Help!!!! - Missing Files

[kentjohnson]

So I've deleted files by accident in the past but this I just can't figure out. Currently, ALL of the files in the My Documents folder are missing. They literally just disappeared. They are still on the drive but I just can't see them (the space they occupied is still occupied) and I have other evidence for their existance that I will explain.

Info: XP Pro SP1; dell dimension 8100

Anyway, I've got a 40gb drive in it and all of my personal files are gone (except maybe 10 or so). I did a windows update which went fine. Then I tried to delete a profile that I no longer needed (I've done it before and know I didn't screw that part up) and it wouldn't delete after a few tries. I'd try and then it would freeze so I forced it to quit and tried again. After not working, I figured I'd just leave it since it didn't matter much and then a few hours later, I noticed all my files were gone. The files that disappeared were in the profile I was working from so I couldn't have deleted them if I had wanted to through the profile editor. I tried to do a system restore but that didn't help (as I didn't think it would). When I used the "Error-Checking" tool on the whole C-Drive, two movie files randomly came back but that's it. Thing is that my drive is only showing 7gb of free space. Considering I'm missing about 15gb of files, the computer is still seeing the space as used but I just can't see the files.

I just popped the drive back into the computer and curious about the defrag status I ran that tool. So I analyze it and 23% of the drive is fragmented and 42% of the files are fragmented. The most interesting part is where it lists the 'most fragmented files.' It says that my missing movie files are fragmented so the defrag utility knows that they are on the drive but still, I can't see them. Also, they are located in the 'recycler' folder in the c drive. I know I never deleted them but somehow, they are there now. If I go to the location the defrag utility tells me the files are located, it says there are no objects in the folder. However, if I check the properties of that folder, there are 14,000 files and 20gb taken up. One last thing is that I ran a virus check and some of the files it ran through included my missing files. The location again pointed to the folder that is empty.

So, it looks to me like the files are still on the drive from everything I can see but I just can't get to them. I have even copied the partition to a different drive and the 'hints' mentioned above to show that the files exist were even copied to the new drive.

Does anyone have any suggestions? For the amount I know about computers, I was really stupid to not back up and have lost a lot of data from 4 years of college that I would like to keep. Any help is greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

Kent

[scouse]

Try this goto search and type *.doc see if you can recognoise any of youir documents follow the path and retrieve them.

[kentjohnson]

I've tried the *.doc method already and have also searched for the individual file names since I knew some specific ones. All I get are shortcuts to the files that no longer exist....

[scouse]

Sorry to say but you ahve tried probably more than i know so there is nothing left for me to to tell you. have you tryed some retrivel tools?

http://www.highergroundsoftware.com/6.html

(List credit goes to CrazyOne) from Experts-exchange

FREE TOOLS

PC INSPECTOR
recovery/UK/welcome.htm">http://www.pcinspector.de/file_recovery/UK/welcome.htm
File Recovery is a data recovery program that supports the FAT 12/16/32 and NTFS file systems. The current version 3.x replaces the previous version 2.x, which is now over 6 years old.

Restoration
http://hccweb1.bai.ne.jp/~hcj58401/REST2514.EXE
For 9x/NT/2K/XP. Restore deleted files that are no longer in the Recycle Bin!

Tool to check and undelete partition
Works with the following partitions:
- FAT12 FAT16 FAT32
- Linux
- Linux SWAP (version 1 and 2)
- NTFS (Windows NT)
- BeFS (BeOS)
- UFS (BSD)
- Netware
- RaiserFS
http://www.cgsecurity.org//testdisk.html
-------------------------------

NOT FREE

EasyRecovery DataRecovery is a simple, yet powerful tool that recovers data that is lost, inaccessible or deleted. It's the ultimate do-it-yourself solution for nearly all causes of data loss (except physical hardware or system problems) where your hard drive and system are fully functional.
http://www.ontrack.com/easyrecoverydatarecovery/

File Rescue 2.5
Web:http://www.file-rescue.com/

GetDataBack for FAT
GetDataBack will help you retrieve your files if the hard drive's partition table, boot record, FAT, or root directory have been damaged by a virus, formatting, fdisk or power failure. GetDataBack can even recover your data when the drive is no longer recognized by Windows.

