Mar 11 2003
DataRescue
1% of people of computer users religiously backup… The rest of us live freely
most of the time, but every once in a while when we come to the point of data
loss we want to put a few slugs in: that 1%, those that aren’t having computer
problems, and
our own
heads. I’ve lost data. You’ve probably lost data. It’s an all around sad event.
Here’s a program that can literally save you.
After I lost a drive with about 5 gigs of MP3′s I went hunting for something
to help prevent it happening in the future. Welcome to DataRescue. This is
a really hard review to write, and I’ve taken way too long doing so, but it’s
one of those things you have to wait until you’re dead in the water before
you can know if it works. Well ladies and gentlemen, it does.
This is not one of those, "Find erased files" programs. Get Norton for that.
This is a, "My drive won’t mount… I have 7 years of writing on it–and I need
that data by tomorrow" sort of program. If you’ve got a sputtering drive, you
cannot afford to wait a second. Get your data off ASAP. This program is excellent
at getting data off, even in horrible situations.
Also, DataRescue doesn’t attempt to fix a drive–just get stuff off
it. You should run it before a program that attempts to repair. As
you might know, if a failing drive is just a few minutes from dying completely,
running a diagnostic that really puts it through its paces is a BAD idea. Too
much data has been lost this way.
I would recommend everyone to go get this app and keep it on CD for that bad
day, but it’s sort of expensive… $89. Obviously your data is worth more than
that, but this is one of those apps you hope you never need. If you’ve got
the cash, by all means make a good investment. If you don’t, download the trial
and when you are in despair, plunk down the bucks.