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Community Newsletter: Q&A: Help! What can I do to retrieve deleted data?
- 4/12/07 4:45 PM
Lost data
by eddyw - 3/31/07 11:49 AM In reply to: Help! What can I do to retrieve deleted data? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Hi
Although I haven't tried the program on a hard drive it proved invaluable when I wanted to retrieve a song from an mp3 player that I had deleted all the music (1gb). I searched up and down on my computer for this particular song and couldn't find it. I couldn't download it again since it was a one off and no longer on the download site. I thought I had lost it until I had a look on the internet and downloaded a program called WinUndelete. This program found 80% of the music was still there including my lost song. It wasn't a free program but it was worth it to me.
Back Up Often
by whbos - 3/31/07 12:11 PM In reply to: Help! What can I do to retrieve deleted data? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
The bottom line is how was the drive wiped out? If this friend formatted the hard drive, then chances are you cannot recover anything that was on it. If he just deleted folders and files, you may have a chance of recover with sophisticated recovery software.
Not to repeat what everyone else has said, using the computer anymore will weaken your chances for recovery as your files will be permanently written over one piece at a time.
Windows Restore feature may work, but it isn't a guarantee. It might also destroy your chances of every recovering anything. Maybe you can call the Geek Squad (I think they are associated with BestBuy) or some other "expert."
I had a friend who claimed to be a computer expert (he was actually an engineer) and every time he came to fix computer problems on an older PC, by the time he was finished the computer didn't work at all. I learned real fast how to fix computer problems after that and never asked for his help again.
I tell people all the time. If you have anything important on your computer that you don't want to or can't replace again, back it up immediately. People who think that computer hard drives are not fallible are dreaming. I recommend DVDs.
Check out CNet or other sites for free recovery programs as others have mentioned. However, even installing these can overwrite your critical files. If the trash bin on your desktop is full, you might try undeleting whatever is in there. I use Norton SystemWorks which allows me to undelete and recover files pretty easily, but I rarely use it except for when I recently delete something and then decide I want it back.
Also, is there a slim chance your digital photos might still be in the camera (memory stick)? It's unfortunate you let what you thought was a computer expert mess with your files. What was the original problem that prompted this person to delete everything in the first place?
Wendy J's data recovery problem.
by ahrenjb - 3/31/07 12:49 PM In reply to: Help! What can I do to retrieve deleted data? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Hi Wendy,
Data recovery is always a pretty stressful thing, especially when dealing with files of high importance. When files are deleted off a computer, they are not actually removed, they are only marked to be overwritten. Depending on how much the computer has been used since the files were deleted, theres a good chance most of the files can still be brought back. There are a plethora of data recovery programs out there, all varying in functionality and price. If cost is a problem, there are a small number of freeware programs out there such as FreeUndelete. Additionally, if the files are of great importance and cost won't hinder you from getting them back, you could call some of the more reputable computer shops in your area and ask if they offer data recovery. I hope things work out for you.
Ahren J B.
No easy options.
by lhsonic - 3/31/07 1:06 PM In reply to: Help! What can I do to retrieve deleted data? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
If you bring it in to a local computer store and ask that they recover your data, they'll probably do it for you. However, it's ABSOLUTELY vital that you don't touch that hard drive anymore because what your friend's cousin probably did was quick format the computer, not actually erasing it, just blanking all data with zeros so that the computer knows its allowed to write over the old formated data. There's software available if you want to try to fix this problem yourself. Google "Restoration" and when you find a page about a computer app, that's it. Bringing it in to the pros is probably your best option, but it will not be cheap.
Recover lost data
by wasagakid - 3/31/07 2:37 PM In reply to: Help! What can I do to retrieve deleted data? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
As long as you haven't saved anything to the PC, download PC Inspector Smart Reovery and you should be able to get those deleted files. Just do a search for it and you should find it
Try a File Recovery program from download.com
by ClosetMonster3 - 3/31/07 2:47 PM In reply to: Help! What can I do to retrieve deleted data? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
If your friend has deleted files from your computer, fret not, because your files are still on your hard drive. Even though the trash has been taken out, your files are marked as deleted files, but are not overwritten unless you have done some purposeful overwriting or you have saved files recently. The best thing you can do is to stop using programs or anything that will move or write files (including starting up multiple times, since this writes to your hard drive). You will want to download a data recovery program (I use "PC Inspector File Recovery" since its free and it works well.) There are probably better programs out there including ones you need to pay for, but I would start with this one. You can find this at download.com
http://www.download.com/PC-Inspector-File-Recovery/3000-2248_4-10378268.html?tag=lst-0-1
You can download this program to ANOTHER computer so it doesnt overwrite your files! Run the program from another computer if you can connect your original computer to it. If not, you dont have a choice but to install this program on the original computer. Its not too big so it shouldnt be a problem.
Once you install it and run it, you will need to follow the instructions and find all of the deleted files on your computer. Depending on how many times the deleted files have been overwritten, you may still be able to salvage them. The program will be able to tell you what condition the files are in...hopefully excellent condition. If they are in less than perfect condition, you may get choppy or corrupt files.
You will then be able to "copy" these files to your hard drive. KEEP IN MIND that when you copy these files, they are overwriting other deleted files you may want! You will thus need to copy these files to an external hard drive if you have one.
