Recuva

2 days ago I downloaded and installed, one of the coolest things I have ever seen, since I've been using computers. It's called Recuva and it retrieves lost files. I'm sure many of you remember how I had lost all my videos, after bringing my computer back to factory settings. Because I had only saved the shortcuts to my flashdrive and not the actual videos.
Well Rercuva gave them back to me. I set it to search for videos throughout the computer. Then I set it on deep scan. It took about 4 hours, but it found them and brought them back. I knew they were still on the harddrive. But I thought it would take more than a free app. to retrieve them.
Now it did bring them back kind of wrong. Meaning not exactly how they were when I lost them. Kind of like "Pet Semitary" by Stephen King. Therre were some that wouldn't play at all. Some that would only play for 15 seconds or less.Doubles, triples quadruples of bad ones that I had to get rid of,and the same things for good ones I just got rid of all the copies but one. I can't say, for sure, that I got all my videos back. But, I know I got the vast majority.
I'm sure some of you PC Wizards are going to tell me all about the flaws and dangers of Recuva.
But I don't care. It has been very good to me. ;0)

To maximize chances of recovery you should act quickly, before deleted files are overwritten. Ideally, the recovery tool should be installed already, since its subsequent installation can do such overwriting.

Of course, the best protection against loss is always a good file backup policy.

I agree with bobcat

btw, you can see the chances of recovering your files indicated by color on your recuva menu (red, yellow, or green -if I'm not mistaken)

IMHO, the reason why you couldn't bring them back 100% because the deleted files might have overwritten by other files just as Bobcat described

The recovery tool is installed already. Recuva is the recovery tool. (and, may I add, a darn good one)

I saw the different colors you mentioned. But, I was so jazzed at getting my videos back, that I didn't pay them any mind. I will find out what each color means.
I had no clue as to why some of the videos came out wrong. Being over written makes a whole lot of sense.There's one thing that confuses me though. I have a 1TB. hard drive.I know there is still plenty of room left on it. This being the case. Why did new files have to overwrite old files, when there is plenty of room for both? I guess if I had waited too long, they would have all been overwritten, and I would have gotten nothing back. That is unless I have the wrong idea as to what overwriting is and does..Thanks for the post.
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It sure is. Best thing Iv'e ever downloaded since Kazaa..

Good luck & I wish you the best

There are other sophisticated tools too, but Recuva "works for me", as they say, so never really failed in anything yet, so the need for a better solution wasn't felt. Though of course the best solution would be to check before you delete.

I my case it was.the difference in thinking I had my videos backed uipo, and knowing I had my videos backed up.

Strange. occurrences. Recuva found songs that I would never download, and songs by groups I never even heard of. Does that mean Best Buy sold me a refurbished machine as a new machine?

IMHO, the reason why the new files overwritten old files while there is plenty of space is because the location of the files (physically) on the disk zone (hard disk), maybe some of your deleted files located on the nearest zone..

correct my if I'm wrong
to make it easy to understand, let see.. when you open defragmenter menu, you could see the disk map where most of the files occupy the upper zone while free space occupy lower zone.. perhaps some of your files located physically on the upper zone, that's why overwritten by new files, since all new files will occupy from upper zone to the bottom zone.

I hope you can understand what I mean, since I'm not good with english

and, in recuva menu, before you recover, you can see plenty of information of the deleted files such date last modified, state of file (recoverable, bad, irrecoverable), and comments or info.

hope that help

Hi, The reason files get overwritten, is that when you choose 'delete' for a file, it doesn't get deleted.
You are telling Windows 'The part of the disc where that program was, is now free to use again'.
So it might get written over today or next day or next week.....
Recuva is a good program, had good results here too. Always much the best idea to save the 'found' files to a different disc or location, to cut down on the overwriting problem.

Yes it does help, and I actually uinderstand it. As far as defragmenting goes. I was told with a 1TB hard drive there was no reason to defrag. Question. If I did decide to run my defragmentater anyway, wouild that,maybe clear up space in the uppeer zone?

It says to send found videos to a new location, but I don't know how.Maybe that's why sop many of the videos came

out wrong I tried making a new folder, and a new Beiefcase. When I try to send the videos to those location it won't work. I just get the save files in a different location again .I finally got frustrated sent the files to the same place. Can you tell me how to send found files to a different locations?
Sorry about the space between my first line and the rest of the post.

Hi, Not sure why you were told there would no reason to defrag it, you can if you want to, maybe because it is so much space, you won't be using much of it, (maybe?).
With 1TB, or 500GB/320GB ext HD, it's a good idea to split it up into smaller partitions, say 4 x 250 (it will be less in reality, 4x 225 GB or so) so that if you do defrag, you can do one partiton at a time, and not the others, if used less.

