Totally Debilitated Inside A Living Nightmare!!!

[Farce-cape]

My platform is XP Home. My second fantasy novel in a trilogy is Simeon and the Dark Powers. My problem is 179 revisions in the first 106 pages of a three hundred and fifty page novel has been erased by a technician from India. I have a dual core Dell Dimesion E 521. A blank page appeared when the heel of my palm brushed either the CTRL, the Start or the ALT button. My work had been saved numerous times (without a back up copy) on the desktop. When I allowed the technician into my computer he clicked the save button in the MS window which means he saved the blank page wiping out the entire novel and its revisions. This was on December 9 at approx. 11:10 pm. I have been at wit's end trying to re-revise my novel. Because it was saved on the desktop and not in my documents I thought I could restore to an earlier date. I restored to Dec. 9 at noon and Dec 8 at 11 am. but neither attempt successfully returned my revisions. PLEASE HELP IF YOU CAN WITH ADVICE!!!:blackeye:

 

[kimsland]

PC INSPECTOR™ File Recovery 4.x
http://www.pcinspector.de/Sites/file_recovery/info.htm?language=1

This program will scan your computer for all deleted files from your system
It is very extensive, please check all settings, you may be able to just scan Desktop and also your filename required. Minimizing the scan results.

 

[gbhall]

so you learned something about backups, and especially about full backups before you let anyone else touch your computer. Tough to learn when it's too late though...

 

[Farce-cape]

Thanks Kimsland. I found one of the best companies in North America, located in Markham Ontario with offices all over the world. The CEO is a really nice guy. Using Hex-editor he may be able to retrieve. I find out tomorrow. If he does and you want the name of the company, I'd be more than happy to share it with you. --- Farcecape

 

[kimsland]

Accidental double post, due to adding Title

Hex Editor, that is used to check the file you have now, not the deleted file (by the way if you save a file, then later on save that same file with alterations, then you can still retrieve the original file - is that confusing ?)

Anyway, you need to run a recovery tool to get the bigger file back.

 

[Farce-cape]

Baffled

Hi: Already used three recovery tools. None were able to retrieve the file with my 179 revisions. Apparently there are hidden temp files (If they haven't been overwritten)that are floating around my hard drive - 179 of them - that can be re-connected to create the entire revised version of the novel. Will find out today. If they have been overwritten I suppose the only alternative is to download the tool you recommended. Thanks for being so responsive.

 

[kimsland]

Yes office makes these backup temp files all the time, usually it's just a matter of putting the extension back to DOC or whatever the tmp file was.

 

[Farce-cape]

Hi Again

I checked the tool. There are 2 types of download and I'm not sure which to use the ftp or the http. My file is in Microsoft word. - Farce-cape

 

[kimsland]

Either

FTP means it's comming directly from their server to your computer
(once upon a time I never used FTP, but these days I find it better.

Answer: whichever works faster

 

[Farce-cape]

Thanks!

You're being very helpful and I appreciate that. Is there anything I can do for you?

 

[kimsland]

Thanks Farce-cape, TechSpot is non profit to its members (I know it's very sad for us )

But your thanks alone is good. By the way you haven't got to the end yet.
Lets wait until then, even the tool I posted above may not save you. But it's a good start.

Actually I just had a thought !

These tmp files, have you actually done a search "all files and folders" include (extended) "hidden and system files" for *.tmp ?
There will be lots of tmp files, but maybe one looks to be yours (of the hundreds !)

 

[Farce-cape]

Hi:

The supervisor in India ran a tmp. seach. It didn't get to the fiile I needed. Two things: 1. In order to read your reply I have to continually go back to my E mail and cursor the thread which sends me to your response. Is there a way I can stay on this site and find your response? 2. I downloaded the tool and can't find desktop. Nor can I find the date I revised the file in any of the info it sends up in logical or physical drive and I don't know where I would place the name or the date of the last revision of the lost file that it has to look for.

 

[kimsland]

Instead of contiually going back to email just refresh this page (F5 for refresh)

As for specific searching, well I did say "you may be able to" as I have not run it for some time, I wasn't sure on its limitations

Depending on the importance of the file (cost wise)
O&O DiskRecovery 4 would have to be the best (or close to)

You can download the trial HERE, but you may be stuck when it's time to actually recover the found file (ie pls purchase !)

I am not involved with this company what so ever, but have used this product (may have been version 3) and found it quite good.

The point: Good recovery tools cost money !

Not sure what else to add, possible someone else at TechSpot may have an alternative.

 

[Farce-cape]

Thanks Again!

Will wait to see what happens today at the retrieval company.

 

[AlbertLionheart]

I use the same software as used by the British cops (maybe not a recommendation!) which is EasyRecovery Pro - there is a free download on http://www.download.com/EasyRecovery-Professional/3000-2248_4-10309798.html which you could try.
Please bear in mind that the more you use the system the more difficult it will be to recover the file(s) you have lost.

 

[Farce-cape]

Thanks...

Other software has also been reccomended. I want to a retrieval firm and they will let me know today if they can recover using hexeditor. Best!

 

[AlbertLionheart]

That's going to be the expensive way of dealing with it, but as this is a 'life's work issue' only you can decide if it is worth it. Just hope that the recovery co don't make things worse.
Sod's Law always makes the issue of missing backups worse when it is really critical - can I suggest that you get yourself a backup process - even if only to a CD or DVD - before you do anything else?

 

[LNCPapa]

I would dd that drive in a linux machine before I did anything else including leaving it idle. I'd hate to see a scheduled defrag come through and kill all hope of recovery.