Bringing Out the Dead Files
For any Windows newbie, emptying the recycle bin means the complete loss of the files stored there for deletion, sometimes followed by accidental loss of critical data. As we will see, this is not always the case.
The process of deleting files from your computer does not work exactly like throwing things into a trash compactor from where they cannot be ever mended back. Actually, the main thing you need to know is that Windows assigns a particular amount of memory and a physical space on your hard drives for your data. If the system has not yet written something else over that particular space, after you commanded the deletion, then there is a chance to take it back. The only question that remains is: how?
I Lost My File!
This is far too common. Renaming files, misplacing them, or deleting them by accident happen to every computer user and it can be very disturbing news when important documents are involved. Before purchasing specific data recovery software, we will give you some easy tips on how to find your lost files using the tools that you already have.
We explained earlier that Windows assigns memory from every bit and piece of data on your computer memory. Even if a file is deleted, the allocated memory space remains occupied by that data until it is required for other information. So, when you discover the disaster, stop any program that needs Windows to write data on hard drive.
Start with using the built-in Window search tool-Start menu, Search. Start out by searching for the entire file’s name or a part of the file’s name. If you locate your file using this method, be sure to make a backup to a thumb drive or email it to yourself for offsite storage.
No Dice: Another Method
So, you’ve scoured your hard drive with Windows Search and have come up empty. It may be time to bring in the big guns. If you query Google, you’ll find scads of file recovery utilities, alongside the supposedly more reputable pay-before-you-own programs. One example, FreeUndelete, may be just what you need to get your file back; it’s interface is clean, simple, easy to use, and it’s clean from the nasty, groping tendrils of spyware and adware!
There Is Life After Hard Drive Formatting
Quite a big issue may appear when you have not just lost a file, but the entire information written on your hard drive, due to an accidental reformatting. Here you need more than just a little piece of software to locate one file. Go for a professional software, such as File Scavenger, designed by QueTek. The program is cheap, at only $49, and it offers you as much as other programs would, at more expensive prices.
Recovery Of A Near Dead Hard Drive
Is scan disk showing you bad clusters? Do you get any strange errors when you try to save data on your hard drive? Is Windows behaving erratically? Those are the signs of a hard drive living its last moments. Don’t waste time! Backup! Backup everything you think you may need from it! Make copies on another hard drive or write down important data on USB pen drives or even CD-R’s or DVD’s. This will save you, and your precious data, as well.
