This problem proves to be quite irksome and may even prove to be disastrous if one happens to lose some data that is important for their business. Therefore, data recovery services or software is the need of the day. But, often an inexperienced computer user may get confused while making the choice between data recovery software and services, not realizing the differences between the two. To help you choose between these options, let us have a look at the pros and cons of each of them.
Data Recovery Software
Advantages
A wide variety of data recovery software is easily available on the internet. Some of the companies may even offer free downloads. Many times, trial versions of the software are available which will allow you to scan your hard drive and come up with a list of files that it can recover from it.
The main advantage of data recovery software is that it is inexpensive especially in comparison to data recovery services.
Another advantage of data recovery software is that over the years it has become user-friendly and can be easily used by people who do not have advanced knowledge about computers. The installation of the software and the recovery of your data can be achieved in just a few clicks of the mouse.
Some quality data recovery software provides 24 hour technical support through a helpline where customers can call if they are having problems with the concerned software.
There are various types of data recovery software available in the market that will help you recover data present in corrupted or deleted files, from formatted hard drives, deleted partitions etc. Thus, a user can choose the appropriate one depending on his needs.
Some companies return your money if their software fails to recover data for you. One should keep a lookout for such offers while buying data recovery software.
Disadvantages
major disadvantage of data recovery software is that not all of them function satisfactorily. Many of the free ones may not recover your data at all while others may recover only part of the files. Many of the fake data recovery software available online may contain worms or adware. Thus, they prove to be more annoying than helpful.
Some of the software may even modify or overwrite the data that is present on your computer. Thus, the data will be lost permanently.
The data recovery software can only recover data that has been lost due to logical damage and will not be useful to recover data from a physically damaged hard drive.
Some unscrupulous software companies may provide false reviews on their websites about their software in order to lure individuals into buying it.
Data Recovery Services
Advantages
major advantage of data recovery services is that recovery of data is practically guaranteed if the damage in your device is logical. They can even recover data from physically damaged hard drives in most of the cases.
A wide variety of services is available depending on the type of hardware you use.
If you need to use data recovery services frequently, you can sign a contact with some of the companies. This will help you save some of your money.
Once data recovery services of a company have been hired, you do not need to make any further efforts in order to recover your data.
Most of the companies offer free estimates and charge only if they are able to recover your data.
Disadvantages
The cost of data recovery services is significantly higher than that of data recovery software. Hence, most of the home based users and small firms will not be able to afford the same.
After purchasing the data recovery software you can use it multiple times. However, for data recovery service, you would be required to pay every time you avail to their service.
The Final Word
Thus, it can be seen that the choice between data recovery services and software depends largely on the importance of the data that has been lost. Apart from this, one should make proper enquiries about a service or software, read reviews in magazines or the internet and consult people who have made use of it before choosing a particular one.