GetDataBack for NTFS
Recover your files when the data is no longer accessible due to formatting, fdisk, virus attack, power or software failure. Get everything back even when the drive's partition table, boot record, Master File Table or root directory is lost or corrupt.
Hard Drives
Partitions
Floppy Drives
Drive Images
Zip/Jaz Drives
http://www.runtime.org/

Norton Utilities/SystemWorks
The Norton Protected Recycle Bin helps you recover deleted and overwritten files.
The UnErase wizard helps you retrieve files you've accidentally deleted.
[/url]http://www.symantec.com/nu/nu_9x/features.html[/url]

For NTFS
http://www.restorer2000.com/r2k.htm

Data Recovery
http://www.dtidata.com/
Fast File Undelete
http://www.dtidata.com/products_ff_undelete.asp

Undelete
http://www.quantumsoft.co.uk/undelete.stm

File Recover 2000
http://www.filerecover.com/

R-Tools
http://www.r-tt.com/

File Restore
If you've deleted your data and you want to get it back, you need FileRestore.
FileRestore is a simple, easy-to-use tool for recovering files that have been lost or deleted from your Windows system. Designed for Windows XP, 2000, NT, Me, and 9x
http://www.winternals.com/products/r...ilerestore.asp

Disk Commander
In virtually any situation where you need to recover lost data from a Windows system, Disk Commander is the solution. Disk Commander performs a wide range of data recovery operations.
[/url]http://www.winternals.com/products/repairandrecovery/diskcommander.asp[/url]

DFSee
http://www.dfsee.com/
As a tool to 'UNDELETE' files that have been accidentaly deleted.
This feature is implemented for HPFS and NTFS only.

MRECOVER
http://kristenonline.com/lain/cih/mrecintro.htm

Emergency Undelete
I believe this is free
For Win2000 and NT may work on XP
http://www.c2000.com/software/#win2000

Back2Life
http://www.simtel.net/pub/pd/57588.html

Hard Drive Mechanic
http://www.highergroundsoftware.com/6.html
It's true. Even if you just re-formatted your entire hard drive, you can still get all of your data back because, unlike what most people believe, formatting does NOT erase your files! With Hard Drive Mechanic's Unformat Feature, you can restore all of your valuable data in about 10 minutes!
demo version:
http://www.highergroundsoftware.com/downloads2.htm

Filerecovery for Windows
http://www.lc-tech.com/filerecovery.asp
Filerecovery for Windows® is a safe and affordable do-it-yourself data recovery solution that is designed to recover deleted files from all types of media such as Hard Drives, Floppy Drives, SmartMedia, CompactFlash, Memory Sticks, and other types of removable media.

Undelete
http://www.executive.com/consumer/undelete/undelete.asp
You know how upsetting it is to accidentally delete a file that you need—it takes just a moment to lose hours of work. Undelete file-recovery utility captures ALL deleted files including those that typically bypass the Recycle Bin. You can even recover files you purged from our Recovery Bin. With our Emergency Undelete feature, you can recover files deleted prior to Undelete being installed on your system (provided they have not been written over). Buy Undelete and you'll never again be at the mercy of lost data.

Fast File Recovery
http://savemyfiles.com/fastfile.htm
A definite must for the PC guru! It will allow the user to perform all data recovery tasks associated with disks which are not physically damaged.


File Scavenge
http://www.quetek.com/prod01.htm
File Scavenge is the most comprehensive, award-winning file undelete and data recovery for NTFS volumes on Windows NT, Windows 2000 and Windows XP.

Active UNERASER
http://www.uneraser.com/undelete.htm
Active UNERASER is a compact and powerful undelete utility that can recover deleted files and folders on FAT12, FAT16, FAT32 and NTFS systems. It can even restore files from deleted and re-formatted partitions.

Undelete 3.0
http://www.pcconnection.com/scripts/...duct_id=309884
Undelete 3.0 restores accidentally deleted files within seconds from anywhere on your system. Version 3.0 includes new SecureDelete, full Windows XP support and expanded search options.

