Hard drives : Data Recovery FileWhether you store files on a hard drive, floppy disk, or other external storage device like a Zip Drive, USB drive, compact flash card, or other media, the way in which the computer stores your data is essentially the same. For the purpose of this article will talk about data recovery for hard drives but the principals can be applied to most storage media.
A hard drive contains a number of disks called 'platters'. These platters are coated with a magnetic substance. The platters spin at high speed under an mechanical arm (the 'actuator' arm) that moves backwards and forwards over the surface of each platter. On the end of this metallic arm is a small copper wire. The computer sends a pulse through this wire which changes the state of the magnetic surface of a platter as it passes underneath. In this way the files that you store on your computer are encoded into the magnetic substance.