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Hi
Eeek! Basically my computer has been having a fit and I've had to reformat. I did a backup last week but was looking for a piece of software that will allow me to "undelete" files.
I've had a quick google but couldn't make heads nor tails because of all the guff adverts.
Any help appreciated!
When you delet files , the pointer to them is removed but they stay on your drive.
The best chnace of recovery is when you do not use that drive. Now, that you have formatted and reinstalled stuff, there is a very low chancer as sectors have been overwritten.
I would advise you to stop unless the files were really really important ( e.g. pics of deceased pet orang-utang ) as this can become very time consuming and pricey.
meh, I'd thought as much. I just wanted to grab one file. I've pretty much got everything else. I'll just have to start it again.
FreeUndelete is one I've used before.
However, from prior experience, once you've formatted and reinstalled you might as well give up
http://www.piriform.com/recuva - nuff said!
+1 to this, but as said if you've formatted and reinstalled your chances of recovering anything become slim, especially if you're actively using the drive.Quote:
Originally Posted by Singh400
That said... if all you have to lose is time then Recuva is probably worth a shot. Just don't try to recover *to* the disk you're trying to recover from.
I've managed to recover the file I needed, phew.Quote:
Originally Posted by Splash
Thanks!
Recuva or some other method?
recuva.
That's quite surprising, since you've reinstalled Windows. Out of interest, was the drive quite full before the format, and less so now?
This!Quote:
Originally Posted by Singh400
:)
FREE too.
The OP didn't say whether the deletion was before or after the 'format' :) (or how the drive was partitioned - a separate data partion might have remained intact, with deleted files etc)Quote:
Originally Posted by watercooled
But a reformat isn't really that at all, it is really (in *nix tems) mkfs - make file system - which initialises the Master Filke Tables. So if the install parameters for both installations were identical, the re-installed files may be in the same place, and the MFT will be in the same place. The initial pointers will have gone, but (depending on cluster size etc) files may still be available.
But the general advice of minimising disk use when you want to recver a file stays good - as of course is keeping a backup.
Yeah, that's why I said reinstall rather than reformat originally. In my experience, file systems end up quite badly fragmented with data scattered all over the partition after installing Windows/updates/software so I thought there would be a good chance of at least part of the file getting overwritten. My reasoning is, if the drive was a bit full, the file might have been near the end of the partition so less likely to be overwritten.
I know a few people who rely on undelete software as a means of backup, and that's not for lack of trying to convince them otherwise!
There was about 300gb free on a 1TB drive, I only installed windows and recuva.Quote:
Originally Posted by watercooled
In fact, it is possible to recover deleted data from hard drive, when a file is deleted from hard drive, it doesn't mean that the file has been wiped from hard drive, the files system just make a "deleted" flag to the data, whihc make us can't see it as normal. Until new data save to the space where the original data save in, it will be overwritten by new data. therefore, you can try to use [the software I'd like to advertise] to reocver deleted files from computer hard drive.You can get it from Cnet!
Just a thought, buddy - if a mod deletes your advertising drivel, it's generally best not to repost it a month later.
And thread locked.