undelete

[2Tian]

in windows xp professional sp2, after empty the recycle bin, is it possible
to recover files and folders that have been deleted from local hard drive?

 

[Detlev Dreyer]

in windows xp professional sp2, after empty the recycle bin, is it
possible to recover files and folders that have been deleted from local
hard drive?

Sure, since you've a backup of all important data. Otherwise, there are
third-party tools around. "PC Inspector":
http://www.pcinspector.de/file_recovery/uk/welcome.htm

In general it's best to run undelete software from a different
partition - otherwise, the deleted files may be overwritten when
installing that software.

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

in windows xp professional sp2, after empty the recycle bin, is it
possible to recover files and folders that have been deleted from
local hard drive?

Maybe.

"Deleting" a file doesn't actually delete it; it just marks the space as
available to be used. There are third-party programs that can sometimes
recover deleted files. The problem is that the space used by the file is
likely to become overwritten very quickly, and this makes the file
unrecoverable.

So your chances of successfully recovering this file are decent if you try
recovering it immediately after deleting it, and rapidly go downhill from
there. If you've been using the computer since then (for example to write
this question and read this answer), your chances are probably very poor by
now.

But if the file is important enough, it's worth a try anyway. Stop using the
computer in question immediately, if you haven't done so already. Download
an undelete program (here's one:
http://www3.telus.net/mikebike/RESTORATION.html but there are several others
to choose from; do a Google search) on a friend's computer and bring it to
yours on a floppy to try.

If this fails, your only other recourse is to take the drive to a
professional file recovery company. This kind of service is very expensive
and may or may not work in your case.

 

[Rick Rogers]

Hi,

Sure it is, when you delete a file all that really happens is that the space
it currently occupies is made available to overwrite and the entry in the
mft referring to it is removed. The data is actually still there until
something else overwrites it. There are many freeware undelete utilities
available, just google that phrase. Incidentally, the more you use a system,
the better the chance that you will overwrite the data you are trying to
save.

--
Best of Luck,

Rick Rogers, aka "Nutcase" - Microsoft MVP

Windows help - www.rickrogers.org

 

[Plato]

in windows xp professional sp2, after empty the recycle bin, is it possible
to recover files and folders that have been deleted from local hard drive?

Perhaps. Assuming you've shut the pc off in question and have not
overwitten your deleted files with internet cache files.