FinalData Data Recovery
http://www1.finaldata.com/
FinalData Data Recovery Solution will recover files that have been lost by quick formatting, FDISK, FAT damage, MBR damage or directory destruction. It recovers data from FAT12/16/32, NTFS, and EXT2, EXT3.

------------------------------------
Or Data Recovery Services

http://www.ontrack.com/datarecovery/
Ontrack offers a full range of data recovery solutions to address your data loss needs. Unlike other data recovery companies, Ontrack provides exclusive and patented solutions that do not require you to send in your media for recovery. In situations where the hardware is functioning normally, our patented Remote Data Recovery service and EasyRecovery software solutions can solve your data loss needs safely and effectively in a matter of hours. If another company claims that there is no alternative to shipping your drive, it's because they don't offer an alternative. For situations in which the hardware is physically failing, our In-Lab services will utilize our Class 100 clean-rooms to retrieve your mission critical data.

or

FLAT RATE DATA RECOVERY PRICING INCLUDES!
http://www.i-t-s.com/datarec/datarec_pricing.htm

or

Total Recall
http://www.recallusa.com/
Our recovery and forensic technology is used by support and call centers as well as data recovery providers world-wide.

ESS Data Recovery
http://www.savemyfiles.com/
ESS Data Recovery, Inc. has been removing barriers in the data recovery and computer forensics market ever since its inception

LucF

[scouse]

Free trial.


http://www.ontrack.com/freesoftware/

[kentjohnson]

Thanks for all the program suggestions. I've tried Norton WinDoctor and DiskDoctor but those haven't done anything. I also took the drive to a repair place and they did a recovery to look for deleted files and even used a program that woudl find files after formatting a drive but couldn't find them. I don't think they were doing the right operations though since they couldn't even find evidence of the files to the extent that I could. I'll try some of the programs you've listed above and if anything works, I'll post a follow-up. Until then, any other suggestions are still welcome

[ericpe]

I bought Hard Drive Mechanic about 10 days ago. I was reassured by their 100% money-back guarantee. I tried the software and it was useless. Ever since I have been asking them to refund my money, but I have received no response. I'm going to have to call my credit card company and have them reverse the charge. This is some of the most over-hyped software I've ever seen, and their money-back guarantee is apparently a big lie.

[Harnic]

Originally Posted by kentjohnson

So I've deleted files by accident in the past but this I just can't figure out. Currently, ALL of the files in the My Documents folder are missing. They literally just disappeared. They are still on the drive but I just can't see them (the space they occupied is still occupied) and I have other evidence for their existance that I will explain.

Info: XP Pro SP1; dell dimension 8100

Anyway, I've got a 40gb drive in it and all of my personal files are gone (except maybe 10 or so). I did a windows update which went fine. Then I tried to delete a profile that I no longer needed (I've done it before and know I didn't screw that part up) and it wouldn't delete after a few tries. I'd try and then it would freeze so I forced it to quit and tried again. After not working, I figured I'd just leave it since it didn't matter much and then a few hours later, I noticed all my files were gone. The files that disappeared were in the profile I was working from so I couldn't have deleted them if I had wanted to through the profile editor. I tried to do a system restore but that didn't help (as I didn't think it would). When I used the "Error-Checking" tool on the whole C-Drive, two movie files randomly came back but that's it. Thing is that my drive is only showing 7gb of free space. Considering I'm missing about 15gb of files, the computer is still seeing the space as used but I just can't see the files.

I just popped the drive back into the computer and curious about the defrag status I ran that tool. So I analyze it and 23% of the drive is fragmented and 42% of the files are fragmented. The most interesting part is where it lists the 'most fragmented files.' It says that my missing movie files are fragmented so the defrag utility knows that they are on the drive but still, I can't see them. Also, they are located in the 'recycler' folder in the c drive. I know I never deleted them but somehow, they are there now. If I go to the location the defrag utility tells me the files are located, it says there are no objects in the folder. However, if I check the properties of that folder, there are 14,000 files and 20gb taken up. One last thing is that I ran a virus check and some of the files it ran through included my missing files. The location again pointed to the folder that is empty.

