Q. My old hard drive is corrupted and I want to salvage the files on it using a data recovery program I've downloaded. However getting the program to read it is difficult. Do I need to reformat the hard drive? When I go to reformat it says this will erase all data on the disk, but according to other websites I've read it should be fine and I should still be able to salvage files. Which is correct?
A. If you do a full format, all the data on the disk will be overwritten with the formatting data - and you will lose the data you want to retrieve.
There is a type of formatting called "quick format" but that erases all the folder data, and that means you will have even more problems finding the data you want.
You say getting the program to read it is difficult. If the hard drive is failing, then you will have enormous problems getting any program to work right.
If the only problem is corrupted folder structures, then a quick format *might* work to erase all of the corrupted data, leaving the other data. Then your data recovery program would have to scan the entire hard drive.
I use the free Recuva program from Piriform to recover data, but I don't know how it would work in your situation. Recuva has the ability to scan all the hard drive sectors, it is an option. If you can get it to work, you will need another drive to have a place to copy the selected data.
http://www.piriform.com/recuva
Wikipedia article about Recuva:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Recuva
There are programs available that will read the data directly off the sectors of the hard drive and present it in hexadecimal format, but that doesn't mean you can make enough sense out of the data to be able to recover it. The better programs also cost money.
Monday, March 8, 2010
There is a type of formatting called "quick format" but that erases all the folder data, and that means you will have even more problems finding the data you want.
You say getting the program to read it is difficult. If the hard drive is failing, then you will have enormous problems getting any program to work right.
If the only problem is corrupted folder structures, then a quick format *might* work to erase all of the corrupted data, leaving the other data. Then your data recovery program would have to scan the entire hard drive.
I use the free Recuva program from Piriform to recover data, but I don't know how it would work in your situation. Recuva has the ability to scan all the hard drive sectors, it is an option. If you can get it to work, you will need another drive to have a place to copy the selected data.
http://www.piriform.com/recuva
Wikipedia article about Recuva:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Recuva
There are programs available that will read the data directly off the sectors of the hard drive and present it in hexadecimal format, but that doesn't mean you can make enough sense out of the data to be able to recover it. The better programs also cost money.
Monday, March 8, 2010
How do I find what data is taking up the large amounts of storage space?
Q. My hard drive is only 40% free space and I don't know what is taking up all that space. I have checked all of the obvious files and none is particularly large.
A. Without knowing what overall capacity your HDD has, you could do a couple of steps to whittle the occupied space down:
For some immediate 'c' disk space gain, delete all but the most recent Java version & update from 'Add or Remove Programs' (see 'Control Panel'> Add or Remove...)
Then, 'compress contents' and 'allow index service'. These help optimize file recovery speed & save disk space.
Start> my computer> right click 'c' drive> properties> general tab: here check both boxes & 'OK'.
Don't freak out: it may say days or more to run, but this time drops dramatically as the process advances. Just walk away and let 'er run for the duration: it will self close when done.
Depending on the files & sizes, it may take several hours to do (maybe do it at night before bed?).
When done, run 'CCleaner' (http://www.filehippo.com/download_ccleaner/)
& defrag the drive.
For some immediate 'c' disk space gain, delete all but the most recent Java version & update from 'Add or Remove Programs' (see 'Control Panel'> Add or Remove...)
Then, 'compress contents' and 'allow index service'. These help optimize file recovery speed & save disk space.
Start> my computer> right click 'c' drive> properties> general tab: here check both boxes & 'OK'.
Don't freak out: it may say days or more to run, but this time drops dramatically as the process advances. Just walk away and let 'er run for the duration: it will self close when done.
Depending on the files & sizes, it may take several hours to do (maybe do it at night before bed?).
When done, run 'CCleaner' (http://www.filehippo.com/download_ccleaner/)
& defrag the drive.
Is it possible to recover data that has been erased from the hard disk and from the trash bin?
Q. I'm wondering if I can recover data that has been completely removed as from the hard disk as from the bin trash.
A. UNDELETE PLUS (FREE):
Undelete Plus is a free versatile program that will work with all the latest versions of Windows and can handle both FAT and NTFS file systems. Itâs equally at home with removable media too so you can recover files from memory cards and flash drives. Tick the box to select a drive and click Start Scan to analyse the drive. This can take quite a while to complete on a large drive.
When itâs completed the scan the right-hand pane shows a list of the files available for recovery. You can sort these into file types by selecting from the pane on the left. Select a location to save the undeleted files at the bottom of the screen. You have the option of retaining the original folder structure if youâre recovering entire folders.
It can be downloaded from:
http://www.undelete-plus.com/
RECUVA (FREE)
Another good free one from:
http://www.recuva.com/
wdw
Undelete Plus is a free versatile program that will work with all the latest versions of Windows and can handle both FAT and NTFS file systems. Itâs equally at home with removable media too so you can recover files from memory cards and flash drives. Tick the box to select a drive and click Start Scan to analyse the drive. This can take quite a while to complete on a large drive.
When itâs completed the scan the right-hand pane shows a list of the files available for recovery. You can sort these into file types by selecting from the pane on the left. Select a location to save the undeleted files at the bottom of the screen. You have the option of retaining the original folder structure if youâre recovering entire folders.
It can be downloaded from:
http://www.undelete-plus.com/
RECUVA (FREE)
Another good free one from:
http://www.recuva.com/
wdw
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