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Computer Rage, Human Error, and Natural Disasters 
are behind Top Worldwide Data Recovery Requests

MINNEAPOLIS - Nov. 10, 2004 - Ontrack Data Recovery has unveiled its 
annual Top Ten list of the strangest and funniest computer mishaps. 

The global poll of Ontrack’s experts uncovered the best examples of 
bizarre data disappearances taken from the thousands of recovery jobs 
Ontrack processed this year. In all incidences, Ontrack recovered the 
data, by either working on the computers or media/storage devices in 
their labs and cleanrooms, or by using its patented Remote Data 
Recovery technology.


The Ontrack 2004 Top Ten List of Data Disasters


 1. Data Defrost - One man brought in a hard drive in a wet plastic bag.
    He said he had read on the Internet that if you place a broken drive
    in the freezer it would fix it. So he tried that method and asked 
    the recovery engineers not to laugh.

 2. Reckless Recycling - One man tidied up his computer folders and 
    inadvertently deleted the ones he meant to keep. He then cleaned up
    his system, emptied the recycle bin and defragged the hard drive 
    before realizing his error. He now triple-checks files before 
    deleting them for good.

 3. Rowdy Relatives - A man suddenly found his laptop would only boot up
    to the 'blue screen of death,' putting his data at risk. A week 
    later, his nephew admitted that he used its screen as a punching bag
    to relieve his frustrations with the slow computer. The man sent his
    nephew back to live with his parents.

 4. Digital Disaster at 19,000 Feet - The Polish explorer, Krystof 
    Wielicki, dropped his digital camera when climbing the Himalayas on
    his latest expedition, smashing it to smithereens and damaging the 
    memory card in the process.

 5. Gone in a Flash - One medical company worker completed 
    1,200 customer billing entries - a process that took several days - 
    when lightning struck the transformer outside the building. 
    Everything was gone, including all the bills she had just prepared.

 6. Baby Blues - One couple had hundreds of pictures of their baby's 
    first three months on their computer. When a virus struck their PC, 
    the computer manufacturer advised them to reload the operating system
    but they forgot to save the data.

 7. Construction Calamity - During the construction of a large office 
    building, a steel beam fell on a laptop computer containing the 
    building plans, crushing the laptop.

 8. Toilet Trauma - One man became so mad with his malfunctioning laptop
    computer, he threw it into the toilet and flushed a couple of times.

 9. Road Kill - A woman placed her laptop on top of her car while she 
    got in. She forgot about the laptop, which slid off the back of her
    car, and she then reversed straight over it and reported hearing 
    a 'crunch.'

10. Runway Wreckage - A laptop computer was run over by an airplane. 
    Even Ontrack's recovery engineers don't understand how it happened, 
    but that was the customer's explanation. 


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[Lifted off www.ontrack.com]

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