Unluckily i formated my drive and trying to recover my valuable data but not able to get recoverable files. so i am trying to recover by using various data recovery software several times. so my question is, will my hard drive life is reduced or harmed by trying to recover data several times like 100 times. help me
If the reason for data recovery is because the drive was formatted then repeated recovery attempts will not harm the drive.
Files of any importance require at least one backup copy while those that are particularly important need 2 or more backup copies. There are many ways that data can be lost and maintaining backups is the only real security for your data. Having no backups is asking for trouble.
Nothing about data recovery is guaranteed to work.
You can assume the normal life expectancy of a hard drive used in a desktop running 24*7 to be 5 years.
Calculate the number of hours. Now calculate the number of hours you have tried using a Data Recovery Software. By that many hours its lifetime is going to be reduced but it is going to be a miniscule part of the total lifetime.( Having said that, hard disk failures can happen anytime.)
So if data is important for you, go ahead do it any number of times.
To avoid worrying about like this, atleast in future, start backing up your data. Be more prudent.:) Prevention is better than cure.
If multiple attempts with different recovery tools cannot recover your data then it is most likely non-recoverable. If the cause of the problem is software related then these attempts will do little harm.
IMPORTANT: But if the problem is failing hardware that is a different matter entirely. Failing HD hardware tends to become progressively worse with continued use, and that time is often short. You often have only a small window of opportunity to recover the data before DIY recovery becomes impossible, if it is possible at all. Sometimes a drive has physical problems and the owner tries multiple software recovery methods until the drive is so seriously damaged that even professional data recovery becomes impossible.
Many people ignore warning signs until the problems become serious. At that point it may be too late for recovery. And in many cases drives fail with no warning at all. I once had a drive only a few years old that was working fine with no known issues. Next morning it wasn't even recognized by the BIOS.
But of course prevention is always better than recovery after the fact. That means making backups of all important files before problems develop. It is not a a matter of if something happens but when and you need to be prepared. If you have a backup a drive failure is only an inconvenience. You will save hours in attempted recovery that may eventually prove futile.
Edit: The problem is that the people that really need to know this won't see it until it is too late. They will continue to store critical data on a hard drive (or even a flash drive) with never a thought of making a backup. Then something happens and in desperation they ask for help. I have seen this many times on forums. Many of these stories do not have a happy ending.
Quote