Note that this information reflects data recoverability in general and  is -not- limited to
DIY DataRecovery.nl products, it applies to file recovery software in general.

Use the tables below to get some idea if data is recoverable in your scenario. Under no circumstances can the recovery of intact data be guaranteed, information below is provided as a general guideline only. 

Do not assume anything about the integrity of a file that has been restored. Even though a file appears to copy successfully using any file recovery software, this does not necessarily mean that its contents are intact. Files that are deleted may have been overwritten with other file data, and corrupt files may contain invalid data. You should examine salvaged data carefully to ensure that it is intact and complete. 

Whatever file recovery software you decide on, try a demo first! A demo run will give you a good idea of what the program can do for you. In the case of our iRecover for instance: the iRecover demo allows you to analyze the damaged disks and/or volumes to determine if anything can be salvaged. The same goes for DiskPatch; running the demo and analyzing the disk will give an idea of whether volumes can be repaired or not. In addition, the DiskPatch demo allows you to create a support analysis log that we can analyze for you, so we can give you tailor-made advice.

The following tables can be used to determine the probable quality of the recovered data when doing a logical recovery: that is, the disk is not physically damaged and where possible files are restored including the full file path (unlike RAW recovery which uses a file signature scan).

The 'Tool' column suggests one or more DIY DataRecovery.nl products that you could use to recover your data from a specific damage type:

1 - DiskPatch
2 - iRecover

* - The degree of fragmentation is a major influence in case of a damaged FAT. From the table it is easy to tell that the quality of the FAT has a big influence on the quality of the recovery. Most common scenarios leading to data loss (being file deletion and accidental formatting) erase FAT information! In the event of absent FAT data only un-fragmented files can be recovered intact.

* - As it is unlikely that the entire MFT is damaged we can assume that a significant amount of data can still be recovered: 'Fair' is a conservative estimation, in many cases 'Good' is more likely! From the table it is easy to tell that the quality of the MFT has the biggest influence on the quality of the recovery.