Steve's TS2 Insider

Q: (from Michael)

As I mentioned my hard drive crashed and took with it several  videos, photos, etc. I went to the Geek Squad and Computer Doctor and they said the drive was toast.  When I slave this drive to another drive, the drive is recognized but indicated as not formatted or corrupt.  From my survey of the internet, I believe the Master Boot record has been corrupted. I should add the drive still spins (I can hear that).  I then was able to load some demo software that allowed me to "see" some of my lost files-but I had to pay to recover them.  Before I pay, I want to get a second opinion from some one that understands file recovery from crashed systems.  The software that seemed to function the best was:

R-studio
Recover my files
I had no luck with Recover my data

A:

If it really is just the Master Boot Record, Microsoft provides free utilities to repair the MBR. You can go to the Microsoft site: http://technet.microsoft.com and search for MBR Repair. We have lots of information and more instructions on how to use our MBR repair tools.

This is a company that does data recovery and has a nice troubleshooting site:

http://www.datarecovery.com.sg/data_recovery/troubleshoot_master_boot_record_corruption.htm.

If you are looking for a professional organization to recover your data: www.ontrack.com is the group that I’ve used in the past. I’ve had them do several successful personal & business recoveries. If they are unable to recover the data, they have a nominal “examination” fee.

Q:

I wanted to see if you could point me in a direction.  I have a customer (law firm) in Pittsburgh that is looking for a solution for email archiving and retrieval.  They want to save the emails even if the user deletes them.  If we only use the tape back-up, that does not catch the ones deleted the same day that they come in and it is not easy to retrieve or search for an email if you have to do a tape restore first.

Is there a link for Microsoft third party solutions?  I am open for any ideas.

A:

I know this is a feature of Exchange 2007 that is part of the Journaling (http://www.microsoft.com/technet/prodtechnol/exchange/2007/productevaluation/features.mspx)

For Exchange 2003, I believe that you can configure the server to archive all of the message traffic, but there aren’t management tools to review/search the archive. However, there appear to be some 3^rd party choices including Alchemy MailStore, GFI MailArichiver, and Quest Archive Manager to name a few. You can find a nice list of 3^rd part products at: http://www.msexchange.org/software/Email-Archive-&-Storage

General Resources

Get TS2 slides and register for future events:
www.ts2seminars.com

Partner membership, benefits, and re‑enrollment questions:
1-800-765-7768 or
mspp-na@microsoft.com

Presales & Partner Support:
1-800-426-9400

Pre-Sales Technical Support:
1-800-Microsoft (642-7676)
Enter Advertisement Code: 2211
Talk to a TPTS Engineer
Use TS2 Promo code: 4774

Business Critical Phone Support:
https://partner.microsoft.com/
global/40010469

Linux and Novel Competitive Opportunity Support:
1-877-244-9543

Free Virus Removal Support:
1-866-PC-SAFETY

Have your customers verify their Windows software is genuine and gain access to free software:
www.microsoft.com/genuine

I Need Education

Become a registered partner:
www.microsoft.com/partners

Keep abreast of security issues:
www.microsoft.com/security

Subscribe to the Partner and Security Newsletters to watch for free training, sales promotions and to be aware of security issues before they become a problem:
https://profile.microsoft.com

 Subscribe to the Action Pack:
https://partners.microsoft.com/
actionpack

Attend two free partner webinars every month:
www.msreadiness.com

Find out about other Microsoft events in your area:
www.microsoft.com/events

Attend one free Technet webinar every month:
www.microsoft.com/technet/
community/webcasts/
default.mspx

Engage the customer community via local user groups:
www.microsoft.com/mindshare

Talk to peers via SBS user groups:
http://usa.culminis.com/

I Want More Business

1)   Be a registered partner

2)   Subscribe to the Action Pack (for IT pros) or Empower (for developers)

3)    Take the Small Business Sales and Marketing Assessment

4)   Pass exam
70-282 or 74-134

5)   Register at:
https://partner.microsoft.com/40021525

Join ASCII or CompTIA to find other businesses with complementary skills:
www.ascii.com
www.comptia.org