Accidents happen. Computers can be fragile, but keeping calm can keep the damage to a minimum.
If your computer was knocked over, dropped, or otherwise experienced a significant impact,
DO NOT POWER IT BACK ON.
It can be tempting to turn the computer on to make sure everything works, but a damaged computer trying to boot up may cause further data corruption. Report damage to Kean-issued computers by filing a ticket. Unfortunately, personally owned devices cannot be serviced by OCIS due to our policies and should be brought to a commercial tech support or data recovery business.
Can my data be saved?
When physical damage is involved, there's no guarantee that data will be retrievable. However, a few factors can contribute to the degree of data loss:
- Whether the computer was running when it was damaged. A computer that was running may be damaged more severely.
- Whether the computer has a hard drive for storage (HDD) or a solid state drive (SSD). Typically, SSDs have less space but are more resistant to damage from impact.
- Whether the computer was turned on after the damage. If damage was done to the device's storage parts, then running the computer again may cause further damage.
The only way to guarantee the safety of your files is to keep regular back-ups that you can restore in the event of data loss. For more information on how to back up your files, see our Solutions database.