Big Mistake - I deleted 3 Big .avi files I need

K

kathleend16

I made a big mistake. I deleted 3 large media files (all
are ".avi"). The computer said it could not put them in
my recycling because they were so big and I said o.k. to
deleting them. Are they gone forever? I just did it, I
have not turned my compouter off. Can I find them..I
think they are gone?
 
J

Jason Tsang

System Restore doesn't keep avi files. It's not something that would be
backed up when SR creates a checkpoint.
 
G

Guest

Thank you for your fast response. What a program you sent
to me. It did not find the large files because I did not
put them in the recycling...but it sure found 4,300 other
ones!!!. Anyway, I was not thinking and I deleted them. I
forgot that Pinnacle Studio and Pinnacle Expressions are
all tied to the .avi files. I am editing VHS tapes to DVD
and its taking up mega Hard Drive Space (I only have
80G)...so I was trying to free it up...oops deleted the
files I needed. I just remembered that I have them on DVD
and so I will re-upload...I would have preferred to not
have deleted in the first place. This VHS tape to DVD
(including editing the tapes on my coputer , not just
copying) is a bit of a palava. Plus I had the Kleg Virus
and I lost tons of .exe files..I am still trying to
figure that out. Norton Anti-Virus threw out all my
infected .exe files and so I relaoded the programs ,
including Win XP, onto my computer but I still have parts
(.exe's) missing. Thanks again....PCs are like used cars -
a giant mystery.
 
K

Ken Blake

In
kathleend16 said:
I made a big mistake. I deleted 3 large media files (all
are ".avi"). The computer said it could not put them in
my recycling because they were so big and I said o.k. to
deleting them. Are they gone forever? I just did it, I
have not turned my compouter off. Can I find them..I
think they are gone?



"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 is 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 on a friend's
computer and bring it 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.
 
B

Buz [MSFT]

Well maybe if you just did it and have not done anything else (doughtful)
you can right click the place you delete them from and go to "Undo"

Buz Brodin
MCSE NT4 / Win2K
Microsoft Enterprise Domain Support

Get Secure! - www.microsoft.com/security

This posting is provided "as is" with no warranties and confers no rights.

Please do not send e-mail directly to this alias. This alias is for
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