Itek Computer Solutions Kendal, Cumbria and Lancaster : Specialising in IT Support, Consultancy, Network Installations, Apple Macs, Microsoft and Data Recovery

Data recovery

OK, so you have had “sort back –up of data” on your To Do list for months now but never quite got round to it. Or you thought your data was being backed up each day but when it all goes wrong you realise that your back-up wasn’t working. Loss of data can be absolutely catastrophic to you or your business, so what can you do when it all goes wrong.?

There are many types of damage that can cause you to lose all or some of your data. The most common are:

Fire damage, water damage, impact damage, DIY data recovery gone wrong, animals, overwriting data, accidentally deleting data, OS failure, Hard disk failure, media storage failure.

Whatever the cause and extent of the damage your data can often be recovered when you think all is lost.

Data recovery is basically the process of recovering data from damaged, failed or corrupted hard disks or storage devices. Often the data needs to be salvaged from internal or external hard disk drives (HDD), solid state drives (SSD), USB flash, storage tapes, CDs, DVDs, RAID, and other electronics.

Recovery may be required due to physical damage to the storage device or logical damage to the file system that prevents it from being accessed by the operating system (OS).

OS failure
The most common “data recovery” scenario involves an OS failure – typically on a single-disk, or partition, in which case the goal is simply to copy all wanted files to another disk.

Disk failure
Another scenario involves a disk-level failure where the data cannot be easily read. Recovering data in this case typically involves repairing the file system or hard disk recovery techniques ranging from software-based recovery of corrupted data to hardware replacement on a physically damaged disk.

The latter process can often be expensive because technicians may need to disassemble your hard drive to fix the problem. Hard drive data recovery is usually done in a ‘clean room’ as hard drives are sealed to avoid errors caused by dust or other particles. Also hard drives are finely tuned machinery and it takes specialist equipment to read the platters from a physically damaged drive.

Recovering accidentally deleted data
We’ve all done it, accidentally deleted files and then emptied the recycle bin. However if this happens it can often be recovered.

Another very common scenario is when files have been accidentally “deleted” from a storage device. Usually, these deleted files are not erased immediately; initially references to them in the directory structure are removed, and the space they occupy is made available for later overwriting. If you realise that you’ve accidentally deleted files early enough the original files can often be restored.

Whatever the cause of data loss we are experts in helping you to fix the problem and in many situations, recover the lost data. If you have the need for data recovery due to any of the above then get in touch with us as soon as you can and we may be able to help you.

If this happens it may also highlight the need for you to review your back-up systems, something else we are experienced in and can help you to set up and run.

Call us on 01539 898125 or email us at info@itekcomputersolutions.co.uk to see how we can help you with your data recovery needs.

Mac OS X Lion – one week on what do we think?

So here at iTek we’ve been using Mac’s newest OS release – OS X Lion for a week now and thought it high time we shared our first impressions.

Let’s start by saying that in OS X Lion Apple really have created the ultimate operating system. It includes hundreds of major improvements and minor tweaks that together make this is the most convenient, powerful and easy to use OS ever. In other words WE LOVE IT.

In this post we’ll just be looking at the headline features and changes that make this such a great upgrade. Over the coming weeks we’ll dig deeper and show you just how to get the most out of it.

There are a few things you should know about OS X Lion – it’s more powerful, and much more flexible than previous operating systems. It’s also and easy to learn – no steep learning curve, and come with literally hundreds of new features.
Here are some of the new things we really like about Lion.

More powerful flexible and feature packed.
OS X Lion comes built-in apps that let you hit the ground running as soon as you start using it.

Preview app – Lion now lets you display and print Microsoft Office and iWork documents in addition to PDFs and most other graphic formats, without having to install specific third party software.

AirDrop – a great new feature that allows you to copy files to other nearby Macs wirelessly – even if both machines are on different networks.

Copying folders and files – when you copy one folder over another with the same name, Lion now lets you choose whether to merge or replace the existing folder instead of simply overwriting the existing folder and all its contents.  This is also now the case with copying files with the same name.

Easier to use and more flexible interface – The interface now includes some really useful and easy to use features taken from the iOS operating system used in the iPhone and iPad.

Full-screen apps - At long last, OS X Lion now lets you go full screen, something that Windows has had for years. So if that was why you resisted the move to a Mac you now have no excuse!

Auto save- Lion’s has borrowed this feature from iOS, it automatically saves and resumes your applications exactly where you left off, so you never have to worry about losing your work.

Versions – keeps a history of your document as you work and presents it in a timeline you can browse. A really useful feature, especially for designers!

Resume – reopens an app exactly as you left it.

Multitouch gestures- used for navigating between windows and within documents, just like with the iPad and iPhone.

Learning curve is almost flat
If you’re upgrading from OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard there is almost no learning curve to worry about.

Making it easy
Apple’s most obvious goal in Lion was making things easy for beginners. Two new features go a long way toward achieving that goal – Mission Control and Launchpad.

Mission Control – is an easy to use feature that gives you a single-screen overview of everything that’s happening on your Mac. You can now also create as many virtual desktops as you can keep track of. You can also bind apps to a specific desktop – a great feature to improve organisation and work efficiency.