A way to use Recuva, is first to make a new folder, on a different drive to where you are searching for files, call it say "rec_files" or similar.
Then when you have done the search in Recuva, choose the new folder to send the 'found' files to. (Point Recuva to the new folder, 'choose' folder etc.)
This does two things. It does no more damage to your lost files, and you know where to look for them afterwards.

I was told, or I read it was because there was so much space. If I decide to split up my harddrive, came I come to you for instructions on how ;-)

You say make a new folder in a different drive. I know how to make a new folder or briefcase. Buit I have no idea how to put them in different drives. That is unless you're talking about after I split up my harddrive. Then I could run Recuva in one section and create folders in another. Is that what your saying?
Can you point me to where I can get instructions for partitioning my hard drive? Thanks :0)

I know that I'm replying to my own post, but I needed to add something, and I didn't see an edit anywhere
I found How to Partition a Hard Drive in Windows 7 from About.com. I printed the instructions, so I can read them and go one step at a time.I wont start until I get an answer to this post.
Question. The instructions say the Difficulty Level is Easy. I hope that means for me too ;0) If I make a mistake in one of the steps. Will it be fixable, or do I run the risk of a blue screen or something like that?
One part of the instructions caught my eye. It wont effect me because I have a 1TB hard drive. But I do think they didn't realize their mistake. "Choose MBR if your new hard drive is smaller than 2 terabytes or GPT if it's larger than 2terabytes. Then click OK." What do you choose is exactly 2 terabytes? I just hope I don't run into something like that, that will effect my outcome.

Hi, It's a bit easier to partiton a hard drive if you download a program that was designed to do that, for instance;
Easeus Partition manager or Minitool partition wizard.
When you run the program it will show all the drives you have connected.
These type of programs allow you to do several things, such as split up a large partition to smaller ones, or to move the edges of the partitions to make room for extra data.
The basic way these programs work is that you click on the partition you want to change, then move the left hand edge marker to where you want, then move the right hand edge marker.
The program will show how much memory is in each partition as you move the markers so no danger of making mistakes.
Only when you have got it how you want, you click 'Apply'. Then the pc makes the changes, it can take some time, say more than 15 minutes, if you have data on it could be longer. A new drive is fastest to partition of course, no data to move.
I took a snap of Easeus partition master showing my C drive (called Disk 1), and my external 320GB hard drive (called Disk 2).
The 320GB Disk 2 , is split up into 100GB (X drive) 50GB (Y drive) 150GB (Z drive), so 3 partitions.
On the Z drive I keep an image of my C drive in case it fails to boot one day.
Notice the green partition at the start of my C drive, that is the Dell recovery partition.

@circusboy01

I'm not sure the meaning of 'clear up space on the upper zone' on your previous post, if you mean the free space that scattered on upper zone would be overwritten by another files/moving files during defragmenting process, my answer is most likely yes (depend on what option you use when defrag), if you defrag your HDD with consolidate free space option enabled, it would leave no 'chunk' of free space left scattered between existing files on upper zone since this option will 'fill' or overwrite those scattered free space and 'repositioning' or moving existing files and leaving no 'gap' or 'chunk' of free space within.. in other word, "consolidate free space" will moving scattered or gaps of free space from upper zone to the lower zone.

Regarding you were told that there was no reason to defrag your 1TB HDD, like mike1959 said, I never heard about this, maybe because you got plenty of free space that can reduce the chance to fragmenting your files.. (well, I'm not sure) but it will be another case if you are using SSD
My advice is you should run defragmenter once in a while oh, and running defragmenter will reduce the chance of recovering your deleted files anyway.

some one here used the term "Upper Zone" don't remember who, or when, also not sure where I got the idea that I didn't have to defrag, because I have so much space. But I know it was not something that I just dreamed up.
Anyway I'm probably going to partition my Hard Drive. So I will need, for sure, to defrag the smaller sections.
When I said I'm going to partition my Hard Drive. I forgot to add.As soon as I get brave enough.

I'm going to try one of the two programs you mentioned. As soon as I'm brave enough. Will they take care of the formatting too? About.com. instructions for formatting was thirteen sections long, each section took up two printed pages. I couldn't understand most of it, so I stopped at section #6 so I wouldn't use up all my black ink. If they don't include formatting, perhaps you can point me to a program that does.
One last question, at least for this email. Would it be a good idea to defrag. before I partition the drive? Thanks again.. Okay. I lied about one more question. Of the two programs you mentioned which one would you recommend ?