Recovering data - Quite a few 0 length files

  • Thread starter Thread starter BertieBigBollox
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BertieBigBollox

Accidentally deleted a large folder (about 60Gb) from one of my disks
and also cleared the recycle bin.

Anyway, ran the freeware RECOVER utility and restored to a different
disk and this seemed to get a lot of the stuff back. Unfortunately,
about 5-10% of the files have 0 length.

Since then, I've tried about 5 or 6 different freeware/shareware
utilities and get the same result. It seems the same files only exist
with 0 length. In fact, they all seem to produce virtualyl identical
results.

Am I now stuffed and have to live with the fact that these files are
unrestorable? Or is there something else to try?
 
Accidentally deleted a large folder (about 60Gb) from one of my disks
and also cleared the recycle bin.

Anyway, ran the freeware RECOVER utility and restored to a different
disk and this seemed to get a lot of the stuff back. Unfortunately,
about 5-10% of the files have 0 length.

Since then, I've tried about 5 or 6 different freeware/shareware
utilities and get the same result. It seems the same files only exist
with 0 length. In fact, they all seem to produce virtualyl identical
results.

Am I now stuffed and have to live with the fact that these files are
unrestorable? Or is there something else to try?
Click to expand...

60 GBytes is a large amount of data. When you deleted it,
you left some large holes on your hard disk. Windows proceded
immediately to fill these holes, especially when you installed the
freeware Recover utility, thus overwriting the data from your
deleted file. You may be able to recover fragments of the
deleted file but it is unlikely that you can restore the whole file.
There are only two scenarios that let you do this:
a) If you immediately switch off the PC after deleting the file,
then perform the recovery on another PC, or
b) If you plan ahead and back up your important files regularly
to an independent medium. A 2.5" hard disk in an external
USB case is a low-cost but highly effective backup medium.
 
Pegasus said:
60 GBytes is a large amount of data. When you deleted it,
you left some large holes on your hard disk. Windows proceded
immediately to fill these holes, especially when you installed the
freeware Recover utility, thus overwriting the data from your
deleted file. You may be able to recover fragments of the
deleted file but it is unlikely that you can restore the whole file.
There are only two scenarios that let you do this:
a) If you immediately switch off the PC after deleting the file,
then perform the recovery on another PC, or
b) If you plan ahead and back up your important files regularly
to an independent medium. A 2.5" hard disk in an external
USB case is a low-cost but highly effective backup medium.
Click to expand...

I didnt install anything on the same drive.

Windows is installed on my C drive. This was the E drive (a separate
partition albeit on the same physical disk).

I'm aware that writing to the disk will destroy anything that was
there. Like I said I've got 90-95% back....

Agree what you say about backups but its difficult to backup 60Gb
unless you've got a spare 60Gb disk to do this. Not cheap...
 
I didnt install anything on the same drive.

Windows is installed on my C drive. This was the E drive (a separate
partition albeit on the same physical disk).

I'm aware that writing to the disk will destroy anything that was
there. Like I said I've got 90-95% back....

Agree what you say about backups but its difficult to backup 60Gb
unless you've got a spare 60Gb disk to do this. Not cheap...
Click to expand...

Where I live an 80 GByte disk costs a little less than two tanks of
petrol for a small car, or the same as 140 ordinary postage stamps.
Perhaps more meaningful, it costs as much as 40 minutes of an
IT consultant's hourly fee.
 
Pegasus said:
Where I live an 80 GByte disk costs a little less than two tanks of
petrol for a small car, or the same as 140 ordinary postage stamps.
Perhaps more meaningful, it costs as much as 40 minutes of an
IT consultant's hourly fee.
Click to expand...

I suppose if you look at it like that....

In the UK, 80Gb disk - about £50 ($90)
 
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