LaunchPad –  This is a simple grid-like display of icons that can launch all your applications. This works just like the home page and subsequent pages of the iPad or iPhone.

Are there any issues upgrading from Snow Leopard to Lion?
The only issue we’ve found will be for anyone who uses apps originally written for the old PowerPC  (pre 2005). These ran on a compatibility layer called Rosetta which has now been completely dropped in Lion. As a result PowerPC -only apps no longer run. We can check your software prior to upgrade and will let you know if this is an issue for you.

So in summary:

The good bits

• Easier to use and more powerful than any previous Mac OS.
• Packed with loads of great new features like automatic file-saving and resume.
• LaunchPad and Mission Control add really useful functionality.
• Multiple versions of documents saved automatically.
• View and print Microsoft Office documents with no extra software.
• Interface improvements throughout.
• Well-designed trackpad “gestures” for navigation.
• Full screen apps… at last!
• Airdrop
• Price – £20.99

The not so good
No support for old PowerPC-platform apps.

What should you do now – upgrade of course!
Unless you have very strong reasons for using anything else, you really ought to use OS X Lion. Get in touch with us and we can talk about updating your system with this great new upgrade from Apple. OS X Lion really has reset the bar as the best operating system ever.

Call us on 01539 898125 or email us at info@itekcomputersolutions.co.uk to arrange your upgrade.

ADSL 2+ now available through iTek

There is some great news for businesses in our area! iTek can now provide Broadband speeds up to 20MB with ADSL 2+. Great I hear you say, but what does that mean and why should I be upgrading? Here we’ve tried to answer a few possible questions you may have.

What is ADSL 2+ and how does it work?
OK, without getting too technical it is a broadband technology that can provide download speeds of up to 20Mb and upload speeds of up to 2.5Mb *

Why is this important for my business?
It’s great news as it means you will be able to download and upload files much more quickly, making everything you do online more efficient. Also, if you currently received lower broadband speeds due to being a long way from your local telephone exchange, ADSL 2+ should also enable you to get a much faster broadband speed.

Will it speed up the all things I do online?
Yes it will, but as well as making working online even faster,  it will mean you are ready for the new and exciting online services being introduced all the time, all of which need a super-fast connection to run on.

Do ADSL2+ speeds go up and down?
Yes, just like with normal broadband, ADSL 2+ broadband is affected by a number things. These include:

• Distance from the local telephone exchange/length of the copper wire from your address to the exchange
• Quality of the copper phone line
• Demand at peak times
• Bad weather
• Electrical interference from outside sources

In the first 10 days after upgrading there is a period of “training” where BT run tests on the line, helping to make sure the service is stable and delivering reliable speeds.

Will my existing router/modem be OK to use with ADSL2+, or do I need a new one?
Your router/modem may already be compatible with ADSL2+, however we’ll check and let you know.  You might find that a router/modem that’s built specifically for ADSL2+ will be the best option to get the highest broadband speeds.

How do I order this upgrade?
That’s easy, simply call us on 01539 898125 or send an email to info@itekcomputersolutions.co.uk saying you’re interested in upgrading and we’ll get back to you to discuss your options.

*Note: these are maximum speeds. There are a number of factors that may determine whether the maximum speeds are available to you. We will be able to advise you on this prior to upgrade.

Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday dear iTek, Happy Birthday to you!

Yes, that’s right, iTek is officially 1 year old today! It’s been a great first year and the team would like to thank all our customers and friends for supporting us and sticking by us for our first year trading.

Here’s to the future and another good year for iTek and all we work with!!

Although iTek have been supporting the IT systems for Tech Soft 3D (EMEA) here in the UK for some time now we have been asked to help plan and implement a brand new multi-national network infrastructure.

This will involve migrating the Tech Soft 3D USA offices away from their current Linux infrastructure towards a Microsoft Server 2008 and Microsoft Exchange 2010 infrastructure for the company that will span and link their 5 geographical locations; Berkeley (CA USA), Bend (OR USA), Staveley (UK), Lyon (France) and Tokyo (Japan).

We are currently working closely with the IT Manager over in Berkeley and the UK team based here in Staveley to make this happen and have a full ‘go live’ date of 16th January 2011.

iTek have expanded again……..we have just taken on a new client in Newcastle; The company is called Threepwood Consulting Ltd.

The brief was to create a ‘virtual office’ environment so that all employees could quickly and easily access data and e-mail from where ever they were in the world. iTek rose to the challenge and implemented a centralised e-mail, data, security and remote access server in conjunction with a Terminal Server as to provide the ‘virtual office’ capability.

Everything went in smoothly and to plan and we are pleased to say that the system is working flawlessly for Threepwood.

The iPad – iTek are the first IT company in the UK to be the proud owner of an Apple iPad!!!

(more…)

iTek are continuing to grow! – we have just taken on our first client in London; Plumptons PMS Ltd. Plumptons are a digital printing company based in Hoddesdon, Hertfordshire and have approached us with regards to upgrading and supporting their current Microsoft Server, Client PC’s and Printer infrastructure.

After an initial meeting in London, iTek are acting as Plumptons full outsourced IT department making site visits every 3 months and performing weekly server and client machine maintenance and checks…………London here we come!!