Hope that helps.
after files are recovered...backup!!!
by ClosetMonster3 - 3/31/07 2:59 PM In reply to: Try a File Recovery program from download.com by ClosetMonster3I would also suggest you get "Syncback" data backup program.
http://www.download.com/SyncBack/3000-2242_4-10548273.html?tag=lst-0-1
This will allow you to backup any directory on your computer to an external hard drive. When you update any files, delete files or add files to that directory, syncback will "clone" that directory exactly to the external HD. I use it all the time and it saves the pain of finding all of the updated files, saving new files, and deleting old files from my backup. I save my entire "My documents" folder to an external and use syncback often.
File Recovery Programs
by Fredmoore - 3/31/07 3:41 PM In reply to: Try a File Recovery program from download.com by ClosetMonster3Nearly everyone mentions the importance of NOT WRITING ANYTHING to your hard drive. That means: don't download files, don't read this post, don't even turn the computer off or on. This is critical to getting most of the missing files back.
To safely recover files you need to remove the hard drive from the "corrupted" PC and install it as a second (read only) drive on a working PC. If you're not comfortable doing this, its best to trust the job to someone who has done it before. They should have one or more utilities that they know and like, and the best choice might depend on what type of files you are trying to recover, e.g. e-mail vs. photos, vs. spreadsheets.
I had a hard drive crash a few months ago and I'm still finding files that I need on the old drive. I tried nearly a dozen software utilities until I found one that worked for me, which happened to be "Restorer2000" (http://www.restorer2000.com/). Yes, it cost me $30, but in this case I really got what I paid for.
Ontrack Easy Recovery Professional
by joe6966 - 3/31/07 4:45 PM In reply to: Help! What can I do to retrieve deleted data? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Get that program; it will recover all files not written over by new files. I have used it successfully, and gave it to my friend at work, who recovered all the race photos his wife deleted. It will even recover files from a formatted drive.
Ontrack Easy Recovery Professional
by cbuiok - 7/2/08 12:06 PM In reply to: Ontrack Easy Recovery Professional by joe6966Dear Joe,
I performed a F10- System Recovery on my XP computer and now I lost most of my data and all of the pictures. Do you still have the Ontrack Recovery Professional software? If yes, would you please loan it to me to recover my data. It is too expensive for me to pay at the retail price. I am willing to pay you a fee.
Thank you,
Chuck Bui
Cell: 918 605 9427
Email: lmpti@yahoo.com
recovering lost files
by djmaynyrd - 3/31/07 5:05 PM In reply to: Help! What can I do to retrieve deleted data? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
There are many recovery programs, and some company's that will do the work for you. I recently moved and had shipped computer eqipment, The data isn't insurable via mail so I was stuck trying to recover 22,000
files myself. Make sure you are patient, (a flaw in my character), some programs run for many hours....and MAKE SURE, you have enough hard drive, (whether internal or external), to copy all the lost files twice..(once for a master save, and the other to process). I hope my nearly fatal experience will prevent another.
Recovering lost files
by tagurrit - 3/31/07 5:19 PM In reply to: Help! What can I do to retrieve deleted data? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
After accidentally formatting my girlfriend’s data (d) drive I can say I've researched this subject quite a bit and although I did get back MOST of the data the most important file, her address book, I wasn’t able to get back. If you are serious about recovering the files you can buy software that MIGHT recover some of the files. It all depends on how much you’ve used the computer since the accident. If you left it off and haven’t done much with it then you can recover most of what you lost but if you’ve installed programs and been on the Internet a lot then you’ll have re-written data to a few, some, many or all of the sectors that were erased and you will be able to get some, part, all or none of the data back depending on where the OS wrote the data back to the drive. I found the product “File Scavenger” (Google it for a demo version) to do a good job of recovering lost files.
neolandes
by neolandes - 3/31/07 5:41 PM In reply to: Help! What can I do to retrieve deleted data? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
try using some special software like pc file recovery to retrieve the info that got deleted. it will work much better if you haven't used the pc since the "event". also try to use the software in some other pc. boot your had drive as a secondary and DON'T INSTALL THE SOFTWARE IN THAT DRIVE!.
Recovery of Lost Pictures
by dynamius - 3/31/07 6:54 PM In reply to: Help! What can I do to retrieve deleted data? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
The short and sweet answer, Wendy, is YES. It turns out that, as long as you don't write over a deleted file, nothing on a hard drive is ever totally erased.
When my local techie knuckle draggers managed to delete some 2500 or so of my priceless pictures of China while "cleaning up" my disk, I was fortunate enough to find a(nother) local computer shop who had file recovery software. They were able to recover about 60% of my "lost" pictures at the very reasonable cost of about $50.
As long as you have not overwritten your files, you will probably do much better than this.
So, DON'T WRITE ANYTHING MORE TO YOUR DISK, until your local pros have had a shot at it, and, GOOD LUCK.
www.poetrypoem.com/charlax
by charlax - 3/31/07 7:04 PM In reply to: Recovery of Lost Pictures by dynamiusewe have seen that my answer was the first and the foremost
and eye was correct this guy is write on
this is the best way to take the harddrive and PAY them
to retrieve the info
then go read all my poems ewe
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