ASTM International is one of those organizations that have had a huge effect on consumer’s lives and those consumers may not even be aware of its existence.

Formerly known as the American Society for Testing and Materials and now called ASTM International, this organization is a globally recognized leader in the development and delivery of international consensus standards. Today over 12,000 ASTM standards are used all over the globe to improve product quality, enhance safety, facilitate market access and trade and build consumer confidence. ASTM has been in operation since 1898 and its members include over 30,000 technical experts from 135 different countries.

What is an international standard? It is a document that has been developed and established within the consensus principles of the organization and meets the requirements of ASTM procedures and regulations. Full consensus standards are developed with the participation of all parties that have a stake in the standards’ development and/or use. ASTM has no role in requiring compliance or enforcement of their standards but they may become mandatory when referenced by an external contact, corporation or government.

Where and how do people use ASTM standards? These standards are used by people, companies, agencies, purchasers and sellers, who incorporate them into contracts; scientists and engineers use them in their laboratories and offices; architects and designers use them in their blueprints; government entities use them as reference material for laws and many others refer to them for guidance on various issues and products.

ASTM divides their standards into six categories.

1.  The Standard Specification, which defines the requirements to be satisfied by subject of the standard.

2. The Standard Test Method, which defines the way a test is performed and the precision of the result.  The result of the test may be used to assess compliance with a Standard Specification.

3. The Standard Practice, which defines a sequence of operations that, unlike a Standard Test Method, does not produce a result.

4. The Standard Guide that which provides an organized collection of information or series of options that does not recommend a specific course of action.

5. The Standard Classification, that provide an arrangement or division of materials, products, systems or services into groups based on similar characteristics such as origin, composition, properties and use.

6.  The Terminology Standard, that provides agreed definitions of terms used in other standards.

IoSafe products such as the Solo and the SoloPRO are tested and proved per the ASTM rating E119 which covers test methods for fire tests or building construction and materials. IoSafe tested these products for heat and flame up to 1550 degrees Fahrenheit and for periods up to 30 minutes. An ASTM rating means that the methods ioSafe used to test their products work and they can prove their conclusions and claims.

If a company wants to put an ASTM rating on their products, they need to build their tests, products and organization to ASTM standards. They are one of the most commonly used independent rating companies but they are by no means the only one.

ETL SEMKO (formerly Edison Testing Laboratory) is a division of Intertek Group plc and they specialize in electrical product safety testing, EMC testing and benchmark performance testing. They have more than 30 offices and laboratories on six continents.

CE Mark, this rating is a mandatory conformity mark for products placed on the market in the European Economic Area.  It is necessary for certain product groups in the European Union and countries where EU products are sold. Seeing the mark on a product means it has been tested and it meets EU safety, health and environmental protection requirements.

Underwriters Laboratories is an organization established in 1894 and deals chiefly in product safety. They also develop standards and test procedures for materials, components, assemblies, tools and equipment. They also analyze drinking water and clean water samples through their laboratory in South Bend, Indiana. They are recognized by OSHA for safety standards.

NSF International is a Michigan-based not-for-profit public health and environmental organization that provides standards development and product certification. They were founded in 1944 and they work primarily in public health and safety. They have over 1200 employees in 150 countries and work with the World Health Organization.

The Canadian Standards Association is a not-for-profit crown corporation founded in 1919 with the stated aim developing standards for over 57 areas of specialization such as climate change, business management, industrial equipment, construction materials, boilers and pressure vessels and electronic/electrical equipment. Their employees are composed of representatives from government, industry and consumer groups.

SGS S.A. is an international organization that provides inspection, verification, testing and certification services for traded goods. They are divided into ten divisions; agriculture, automotive, consumer testing services, environmental services, governments and institutions, industrial, life science, minerals, oil/gas/chemicals and system/services certification. They were founded in 1878 and have spread from France to 1250 offices and laboratories across the world.

Seeing an ASTM rating on a product like having insider knowledge that it’s well-tested, well-made and can suit your purposes. Researching products for this rating is worth any consumer’s time and energy.

Step One…Don’t Panic!

Take a deep breath and look at your situation. Your hard drive has just crashed and this is problem that needs to be addressed right away but it’s not a catastrophe! You can fix this and you can prevent the loss of not only your data but also the pictures of your family and friends.

An ioSafe + Cloud Backup is a great way to prevent data loss from a crashed hard drive. This will allow you to recover programs very easily and quickly.

We live in the age of the digital camera and snapshots taken with our phones and people are moving away from the habit of having physical copies of their pictures. While the technology has changed, this core concept has not; you need to protect your collections of photos. We used to order multiple copies of pictures and keep them in photo-books for protection and presentation. Now people show their photos on social media sites, blogs and their various electronic devices and they still have to worry about losing their memories.

We’re going to walk you through some troubleshooting techniques that you can use in response of a hard drive crash. There are many options open to you in a situation like this and remember the most important thing is not to lose your head; you’re not on a sinking ship, you just need to plug a hole in the boat and fish your luggage out of the water.

If your hard drive is making clicking, whirring or grinding noises turn it off and unplug it. Then carefully remove the hard drive from the computer (remember that hard drives are very sensitive to static electricity and physical jolts). Do not assume that the files are unrecoverable and if you don’t have a backup in place, you’ll need to turn to commercial services.

Often the best options for laypeople are on the internet and with recovery software. One such company available is DriveSavers. Since 1985 this company has been helping people and businesses protect and recover their data and they have various options for recovery plans and will service a wide range of devices. The website Kroll Ontrack has developed protocols to meet virtually any recovery need and they offer helpful user guides and software for sell.

The website savemymemories.org is a good resource for tips and troubleshooting advice about recovering photographs. Their advice is straight-forward and is geared toward educating as well. They talk about hardware and software, how to prepare and protect your photos from disaster and they a great page of links about not just about protecting your memories but about many different aspects of digital photography.

One of the best options you can take to protect your photographs is be prepared before anything happens. One of the best ways to go on the offensive against potential crashes is to invest in an ioSafe hard drive; one of the best features that ioSafe offers on these hard drives is the Data Recovery Service. This product is available with numerous drives like the ioSafe Solo, the Rugged Portable SSD and the SoloPRO SSD. These hard drives are a great choice not only because they are disaster-proof and protect your photographs from outside threats; the Data Recovery Service ensures an unmatched safety net in the case of internal loss. With such features as access to expert technicians, up to $1000 of forensic data recovery, replacement hardware pre-loaded with recovered data and a three-year limited warranty.

No matter which option you choose; your best plan to prevent these types of emergencies before they happen. So when investigating plans to fix your crashed hard drive, look for the best way to prevent this from happening again.

Written by Joseph Fowler

Peace of Mind for the Entire Family

Your data is the most important data in the entire world and you deserve the best hard drive to protect it from disaster. For years, ioSafe, Inc. has been engineering and manufacturing the best brand of external, portable as well as internal hard drives for your home and business. Whether you need a fireproof hard drive as part of your business continuity or disaster recovery plan or simply want to protect your family photos, video or music files, ioSafe has a hard drive for you.

Learn more about the entire family of hard drives from the ioSafe Solo, ioSafe SoloPRO and the new Rugged Portable Mobile Hard drive.