NT and its derivative operating systems, including XP and Windows Server.
• FAT/FAT32: File Allocation Table based file systems are used by MS-DOS and earlier versions of Windows. It's also used by most of the different types of Flash Storage media.
• Joliet: Windows bases file system used on CD Media.
• UFS: Unix File System, used on many CD recordable and DVD media.

Insuring maximum compatibility means that you won't have to deal with the most common data recovery errors, such as not preserving file attributes or long file names. The interface on most new software is very easy to use, so even a novice can recover data or fix and contain bad sectors on your hard drive. Programs such as these can restore corrupted boot sectors and startup files, which will enable you to fix windows when it won't boot.

If you don't feel you have the skill or your hard drive has a mechanical failure, many data recovery services are available. Their customer support staff is trained to make your data recovery experience as painless as possible. These services can be a bit expensive, so you need to evaluate how valuable your data really is before you use them. They specialize in fixing crashed hard drives and other damaged media and were invaluable during the aftermath of hurricane Katrina's flood damage. Most data recovery services work closely with the major hard drive manufacturers, allowing them to open the drives and not void the warranty.

Bad things happen. Don't lose your cool when your documents disappear. As easy as it is to recover your data with the new crop of software and services that are available, your files are safe. It doesn't matter how your data was lost. Fire, flood, bad hard drive, power surge, or even accidental deletion, it IS recoverable.

Whether you just use your computer primarily to surf the web, or you are a more advanced user whose computer propels a business, at some point in time you will probably find the need for data recovery software. Since the majority of computers are now running Windows XP, the focus of this article will be selecting data recovery that's XP compatible. There are literally hundreds of different types of recovery software, so it might be wise to take a little time in advance of a crash to evaluate and select the package that's right for you.

The following are the most common situations causing data loss:

• User Error
• Operating System Corruption
• Virus Attack
• Hard Disk Failure
• Inadvertent Deletion
• Accidental Reformat or Partitioning

When one of these disasters occur, it's very important to have the proper software on hand to recover from it. If you attempt to install additional software on your computer after a failure, you run the risk of overwriting your data or causing your drive to completely fail. Not having your software pre-installed can cause additional down time. It's also a good idea to pull the drive from the computer it originally was in, and put it either in another machine or an external housing. This keeps the operating system from writing any other data to the drive and possibly overwriting your existing data, also preventing any boot problems from complicating the situation.

First of all, you need to ascertain what type of damage has been done to your data. Physical damage can't be repaired with a software solution. If it's a logical data failure, software would be a good place to start. Since you're not doing this after the fact, you have some time to properly choose the right package. Pick a full featured solution, not just one that does un-deletes. Look for features such as format and partition recovery, and multiple file system support. Another useful feature is the ability to work with flash drives and cd/dvd recordable media. Simple file un-deletion should be just a matter of course. Make sure the software will work with USB and FireWire external drives.

Features shouldn't be your only criteria for choosing the software. Look for quality of support, the best way to find this is by checking the online forums for the manufacturer. Check for success stories as well as a complaint, customer input is the best source for information of this type. Computer magazines frequently do stories rating utility software, so that's another good source to check out.

As I always recommend, back up your files frequently, and have a disaster recovery plan in place before you need it. It will save both time and money.