Lost files on my Computer!

[kbRenePerez]

Hi everyone. thx in advance for your help!

Well i am always hearing here and there about lost computer files or deleted files that can be recovered. For instance on the Nancy Grace show the host asked experts if Police could still recover deleted emails from Caycee Anthonys computer and all the experts say they can and that everything you do on your computer whether u delete or not is somehow stored in your computer.

Now my question is what about files that you had and your PC crashes! i've had the same PC since 2002 and to tell you the truth its crashed so many times from the time of 2002-2004. Can files still be recovered? I dont mind all the stuff I lost years ago but in 2006 i met someone online and I had all our MSN conversations stored on my PC. well in late 2006 I lost internet but still had all the convos on the PC and i really wanted to print them off but didnt have a printer at the time so i kept them thinking I would have them for awhile.

But in January 2007 my dad took our PC to a PC shop without me knowing and had the PC cleaned out so it could be new i guess and with it went the MSN convos.

NOW with all this in mind are all those MSN convos still somwhere on my PC and how can I get them back? I hear all these things on TV and elsewhere that everything you do is somehow still on your PC, I hope its true!

I havent had the internet since 2006 and I know its a LONG SHOT but I hope someone can help me maybe recover them.

[Nelson37]

If they are there, they are on the original hard drive. If the drive is gone, so are your files.

There are lots of recovery programs, I like GetDataBack, used it several times with excellent results.

[jagabo]

Think of the hard drive like a book with a table of contents. When you write a chapter you put an entry into the table of contents, write the chapter to the pages of the book, and mark those pages as used. When you erase a chapter you can erase the entry in the table of contents and mark those pages as empty. You don't have to erase the pages of the chapter, you can do that later when you use them for another chapter. So right after erasing a chapter it's pretty easy recover it if necessary.

Each time you add another chapter to the book you write an entry into the table of contents and write to random free pages in the book (any data already on those pages is overwritten). The first time you may or may not overwrite the pages the erased chapter occupied. As you keep adding more chapters you will eventually overwrite the pages that earlier chapter occupied.

So the more you have used the computer since the file was erased the less likely it is you will be able to retrieve that data.

[grossjamesh]

It all depends on how much you want to spend.
The platters from a damaged drive can be removed and placed in a new drive. (this must be done in a clean room)
Damaged platters can be read by special programs that will attempt the find undamaged parts of the damaged track and recover the data.
These processes are time comsumming and very expensive.
For a drive that has been wiped there are several programs that claim to be able to recover the data.
GetDataBack is one that does work most of the time if the files have not been overwritten.
I recently recovered about 90% of a mistakenly formatted drive.
A search on the web will give you many choices.
There are also commerical recovery shops that will do this for a price.

[ZippyP.]

Seeing as the drive was reformatted almost 2 years ago, the likelihood that the data has not been overwritten is very small indeed.

[kbRenePerez]

Seeing as the drive was reformatted almost 2 years ago, the likelihood that the data has not been overwritten is very small indeed.

but i havent had the internet since 2006 and havent downloaded anything cuz i couldnt. the only thing i use my PC for now is just to listen to music on iTunes.

do you think i should call the shop that cleaned out our PC and ask them to recover the MSN convos?

[MJA]

Seeing as the drive was reformatted almost 2 years ago, the likelihood that the data has not been overwritten is very small indeed.

but i havent had the internet since 2006 and havent downloaded anything cuz i couldnt. the only thing i use my PC for now is just to listen to music on iTunes.

do you think i should call the shop that cleaned out our PC and ask them to recover the MSN convos?

ya good luck.if he does be sure to take your CC,or check book with you.data recovery cost alot


check this thread .It worked with flash memory it may work with you your hard drive

https://forum.videohelp.com/topic356276.html

[guns1inger]

You use it for listening to iTunes - where does the music come from ? If you are ripping CDs then you are over-writing your old data with new data.

[jagabo]

And every time you turn on and switch off your computer Windows and other programs are writing and deleting files (log files, temp files, perferences, etc) from the hard drive.

[kbRenePerez]

can someone help me!

[MJA]

can someone help me!

did u check this link ?
https://forum.videohelp.com/topic356276.html

like the others said.the more you use your PC the less chance of recovering any data

[jagabo]

http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,2845,2005149,00.asp
http://reviews.cnet.com/software/file-recovery-for-windows/4505-3513_7-21002464.html
http://reviews.cnet.com/software/easyrecovery-lite/4505-3513_7-21000787.html

Powerquest used to make a product called "Lost and Found". I think they're owned by Symantec now.

You should stop booting and using your computer until you have recovered the files you are looking for. You should use software that doesn't require installation. It should be able to boot off a CD/DVD. Even better, install Windows on another drive. Then use your old drive as a secondary drive and attempt to recover the files. As has been mentioned, the likelihood of recovering files that were deleted a few years ago is very low.

[Nelson37]

First, call the shop and find out if the hard drive was replaced. If it was, then check if they imaged the old drive onto the new one. If it is a new drive, and no image, then stop whining and kiss your files goodbye.

If it IS the original drive, or an image copy was made, then pick a data recovery program and use it. The one I mentioned earlier will cost less than a shop would charge to do the work.

