data loss

[bighyp]

I accidently did a system recovery instead of a system restore and wiped out
my hard drive/ is there any way a dummy like me can retrieve the data that
was on the drive bighyp

 

[sgopus]

a system restore really doesn't wipe data, it does restore system settings.
the data ie personal documents and such, may still be there just in a
different place.

 

[Malke]

I accidently did a system recovery instead of a system restore and wiped
out my hard drive/ is there any way a dummy like me can retrieve the data
that
was on the drive bighyp

You can try using data recovery software, but it is unlikely that it will
recover anything. If the data is crucial, immediately send the drive to a
professional data recovery company like Drive Savers (my preference) or
Seagate Data Recovery. General prices run from $500USD on up. Drive Savers
recovered all the data on a failed laptop drive for one of my clients and
it cost $2,700. He thought it was worth the money; only you know what your
data is worth. I understand that some insurance companies are now covering
data recovery charges so check with yours.

Drive Savers - http://www.drivesavers.com
Seagate Data Recovery Services - https://www.seagatedatarecovery.com/

If you don't want to spend so much money, then you can try the data recovery
software route. IN ANY CASE, IF YOU WANT TO RECOVER DATA, DO NOTHING
FURTHER ON THE COMPUTER! If you use data recovery software, install it on
another machine and either use it from that operating system or create a
bootable cd/floppy and work with that. If you don't have the skill and/or
equipment to do these procedures and the data is crucial, take the machine
to a professional computer repair shop that has experience in doing data
recovery. This will not be your local version of BigStoreUSA.

Here are some links to various programs. I use Easy Recovery Pro, but it is
expensive. People whom I respect have recommended R-Studio and Restoration.
YMMV.

http://www3.telus.net/mikebike/RESTORATION.html
PCInspector File Recovery -
http://www.pcinspector.de/file_recovery/welcome.htm
Executive Software ?Undelete? -
http://www.undelete.com/undelete/undelete.asp
R-Studio - http://www.r-tt.com/
File Scavenger - http://www.quetek.com/prod02.htm
Ontrack's EasyRecovery - http://www.ontrack.com/software/

You should also create and implement a backup strategy so you can recover
from mistakes like this and hardware failure easily.

Malke

 

[Patrick Keenan]

I accidently did a system recovery instead of a system restore and wiped
out
my hard drive/ is there any way a dummy like me can retrieve the data that
was on the drive bighyp

First, power the system down. Do NOT turn it back on. Remove the drive.
If you do not do this, there is no possibility of recovery.

Your next step for recovery depends on what you are comfortable doing and
the value of the data.

The first principle is that you never, ever, attempt to restore to the drive
you are trying to recover from. Do not attempt recovery from a running
drive - it has to be hosted, not in use as the OS drive.

If you want to try it yourself, you need another system with enough drive
space and data recovery software. This doesn't always work. I would
start here - much recovery software has a demo mode so you can see, before
purchase, what it thinks it can do for you.

Data recovery services can also attempt to do this for you, and they have a
better success rate than software you can buy. However, there are no
guarantees, and you should expect a bill exceeding $1,000. Most services
will give you an estimate of cost and expectations, but these estimates
aren't always free.

In the meantime, you might actually want to use your computer, so get a new
hard disk, and set your old one aside safely. Drives are inexpensive; last
week or so I paid $83 each for 500-gig drives (bare, not as kits). Use
your restore disks to set your system up.

This will allow you to use your system, and also provide you with the system
to attempt data recovery.

HTH
-pk