Hurricanes- (The Weather Phenomenon, not the Hockey Team) and Hard Drives

Wow- where do I begin? The Hurricane Season is just getting warmed up, so I wanted to take a moment to discuss what these monsters can do to hard drives. Most people who must leave their home or business as part of a hurricane evacuation are in such a hurry they totally forget about their computer systems. Laptops are easy- just chunk 'em in the car with you and everything will be ok....but it's not that easy with desktops and servers.

Really- you should be regularly backing up your data and storing the backup offsite or online. But according to a survey by Symantec & Harris Interactive of over 2400 users, only 57% actually backup their data. But we'll save that for another day.............

So what should you do with your computer if you're in the path of a Hurricane? The first choice would be to take the entire system with you. Of course if you are in the danger zone and fear for your safety, you must evacuate immediately and forget about your computer. That's what data recovery companies are for.....but if you have some time to prepare, try to take it with you if you can. If you cannot lift the equipment, then you could open the computer and take the hard drive(s) out. Place the drive in an antistatic bag or ziplock bag. If you have to leave your computer behind, you should try to cover any vents/open areas on your computer with tape and also the entire computer in plastic bags to keep water from seeping inside.

So what does a flooded hard drive look like? (not pretty)

Flooded drives suffer from major corrosion due to the dirt and debris that settles after the floodwater recedes. But no matter how bad things look- even if your hard drive is dripping water- ReWave can help.

ReWave has an area dedicated specifically to flood damaged hard drives. Our hurricane procedures start with teaching you how to package a drive damaged by flooding. Once flooded hard drives arrive at our lab, our team of engineers can begin the process of recovering data. About 80% of the water damaged hard drives we get in are recoverable.

Contact ReWave toll-free at 866-739-2835 or 704-262-7779. We offer free 24 hour data recovery service.