Odds of success are low but the software might well be useful for the next batch of years-old files you need to recover.

If that is too much for you, find a local shop to do it or if you want, you can ship it to me and I'll do the work for you, for a reasonable fee.

[kbRenePerez]

First, call the shop and find out if the hard drive was replaced. If it was, then check if they imaged the old drive onto the new one. If it is a new drive, and no image, then stop whining and kiss your files goodbye.

If it IS the original drive, or an image copy was made, then pick a data recovery program and use it. The one I mentioned earlier will cost less than a shop would charge to do the work.

Odds of success are low but the software might well be useful for the next batch of years-old files you need to recover.

If that is too much for you, find a local shop to do it or if you want, you can ship it to me and I'll do the work for you, for a reasonable fee.

hey you never replied to the message i sent you. how much if i send it to you?

[lacywest]

What are you trying to recover ... If I may ask ??

Not hard to do this recover thing ... hookup a USB drive ... fire up the program ... and let the program run to seek out what it can find and the results will be displayed ... be sure you save what you find to another drive .... like a USB 2.0 drive.

I use EasyRecovery Professional Edition v5.0 and the other program mentioned above by Nelson37.

[kbRenePerez]

What are you trying to recover ... If I may ask ??

Not hard to do this recover thing ... hookup a USB drive ... fire up the program ... and let the program run to seek out what it can find and the results will be displayed ... be sure you save what you find to another drive .... like a USB 2.0 drive.

I use EasyRecovery Professional Edition v5.0 and the other program mentioned above by Nelson37.

MSN convos from January 2006-September2006 on my PC. I dont have internet at home so I can't do it. and are the programs to do this free or would I pay?

[jagabo]

Buy one of the file recovery products that is on a bootable CD/DVD. Boot the DVD, look for your files. It will be cheaper than paying a professional.

[kbRenePerez]

Buy one of the file recovery products that is on a bootable CD/DVD. Boot the DVD, look for your files. It will be cheaper than paying a professional.

can u recommend me one? maybe a link to a good one. thx!

[MJA]

delete

[kbRenePerez]

can someone help me!

did u check this link ?
https://forum.videohelp.com/topic356276.html

like the others said.the more you use your PC the less chance of recovering any data

even if you havent had internet since then? like i said i only use it for iTunes and maybe watch some videos here and there!

and what does your delete post mean?

[jagabo]

like the others said.the more you use your PC the less chance of recovering any data

even if you havent had internet since then?

Yes.

[kbRenePerez]

so what should i do? come on people plz help! i really want to see those files again!!!

PLZ FOR GOD's' SAKE!!!!!!!!!!

HELP A FRIEND OUT!!! THANKZ IN ADVANCE!

[MJA]

http://data-recovery-software-review.toptenreviews.com/


did u try Recover My Files?

if that doesn't work.you need to talk to a pro.

if you do.get your fat checkbook ready

[redwudz]

A good beginner article on the basics of data recovery: http://www.pcstats.com/articleview.cfm?articleID=1139

[dadrab]

so what should i do? come on people plz help! i really want to see those files again!!!

PLZ FOR GOD's' SAKE!!!!!!!!!!

HELP A FRIEND OUT!!! THANKZ IN ADVANCE!

You've gotten a pile of good advise including why it's hard to recover files, what programs can recover what's left (if anything), why timing is critical and more.

I believe you're looking for a magic wand to be waved and your files will reappear.

Ain't gonna happen.

You're going to have to help yourself some too.

Keep in mind that TV shows where you see tales of people's entire computer discs being recovered are fiction, usually. CSI is based on fact and that's about it.

Like the guys above said, there are a lot of factors that go into being able to recover files from an old drive. Since it's been two years since you saw the files - even though you've only been listening to iTunes and watching movies on the machine - I wouldn't be too excited about getting them back. That disc has been written on and written on and deletions made and written on...

And that's the upside. The reality is that what's in the machine now may not even be the same drive.

Besides, you've been without them for two years now. Might as well let them go.

[RabidDog]

The good news is .. if you ever get your files back..She'll be of age to marry! Whoopee. Seriously, sweetFA chance of getting your files back.. why leave it two years? It Cant really be that important, can it?
A Modern day tale of Romeo and Juliet

[MJA]

all those MSN convos still somwhere on my PC

are u trying to sue your ex?

[kbRenePerez]

http://data-recovery-software-review.toptenreviews.com/


did u try Recover My Files?

if that doesn't work.you need to talk to a pro.

if you do.get your fat checkbook ready

thx everyone for your advice.

is there any free software out there that will help me? or should i just buy one of the many that MJA requested for me in the link?

thx in advance!

[kbRenePerez]

by the way is my PC a RAID drive becuz it says in the review that it wont help me if it is. can someone comfirm if my PC is that or not.

i have a Windows XP from 2002, thx in advance!

[Bjs]

The best product is Active@ UNDELETE ... if it cannot find what you need to recover then no other software product will ... this program has recovered files when all others failed to find files at all or failed to successfully recover files in "readable" state, and is what I use for business.

For $55us (pro), its cheap

If its hardware issue, then that's where it can cost.