So, it looks to me like the files are still on the drive from everything I can see but I just can't get to them. I have even copied the partition to a different drive and the 'hints' mentioned above to show that the files exist were even copied to the new drive.

Does anyone have any suggestions? For the amount I know about computers, I was really stupid to not back up and have lost a lot of data from 4 years of college that I would like to keep. Any help is greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

Kent

Have you tried going into Control Panel \Folder Options \View tab, under "advanced settings" & removing the check in the box beside "Hide Protected Operating System Files"? Your missing files may be in the hidden RECYCLER folder.

[ganrel12]

This is a pretty good list of data recovery providers- I was also looking for some good data recovery portals with some info. on data recovery

Originally Posted by scouse

Sorry to say but you ahve tried probably more than i know so there is nothing left for me to to tell you. have you tryed some retrivel tools?

http://www.highergroundsoftware.com/6.html

(List credit goes to CrazyOne) from Experts-exchange

FREE TOOLS

PC INSPECTOR
recovery/UK/welcome.htm">http://www.pcinspector.de/file_recovery/UK/welcome.htm
File Recovery is a data recovery program that supports the FAT 12/16/32 and NTFS file systems. The current version 3.x replaces the previous version 2.x, which is now over 6 years old.

Restoration
http://hccweb1.bai.ne.jp/~hcj58401/REST2514.EXE
For 9x/NT/2K/XP. Restore deleted files that are no longer in the Recycle Bin!

Tool to check and undelete partition
Works with the following partitions:
- FAT12 FAT16 FAT32
- Linux
- Linux SWAP (version 1 and 2)
- NTFS (Windows NT)
- BeFS (BeOS)
- UFS (BSD)
- Netware
- RaiserFS
http://www.cgsecurity.org//testdisk.html
-------------------------------

NOT FREE

EasyRecovery DataRecovery is a simple, yet powerful tool that recovers data that is lost, inaccessible or deleted. It's the ultimate do-it-yourself solution for nearly all causes of data loss (except physical hardware or system problems) where your hard drive and system are fully functional.
http://www.ontrack.com/easyrecoverydatarecovery/

File Rescue 2.5
Web:http://www.file-rescue.com/

GetDataBack for FAT
GetDataBack will help you retrieve your files if the hard drive's partition table, boot record, FAT, or root directory have been damaged by a virus, formatting, fdisk or power failure. GetDataBack can even recover your data when the drive is no longer recognized by Windows.

GetDataBack for NTFS
Recover your files when the data is no longer accessible due to formatting, fdisk, virus attack, power or software failure. Get everything back even when the drive's partition table, boot record, Master File Table or root directory is lost or corrupt.
Hard Drives
Partitions
Floppy Drives
Drive Images
Zip/Jaz Drives
http://www.runtime.org/

Norton Utilities/SystemWorks
The Norton Protected Recycle Bin helps you recover deleted and overwritten files.
The UnErase wizard helps you retrieve files you've accidentally deleted.
[/url]http://www.symantec.com/nu/nu_9x/features.html[/url]

For NTFS
http://www.restorer2000.com/r2k.htm

Data Recovery
http://www.dtidata.com/
Fast File Undelete
http://www.dtidata.com/products_ff_undelete.asp

Undelete
http://www.quantumsoft.co.uk/undelete.stm

File Recover 2000
http://www.filerecover.com/

R-Tools
http://www.r-tt.com/

File Restore
If you've deleted your data and you want to get it back, you need FileRestore.
FileRestore is a simple, easy-to-use tool for recovering files that have been lost or deleted from your Windows system. Designed for Windows XP, 2000, NT, Me, and 9x
http://www.winternals.com/products/r...ilerestore.asp

Disk Commander
In virtually any situation where you need to recover lost data from a Windows system, Disk Commander is the solution. Disk Commander performs a wide range of data recovery operations.
[/url]http://www.winternals.com/products/repairandrecovery/diskcommander.asp[/url]

DFSee
http://www.dfsee.com/
As a tool to 'UNDELETE' files that have been accidentaly deleted.
This feature is implemented for HPFS and NTFS only.

