system restore - recover avi's

ajetrumpet

New Member
all,

I have accidentally deleted a folder that had 500 avi files in it...so about 400GB worth of data. These are large of course, so the recycle bin can't handle them. they are always deleted directly. Does anyone know if I'm out of hope as to getting them back?

My system restore on vista 64-bit did absolutely nothing. Unfortunately for me, I never have created a backup of my files through the backup wizard.

I am currently running Recuva File Recovery, but if that doesn't work, can anyone suggest some magic? thanks!

(something is strange here though, because after restoring the system to the point at which I should've had the videos on there, the 'bar' under the c drive shows correctly for memory usage, but the 'caption' does not. see attached image...)
 

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First, System Restore does not affect data in any way. It does not recover deleted data or remove data added since the restore point - it leaves data completely alone so it will not work to resolve this type of problem.

Which version of Vista are you using - there may be another way depending on what version you have. Well, rather than wait, let me just explain and if the situation applies then great and if not, you'll have a new program you should install to essentially provide the same feature on your version.

If you have Vista Business, Vista Ultimate, or Vista Enterprise you may be in luck. They have what is known as Shadow Copies which are saves of deleted or modified files which can be retrieved in case the changes/deletions were done in error. http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windows-vista/features/shadow-copy.aspx with further information on how to use this feature at: http://blogs.techrepublic.com.com/howdoi/?p=145.

If you have Vista Basic or Vista Premium, Shadow Copies is not available; however, there's an alternative that's free and mirrors the functionality of Shadow Copies called Shadow Explorer. http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/windows-vista/recover-files-with-shadow-copies-on-any-version-of-windows-vista/. Though it won't help you this time, it could very well save you in case this happens again.

Files aren't actually deleted until they are overwritten (though they're no longer available through conventional methods). If you decide to try these recovery programs, you should stop using your hard drive immediately so you don't overwrite the data you are trying to recover. Slave it to another PC and run the recovery from that PC. Even now you may have permanently lost some of them if you're using that same PC. If you can't do that (slave to another PC), you run the risk of overwriting the data with every action you do on the PC (but you still may be able to recover some or most or even all of the files - it's a matter of luck).

Recuva is pretty much the best of the file recovery tools out there (I can provide others if you wish - but if Recuva doesn't work, then they probably won't either - still if you ask, I'll post them). Nevermind, I'll post them anyway (and if some links contain multiple options, only use the free ones - do not pay money for any such products - the commercial versions are no better and I've had people who tried them reply that some caused problems - and I've at least scanned with the options presented here though I've never actually done a recovery with any of them because I ran Recuva first and these found nothing that Recuva hadn't already found an recovered):

http://www.snapfiles.com/get/diskdigger.html

http://www.snapfiles.com/get/easusdfr.html

http://www.snapfiles.com/get/restoration.html

http://www.snapfiles.com/downloads/recuva/dlrecuva.html

http://www.softperfect.com/products/filerecovery/

http://techpaul.wordpress.com/2008/06/23/how-to-recover-your-lost-files/

Only you can decide if the data is important enough to take the PC to a data recovery expert to recover the files (they will have better programs and equipment to do so than any of us do and than I provided above). Do NOT go to Geek Squad or any of those big store centers - they mostly don't know what they're doing - take it to a reputable and professional data recovery expert. It will cost quite a bit (I mean, a LOT) and they usually offer no guarantees – you typically pay the same price if they recover everything or if they recover nothing. The decision is yours.

I hope this helps.

Good luck!

P.S. I'm not certain I'm clear about the problem with the screenshot. Could you please explain in more detail exactly what you think is wrong?
 
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My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Inc. MP061 Inspiron E1705
    CPU
    2.00 gigahertz Intel Core 2 Duo 64 kilobyte primary memory
    Motherboard
    Board: Dell Inc. 0YD479 Bus Clock: 166 megahertz
    Memory
    2046 Megabytes Usable Installed Memory
    Graphics Card(s)
    ATI Mobility Radeon X1400 (Microsoft Corporation - WDDM) [Di
    Sound Card
    SigmaTel High Definition Audio CODEC
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Generic PnP Monitor (17.2"vis)
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1200 pixels
    Hard Drives
    Hitachi HTS541616J9SA00 [Hard drive] (160.04 GB) -- drive 0, s/n SB2411SJGLLRMB, rev SB4OC74P, SMART Status: Healthy
    Case
    Chassis Serial Number: 5YK95C1
    Keyboard
    Standard PS/2 Keyboard
    Mouse
    Logitech HID-compliant Cordless Mouse
    Internet Speed
    1958 Kbps download ; 754.8 Kbps upload
    Other Info
    Optiarc DVD+-RW AD-5540A ATA Device [CD-ROM drive]

    Dell AIO Printer A940

    Conexant HDA D110 MDC V.92 Modem

    6TO4 Adapter
    Broadcom 440x 10/100 Integrated Controller
    Broadcom 802.11n Network Adapter
    Microsoft ISATAP Adapter
    Teredo Tunneling Pseudo-Interface

