Undeleters

[Frag-o]

I have a nasty tendency of not backing up my files, and machine gun clicking files into the trash and losing them. I was looking for a prog that allows you to undelete things. I found a product by iolo called Search and Recover, it dosen't say it needs to be installed before you delet your files like most of the others seem to say. Most software I found says it uses disk images to back pedal your harddrive to recover files. What I am asking does this program need to be installed first, or can I put in my machine and recover files I lost a week ago before I owned this program. There use to be a program called Lost and Found, but I was told it is no longer being made. If anyone can inform me on this program great, if there is a better program please let me know.

 

[XtR-X]

I think the only thing you can do is recover files from your recycle bin. I don't think there are such thing as undeleters or working ones because when you permanently get rid of it, it gets deleted, freeing up space on the hard drive. The computer loses all informationa and your kind of asking it to make that information come back even though it shredded it.

 

[Frag-o]

I was lead to believe that when you delet something just the file path is destroyed (telling the hard drive that space is free) but the file is left intact until it is written over by something else at a later date. I don't know I am computer savy enough not to get into trouble put dumb as a post compared to some friends.

 

[StormBringer]

There are lots of apps that can do what you want, but they may or may not be able to recover files for you. OnTrac's Easy Recovery is a good one, Lost and Found is another, I think the name was changed on it though, you'll have to check with Powerquest on that.

 

[StormBringer]

Originally posted by XtR-X
I think the only thing you can do is recover files from your recycle bin. I don't think there are such thing as undeleters or working ones because when you permanently get rid of it, it gets deleted, freeing up space on the hard drive. The computer loses all informationa and your kind of asking it to make that information come back even though it shredded it.

That assumption is Indeed incorrect.
When you delete a file, it simply marks that space as available for being written to, it doesn't destroy the data or anything you suggested.

 

[XtR-X]

That doesn't make any sense, so basically, when you delete something, you're not freeing spacing, you're just moving space? Then how so does the HD get freed up?

 

[Rick]

The reference to the file is deleted, nullifying the space it takes up.

The file is still there, but is considered free space. It will be written over the next time the drive chooses to write in the area again. If this section of the drive has not yet been written over, then the data is still recoverable.

When you delete a file, it deletes it from the partition file table only.. But the actual data is still there. Kind of like deleting a shortcut on your desktop... The program is still there, but there's no reference to it.

And since there is no reference, Windows does not count the space taken up by the file.

 

[SNGX1275]

Originally posted by XtR-X
That doesn't make any sense, so basically, when you delete something, you're not freeing spacing, you're just moving space? Then how so does the HD get freed up?

Think of it as this, your hard drive points to that file on the drive, but if you remove that pointer that file is still there. But since its not any longer pointed to it can just be overwritten.

I hope that made sense, but I've been drinking too much tonight to tell.

 

[Nic]

If you want to permanently delete files, then you would use a file shredder program, because as mentioned, deleting files does not erase them from your disk.

 

[RealBlackStuff]

Both Norton Utilities and Iolo's System Mechanic (from version 4 Pro onwards) have an undelete fuction built-in.
There are manu others that can do this too. All of them need to be installed first before you use them.

An alternative is, when you still have a start-disk with MS-DOS or PC-DOS, to start up your PC from that floppy, and then use the UNERASE or UNDELETE program from DOS.
Navigation on your HD will be cumbersome (because of the 8.3 naming) but any deleted file that has not yet been overwritten can be recovered (albeit within the 8.3 name-limits)

 

[StormBringer]

http://www.bootdisk.com/utility.htm

Scroll down to Data and file recovery

 

[Frag-o]

Thanks guys.

 

[XtR-X]

Yeah yeah... I got it the first time....

thx tho sng