MRECOVER
http://kristenonline.com/lain/cih/mrecintro.htm

Emergency Undelete
I believe this is free
For Win2000 and NT may work on XP
http://www.c2000.com/software/#win2000

Back2Life
http://www.simtel.net/pub/pd/57588.html

Hard Drive Mechanic
http://www.highergroundsoftware.com/6.html
It's true. Even if you just re-formatted your entire hard drive, you can still get all of your data back because, unlike what most people believe, formatting does NOT erase your files! With Hard Drive Mechanic's Unformat Feature, you can restore all of your valuable data in about 10 minutes!
demo version:
http://www.highergroundsoftware.com/downloads2.htm

Filerecovery for Windows
http://www.lc-tech.com/filerecovery.asp
Filerecovery for Windows® is a safe and affordable do-it-yourself data recovery solution that is designed to recover deleted files from all types of media such as Hard Drives, Floppy Drives, SmartMedia, CompactFlash, Memory Sticks, and other types of removable media.

Undelete
http://www.executive.com/consumer/undelete/undelete.asp
You know how upsetting it is to accidentally delete a file that you need—it takes just a moment to lose hours of work. Undelete file-recovery utility captures ALL deleted files including those that typically bypass the Recycle Bin. You can even recover files you purged from our Recovery Bin. With our Emergency Undelete feature, you can recover files deleted prior to Undelete being installed on your system (provided they have not been written over). Buy Undelete and you'll never again be at the mercy of lost data.

Fast File Recovery
http://savemyfiles.com/fastfile.htm
A definite must for the PC guru! It will allow the user to perform all data recovery tasks associated with disks which are not physically damaged.


File Scavenge
http://www.quetek.com/prod01.htm
File Scavenge is the most comprehensive, award-winning file undelete and data recovery for NTFS volumes on Windows NT, Windows 2000 and Windows XP.

Active UNERASER
http://www.uneraser.com/undelete.htm
Active UNERASER is a compact and powerful undelete utility that can recover deleted files and folders on FAT12, FAT16, FAT32 and NTFS systems. It can even restore files from deleted and re-formatted partitions.

Undelete 3.0
http://www.pcconnection.com/scripts/...duct_id=309884
Undelete 3.0 restores accidentally deleted files within seconds from anywhere on your system. Version 3.0 includes new SecureDelete, full Windows XP support and expanded search options.

FinalData Data Recovery
http://www1.finaldata.com/
FinalData Data Recovery Solution will recover files that have been lost by quick formatting, FDISK, FAT damage, MBR damage or directory destruction. It recovers data from FAT12/16/32, NTFS, and EXT2, EXT3.

------------------------------------
Or Data Recovery Services

http://www.ontrack.com/datarecovery/
Ontrack offers a full range of data recovery solutions to address your data loss needs. Unlike other data recovery companies, Ontrack provides exclusive and patented solutions that do not require you to send in your media for recovery. In situations where the hardware is functioning normally, our patented Remote Data Recovery service and EasyRecovery software solutions can solve your data loss needs safely and effectively in a matter of hours. If another company claims that there is no alternative to shipping your drive, it's because they don't offer an alternative. For situations in which the hardware is physically failing, our In-Lab services will utilize our Class 100 clean-rooms to retrieve your mission critical data.

or

FLAT RATE DATA RECOVERY PRICING INCLUDES!
http://www.i-t-s.com/datarec/datarec_pricing.htm

or

Total Recall
http://www.recallusa.com/
Our recovery and forensic technology is used by support and call centers as well as data recovery providers world-wide.

ESS Data Recovery
http://www.savemyfiles.com/
ESS Data Recovery, Inc. has been removing barriers in the data recovery and computer forensics market ever since its inception

LucF

[mikebrinn]

I had good luck with r-undelete - cost me $55 but it got back 5 yrs worth of travelphotos that were on a drive that was dying - actually making loud chipmunk noises while the program was working on it. Good Luck!