Q. I have Windows Vista, and when I run the normal checking utility, it doesn't give me much of a report on the results.
Is there a good free program that will tell me exactly what errors, bad sectors, etc my drive has?
Thanks!
Is there a good free program that will tell me exactly what errors, bad sectors, etc my drive has?
Thanks!
A. Disk drive manufacturers have diagostics for their repspective brands. I carry around a dozen. If you don't know what brand your drive is, or you don't want to fool with it, Kroll OnTrack's Data Advisor is a general purpose software tool. It costs money, but they have a free trial download:
http://www.ontrackdatarecovery.com/data-recovery-downloads/
http://www.ontrackdatarecovery.com/data-recovery-downloads/
What is a good free file recovery program that can recover even after a format?
Q. ...A free program that will recover files that have been deleted, formatted, and possibly overwritted once? (Without buying software or using trials or demos)
thanks
thanks
A. There is no guarantee it can be recovered and if it has been overwritten it is gone. I reccommend Recuva (pronounced "recover"), it is a freeware Windows utility to restore files that have been accidentally deleted from your computer. This includes files emptied from the Recycle bin as well as images and other files that have been deleted by user error from digital camera memory cards or MP3 players. It will even bring back files that have been deleted by bugs, crashes and viruses!
There are two kinds of people: those who have experienced data loss, and those who will. Remember the 3 rules of computing. 1) Back up 2) Back up 3) Back up.
The guy below me is completely wrong. Formatting does not delete anything. All information remains on the hard drive after a format. ONLY if it has been overwritten will it not be recoverable without profesional help.
There are two kinds of people: those who have experienced data loss, and those who will. Remember the 3 rules of computing. 1) Back up 2) Back up 3) Back up.
The guy below me is completely wrong. Formatting does not delete anything. All information remains on the hard drive after a format. ONLY if it has been overwritten will it not be recoverable without profesional help.
Is there any way to wipe an old hard drive for my new computer?
Q. I have an old 120gb hard drive from my old computer, and the 320gb one in my current computer is getting full, so i was wondering if there is any way i can completely wipe my old one to put in my current computer. The problem is, the old computer no longer works, and my old computer had a ton of viruses/trojans/spyware on it, so if i hook it up to my current one is there a chance they could be transferred to my computer?
A. You can erase the hard drive with a free program from Active@Killdisk:
http://www.killdisk.com/
One the left side, click the button labeled "Download Free Version"
On that page you can select the version you want, a Windows version, a DOS version - which have versions that can boot from a floppy disk. or a USB flash drive, or a CD.
The site also provides instructions, be sure to save the webpage or try to print it out.
The CD version will boot the computer, and begin running a menu page. It will not erase the disk, you have to select the program from the menu and then make some other selections and then verify you want to run the program.
Just be sure that when you run the program, the hard drive you want to erase is the only hard drive installed in the computer. You do not want to accidentally select the wrong hard drive if you have two of them installed!
Active@Killdisk uses the term "erase hard drive" to mean they write zeroes on all sectors of the hard drive, thus fully erasing all data. The will be no MBR viruses this way; the Windows Format program does not always erase the MBR successfully if a MBR virus is resident, because the virus puts its code right back on the hard drive.
Active@Killdisk uses the term "wipe hard drive" to mean write zeros to all sectors that are not allocated for use by the operating system. Similar terms are "wipe free space". This is also available from the menu - you can use it to make it nearly impossible for someone to use a file recovery program to find data that was supposed to be deleted.
Great little program !
==========
The Acronis True Image program (costs about $50.00) includes a disk-erasing program, and it can also clone drives and makes image files that are very convenient for backing up the operating system. If you buy the retail package (from Frys or Best Buy, etc) the CD inside will boot the computer and perform these operations, and the CD cannot get infected by malware like viruses. Installing the software makes the other features of the program available.
There is a trial version available for download, but it will not make a bootable CD until the product is activated after it is paid for.
http://www.acronis.com/
http://www.acronis.com/homecomputing/products/trueimage/
Wikipedia article about Acronis True Image:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronis_True_Image
TonyRB
Saturday, December 12, 2009
http://www.killdisk.com/
One the left side, click the button labeled "Download Free Version"
On that page you can select the version you want, a Windows version, a DOS version - which have versions that can boot from a floppy disk. or a USB flash drive, or a CD.
The site also provides instructions, be sure to save the webpage or try to print it out.
The CD version will boot the computer, and begin running a menu page. It will not erase the disk, you have to select the program from the menu and then make some other selections and then verify you want to run the program.
Just be sure that when you run the program, the hard drive you want to erase is the only hard drive installed in the computer. You do not want to accidentally select the wrong hard drive if you have two of them installed!
Active@Killdisk uses the term "erase hard drive" to mean they write zeroes on all sectors of the hard drive, thus fully erasing all data. The will be no MBR viruses this way; the Windows Format program does not always erase the MBR successfully if a MBR virus is resident, because the virus puts its code right back on the hard drive.
Active@Killdisk uses the term "wipe hard drive" to mean write zeros to all sectors that are not allocated for use by the operating system. Similar terms are "wipe free space". This is also available from the menu - you can use it to make it nearly impossible for someone to use a file recovery program to find data that was supposed to be deleted.
Great little program !
==========
The Acronis True Image program (costs about $50.00) includes a disk-erasing program, and it can also clone drives and makes image files that are very convenient for backing up the operating system. If you buy the retail package (from Frys or Best Buy, etc) the CD inside will boot the computer and perform these operations, and the CD cannot get infected by malware like viruses. Installing the software makes the other features of the program available.
There is a trial version available for download, but it will not make a bootable CD until the product is activated after it is paid for.
http://www.acronis.com/
http://www.acronis.com/homecomputing/products/trueimage/
Wikipedia article about Acronis True Image:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronis_True_Image
TonyRB
Saturday, December 12, 2009
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