    Router Linksys / WRT54G -01

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Lenovo Thinkpad T400
    CPU
    Intel Mobile Core 2 Duo P8700 @ 2.53GHz
    Motherboard
    LENOVO 64734VM
    Memory
    2.00GB Single-Channel DDR3 @ 531MHz
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel Mobile Intel 4 Series Express Chipset Family
    Sound Card
    Conexant 20561 SmartAudio HD
    Monitor(s) Displays
    15 inch
    Screen Resolution
    1280 x 800
    Hard Drives
    1x 180GB Intel 530 series SSD
    1 x 120GB Hitachi 5400rmp
    1 x 650GB Western Digital Elements 5400rpm
    1x 1Tb Western Digital Elements 5400rpm
    Internet Speed
    Medium for New Zealand
    Other Info
    Weakest part of my computer is the graphics chipset.
    Only ever used a laptop.
    Also use USB Freeview TV Card
    Lenovo Docking Station
    External Speakers
    Other bits a pieces as needed
Using Shadow Explorer is a smart move (especially since it's free) if you don't have Vista Business, Enterprise, or Ultimate - you certainly should (but I have Business and use the full 15% of space for System Restore and create restore points daily and with every installation, so it isn't necessary). The only problem is that you need to have revised the douments for that to work properly. If you create them and never modify them, then no prior versions are created and thus no prior versions exist to be recovered. I've gotten into the habit when saving a document to making a minor change and then changing it back (like adding a space and then backspacing) and saving it again just to create a prior version. Unfortunately, I don't have that habit with audio, video, or picture files (as I tend to be too lazy to open an editing program to modify them so there'll be a prior version - but then again, I don't save many of those types of files anyway). I wonder if just saving them again would create a prior version? I'll have to try that and see - that could also save me time with documents as well.

And I do a full image backup every Sunday, a full backup on Monday, and incremental backups on Tuesday through Saturday to an external USB HDD so I'm at worst one day from fully restoring my data and one week from restoring all my data, programs and settings. If I didn't have a version of Vista that supported image backups, I'd get Acronis True Image 2011 http://www.acronis.com/homecomputing/products/trueimage/ for only $50 (well worth the price - I've even considered getting it though my version offers the feature because Acronis is much better and more reliable). It really doesn't take that long and I've been in this business too long to take any chances - I've seen way, way too many people lose decades of work and pictures and programs they can't replace and other things (or pay a small fortune to a data recovery specialist who usually only recovers a portion of it - almost never everything). I came close myself once (before I was doing backups) and it was very scary and I've been doing this ever since that time (over 20 years ago - probably longer - I think I was using DOS 5.0 or maybe Windows 3.1 - :D).

ajetrumpet, this sort-of side conversation between ilikefree and me is also for your benefit. The use of habits and programs such as these will help protect you from situations like this. Sometimes it takes something like this to get someone to realize the value of doing these things even if they do take a little time and efffort and space every day (as I learned from my own experience though I was very, very lucky and didn't end up losing eveything but came way too close). BTW, are you having any success with the recovery? As I said, Recuva is probably the best of the lot and there isn't much the others will recover that it can't - I've tried them all and never gotten anything more but considered it worth the effort (and still do even though I have little hope after Recuva is done). I hope Recuva gets back most of your files - it's harder to do it with large files especially if the disk is fragmented (and if you weren't backing up, you probably weren't defragmenting on a regular basis either) - but it's still possible as long as they haven't been overwritten. And I still don't understand what is wrong with the 'caption' in the screenshot - what do you think is wrong with it?

Best wishes!
 
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My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Inc. MP061 Inspiron E1705
    CPU
    2.00 gigahertz Intel Core 2 Duo 64 kilobyte primary memory
    Motherboard
    Board: Dell Inc. 0YD479 Bus Clock: 166 megahertz
    Memory
    2046 Megabytes Usable Installed Memory
    Graphics Card(s)
    ATI Mobility Radeon X1400 (Microsoft Corporation - WDDM) [Di
    Sound Card
    SigmaTel High Definition Audio CODEC
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Generic PnP Monitor (17.2"vis)
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1200 pixels
    Hard Drives
    Hitachi HTS541616J9SA00 [Hard drive] (160.04 GB) -- drive 0, s/n SB2411SJGLLRMB, rev SB4OC74P, SMART Status: Healthy
    Case
    Chassis Serial Number: 5YK95C1
    Keyboard
    Standard PS/2 Keyboard
    Mouse
    Logitech HID-compliant Cordless Mouse
    Internet Speed
    1958 Kbps download ; 754.8 Kbps upload
    Other Info
    Optiarc DVD+-RW AD-5540A ATA Device [CD-ROM drive]

    Dell AIO Printer A940

    Conexant HDA D110 MDC V.92 Modem

    6TO4 Adapter
    Broadcom 440x 10/100 Integrated Controller
    Broadcom 802.11n Network Adapter
    Microsoft ISATAP Adapter
    Teredo Tunneling Pseudo-Interface

    Router Linksys / WRT54G -01
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