help to recover images

[dagovin]

Hello there,
I have a Dell latitude with many important images in it. Of course
the day before thinking that it would be a good idea to have a
backup , the system crashes on me. First I had a missin hal.dll.
System restor would not even show up and recovery console was the only
solution. then after chkdsk /r I just had a new problem. the computer
could not start becouse a windows ( xp home edition , by the way)
componet was corrupted. This new Dell laptops do not ship with windows
cd with them, so I tryed to use my xp home edition cd from this
desktop I using right now. tryed to repair windows instalation but
probably made a mistake , since the installed xp was a newer version
respect at the one I tryed to install. Now even if I try to fix it
with a correct xp instalation cd, it only gives me the option to
reinstall xp on top. I need to recover those pictures!!!!!i
I tryed using Knoppix to copy the pictures on a usb drive, but the
pictures are not there anymore. I need to use a software to recover
lost images, something like badcopypro. But I do not want to use the
hard drive becouse I'm afraid I might overwrite them. Anby advice?
Thank you .
vince

 

[Pegasus \(MVP\)]

See below.

Hello there,
I have a Dell latitude with many important images in it. Of course
the day before thinking that it would be a good idea to have a
backup , the system crashes on me.

Not quite. One arranges for a solid regular backup routine to an
independent medium when storing important files on the PC, not
on the day before the crash. It's like thinking of accident insurance
the day before you smash your car.

First I had a missin hal.dll.
System restor would not even show up and recovery console was the only
solution. then after chkdsk /r I just had a new problem.

chkdsk.exe is a dangerous command. It can do a lot of damage
to files that could otherwise be salvaged.

the computer
could not start becouse a windows ( xp home edition , by the way)
componet was corrupted. This new Dell laptops do not ship with windows
cd with them,

AFAIK, all Dell laptops ship with a factory restore facility.
I suspect that it will erase all data currently on the disk.

so I tryed to use my xp home edition cd from this
desktop I using right now. tryed to repair windows instalation but
probably made a mistake , since the installed xp was a newer version
respect at the one I tryed to install.

Installing software on a disk that has important files can
be dangerous. You risk deleting them or overwriting those
that you might otherwise undelete.

Now even if I try to fix it
with a correct xp instalation cd, it only gives me the option to
reinstall xp on top. I need to recover those pictures!!!!!i
I tryed using Knoppix to copy the pictures on a usb drive, but the
pictures are not there anymore. I need to use a software to recover
lost images, something like badcopypro. But I do not want to use the
hard drive becouse I'm afraid I might overwrite them.

With all the fixes you tried, there is a good chance that they
are already overwritten.

Anby advice?
Thank you .
vince

Here are a couple of options:
- Take your machine to a data recovery service and consider
the cost as your tuition fee for how to implement a solid
backup process.
- Buy an external USB case for a 2.5" disk, then connect this
disk to some other computer and try some data recovery
software.

By the way, a backup disk inside a USB case costs around
$100.00. This is a low cost but very effective backup medium.

 

[Touch Base]

| Hello there,
| I have a Dell latitude with many important images in it. Of course
| the day before thinking that it would be a good idea to have a
| backup , the system crashes on me. First I had a missin hal.dll.
|
<snip>

I go along with the suggestion by "Pegasus (MVP)"

"Buy an external USB case for a 2.5" disk, then connect this disk to some other computer and try some data recovery software."

In case it seems confusing, you need to take the hard drive out of your laptop and put it in a 2.5" external USB case (your hard drive size). Then you connect it up via the USB cable to another computer running XP (Pro preferably), especially if you have made any folders and files private so you can gain ownership over them if necessary. Then simply navigate to the files (- important images ) that you are after and copy them to the other computer and then save them to a USB memory stick if you need to use them or transport them somewhere else.

If your images can't be found then it may be necessary to use data recovery software or to contact a data recovery company, but either way it is not cheap.

I have used EasyRecovery™ Professional to excellent results

http://www.ontrack.com/easyrecoveryprofessional/

There are no worthwhile 'free' programs available that will do the job - forget the hype.

Any that suggest a trial version may show you that certain files are recoverable but you won't be able to recover them unless you hand over the cash first so be aware of that.

I'd go for the 2.5" external USB case suggestion to start with.

Good Luck

 

[Dennis McCunney]

* (e-mail address removed) wrote, On 5/1/2007 6:32 AM:

Hello there,
I have a Dell latitude with many important images in it. Of course
the day before thinking that it would be a good idea to have a
backup , the system crashes on me. First I had a missin hal.dll.
System restor would not even show up and recovery console was the only
solution. then after chkdsk /r I just had a new problem. the computer
could not start becouse a windows ( xp home edition , by the way)
componet was corrupted. This new Dell laptops do not ship with windows
cd with them, so I tryed to use my xp home edition cd from this
desktop I using right now. tryed to repair windows instalation but
probably made a mistake , since the installed xp was a newer version
respect at the one I tryed to install. Now even if I try to fix it
with a correct xp instalation cd, it only gives me the option to
reinstall xp on top. I need to recover those pictures!!!!!i
I tryed using Knoppix to copy the pictures on a usb drive, but the
pictures are not there anymore. I need to use a software to recover
lost images, something like badcopypro. But I do not want to use the
hard drive becouse I'm afraid I might overwrite them. Anby advice?

Yes. Go here: http://www.cgsecurity.org/wiki/TestDisk

This is the home page for TestDisk and Photorec. TestDisk is partition
recovery utilty that understands just about every kind of file system in
existence.

Photorec is an image recovery program specifically intended to recover
lost image files on trashed drives.

Both bypass the file system, and do low level disk reads to perform
their work.

They are free, open source, and wonderful.
______
Dennis

 

[Pegasus \(MVP\)]

* (e-mail address removed) wrote, On 5/1/2007 6:32 AM:

Yes. Go here: http://www.cgsecurity.org/wiki/TestDisk

This is the home page for TestDisk and Photorec. TestDisk is partition
recovery utilty that understands just about every kind of file system in
existence.

Photorec is an image recovery program specifically intended to recover
lost image files on trashed drives.

Both bypass the file system, and do low level disk reads to perform
their work.

They are free, open source, and wonderful.
______
Dennis

The OP's Windows installation is no longer operative. How
will he run these free and wonderful tools?

 

[Touch Base]

|* (e-mail address removed) wrote, On 5/1/2007 6:32 AM:
|

Hi Dennis,

Thank you very much for your link regarding Photorec. I downloaded the program and ran it yesterday on a laptop HDD that I had previously scanned with EasyRecovery Pro.
This program cost my company $900 U.S. (per license.)

ER Pro had found approx 880 jpegs. Unfortunately most were not what the client was looking for and there were quite a few that were corrupted so we were about to suggest they try a data recovery service.

I ran Photorec on the drive and was able to recover 6771 jpegs. Of course these included all system and program jpegs as well but the difference in outcome scanning as you can see is amazing.. The bottom line is we were able to recover 90 per cent of the jpegs the customer was looking for and it was achieved running an open source program so I'll have to eat my words.

"There are no worthwhile 'free' programs available that will do the job - forget the hype."

Once again thank you for the link and I hope Vince the OP checked out the link too.