Best Practices

Best Practices

Before recovery

1. Stop using the affected drive immediately — any write operation may overwrite deleted data
2. Don't install recovery software on the affected drive — install/run it from a different drive
3. Create a disk image first if possible — work on the image, not the original
4. Back up any still-accessible important data first
5. Run ByteRescue as Administrator for physical disk access (the launcher does this automatically — see Installation)
6. Ensure you have a separate destination drive for recovered files

During recovery

1. Use a separate destination drive — never save recovered files back to the source drive (the Recovery Center warns you if you try)
2. Verify file integrity — use the Hex Viewer and SHA-256 hashing before trusting a result
3. Recover the most important files first — prioritize critical documents and irreplaceable files
4. Monitor disk space on the destination drive
5. Check the scan status for progress; pause/resume/stop as needed

After recovery

1. Verify recovered files open correctly
2. Back up important recovered data immediately — don't lose it again
3. Consider that the original drive may be failing and plan for replacement
4. Update your regular backups going forward

Safety and legal

• Legal ownership — only recover data from drives you own or have permission to access
• Privacy — respect privacy laws and data protection regulations
• Forensics — for legal cases, consult digital forensics professionals; ByteRescue is not a certified forensic acquisition tool (see Features)
• Chain of custody — professional data recovery may be needed for legal evidence

When recovery isn't possible

ByteRescue may not be able to recover data in these situations:

• SSD TRIM — modern SSDs permanently erase deleted data
• Overwritten data — new data has overwritten the deleted files
• Physical damage — drive hardware failure requires professional services
• Encrypted drives — BitLocker or other encryption without the key
• Severe corruption — file system damage beyond what signature carving can recover
• RAID arrays — complex RAID configurations require specialized tools

For these cases, consider professional data recovery services (clean-room facilities, specialized equipment) — expensive, but sometimes the only option for physically damaged media.

See also Troubleshooting for specific error messages and fixes.