Data Recovery

[swans4me]

I am looking for a good freeware data recovery program. I know there are
several out there, but I would like to know which one is most highly
recommended. TIA

 

[socrtwo]

Data recovery can have several meanings. Putting the terms: "define
'data recovery'" in Google gets you 2 meanings, a narrowly defined
technical understanding favored by many data recovery companies, the
recovery of data from damaged media (or operating systems too I would
expect).

I favor more the second definition, which is making previously lost or
damaged data available. With the second definition, you can include
recovering corrupt files, deleted files, disks with damaged hardware or
operating systems and lost passwords.

Generally when posters in this forum use the term data recovery, I
think they understand it as deleted file recovery. The responders in
this forum most often recommend Restoration
(http://aumha.org/a/recover.php) and PC Inspector File Repair
(http://www.pcinspector.de/file_recovery/uk/welcome.htm). For more
deleted file recovery freeware with my subjective ratings see:
http://www.s2services.com/simpleundeletefreeware.htm and
http://www.s2services.com/fullfeaturedundeletefreeware.htm.

If you mean by data recovery, the recovery of data from damaged media
with freeware, this is difficult because there are several different
types. They are freeware for making failing disk images, reading
"dead" disk file system, rescuing lost partitions, recovering from
virus damage, repairing hard disks, repairing master boot records, and
for fixing failing or "failed" CD, floppies and zip disks. To see my
collection of links to these sorts of freeware start here:
http://www.s2services.com/baddisk.htm. On my site I will be rating
these types of software over the next couple of days.

socrtwo

 

[Richard Steinfeld]

socrtwo wrote:
....

If you mean by data recovery, the recovery of data from damaged media
with freeware, this is difficult because there are several different
types. They are freeware for making failing disk images, reading
"dead" disk file system, rescuing lost partitions, recovering from
virus damage, repairing hard disks, repairing master boot records, and
for fixing failing or "failed" CD, floppies and zip disks. To see my
collection of links to these sorts of freeware start here:
http://www.s2services.com/baddisk.htm. On my site I will be rating
these types of software over the next couple of days.

Socrtwo, thanks for your very useful and needed web site.

I'm interested in a CD tool that I haven't seen on your site or
elsewhere among freeware: a CDRW un-deleter.

I've used a few versions of Adaptec-Roxio's bundleware. These programs
are crippleware. It has been virtually impossible for me to find any
software out there that will enable the virtues of CDRW disks: in other
words, complete record-erase and file management functions that enable
the use of the optical medium exactly as if it were a huge floppy disk.
The only usable ones (note the word "usable") I've found are from only
two sources: Roxio and Nero: both payware or bundleware. I understand
that there's a German free alternative (linked with Easy Burning CD),
but I've never been able to make sense of the English-language sites for
these -- after spending two hours trying to make sense of the file
descriptions (when they exist) and what documentation I could find, I'd
need to buy an asbestos codpiece to get any further involved with them.
I know that there's at least one person here who likes this program, but
my personal experience was that I couldn't even figure out what to
download. And I'm good at this.

I don't have enough experience with Nero to comment, but with Roxio, one
eventually will erase a file by accident, and therein discover the
lurking "gotcha." The discovery is that one isn't really working in DOS,
but in a pseudo-DOS. And there's no DOS un-delete utility out there
that'll recover that file. Roxio's got an un-delete option in its CDRW
menus, but guess what? It's dimmed: you've gotta buy the paid version in
order to get it. And note that it offers to "attempt" to recover the
file (you pay your money and you get an attempt).

Does anyone know of an un-delete utility _that will work with CDRW
disks?_ Again, please don't recommend any un-delete utility unless it
works on CDRWs.

Thanks

Richard

 

[socrtwo]

Hmm...I didn't know there was such a specific isue with undeleting
CDRWs thanks for clueing me in. I'm researching the issue and if
nothing comes of it, I will keep my eyes open.

 

[Richard Steinfeld]

Hmm...I didn't know there was such a specific isue with undeleting
CDRWs thanks for clueing me in. I'm researching the issue and if
nothing comes of it, I will keep my eyes open.

Thanks.

This issue raises its head late in the game because it takes a while
before most users will go "oops!" after accidentially deleting a file.
The CDRW operations look like DOS (or Windows) and have the familiar
look-and-feel. But this CDRW-DOS is a different Disk Operating System. I
am not certain that the Nero and Roxio versions are compatible, nor
whether they'll work nicely between generations. A note in my present
Roxio's help system implies that they aren't compatible. This has the
potential of becoming very, very nasty.

I was a little too harsh when I said that Roxio's bundled programs were
"crippleware." This is partially true. I can say that assembly of CDs
from playlists is pretty decent. Disk copying is half-nasty because you
can't save an image to hard disk -- Roxio creates an image on the HD,
then erases it, and that's that: no way around this. And as I mentioned
in the last post, the un-erase function doesn't work in the bundled version.

As I recall, Nero's similar offering is a little more civilized, but I
may be wrong.

Richard