Recovering files from formatted partition

My computer was reset to factory settings when sent to repair and I didn't have time or space for a backup. How might I go about recovering some of my files?

What would be the best free or cheap software?

 

i know www.recuva.com it may help. but if your files got overwritten, you're essentially lost.

 

I doubt they got overwritten.

 

Ah, the luck o' the Irish!

 

Well it's not that it's just that there was a few gigs and I've been careful not to put any large files on the C: partition, so logically most of the stuff should still be there.

 

Well, you can certainly try to recover the data and find out!

 

If it's been reset to factory settings your partitioning is gone. That would not be a big problem. The big problem is that the one big partition that is now (presumably) encompassing the whole drive contains Windows. And Windows does not content itself with the first part of the partition it's installed into. It spreads wide and places big files and the master file table in the middle and at the end of it. Just because.

So, unless your factory settings had separate partitions, you can only hope to recover a part of your files. File-recovery programs will help you in doing so.

If, OTOH, you are facing a formatted partition (D: for instance) where your data were, I'd suggest you to get hold of a partition recovery program like Testdisk (google "testdisk photorec"). You might recover everything.

 

I'm kinda confused.

I have everything on my D drive in tact. ON the C drive, Acer have done a system restore thing, reset to factory settings.

 

One of the first things you have to avoid is using the computer until you are able to recover the data.

Data is extremely difficutl to destroy on a HDD without destroying the HDD itself.

One question is how much you wish to pay.
If you are wiling to py thousands you'll be able to recover data thathas been overwritten several times. If you search the forum a bit, it my offer some insight.

But please - DO NOT use the coputer if you wish to recover as much as possible,.

 

What is it that you want to recover?
Did you keep your documents in the default windows folder under C:\Users or C:\Documents and settings?

 

Did you keep your documents in the default windows folder under C:\Users or C:\Documents and settings?


Some of it. Does that mean it's gone?

 

how about downloading recuva like i've said before and just try it out?

 

Recuva only works if you delete the files by accident.
The HDD was at least quick formatted - I fear Recuva won't help here.

You'll have to image the drive...

 

it should be able to scan the full disk for any form of possible data. but i'm not sure. i think i've successfully used something called easyrecover before.

but non-the-less, no talking: TESTING it's the only thing that answers the question.

 

Probably, yes.
But if you are lucky you could still have some files. Even all of them, if the new OS has been placed exactly in the same position as before.
Try a file-recovery utility.

If your data was vital, though, I suggest that you clone your hard disk and try to recover the files on the cloned disk.
It's a low cost insurance. Plus, the disk will remain to you later.

 

ROFL!

 

Taking action before making a clone of the disk could result in irreversible data loss.
Thinking :-] before acting and after talking might answer the question and save the day as well. ;-)

EDIT: the key point here is that the OP is trying to recover files in the same partition of the running OS.
That's the reason I not only partition my hard disks, but also install multiple oses on them - Linux can be a life saver in these occasions.

 

no, such tools only scan the disk. if it finds something, you can recover, which could kill your data if done to the same disk, yes. so recover it to some usb stick or something.

but a recovery tool doesn't kill your allready lost data, no (if you download it from another system and start from an usb stick, that is.. but even if you install it locally, damage will be rather low..).

but scanning the disk for files is nothing that kills your disk, or your files. thinking is good, overthinking is bad. logic works.

 

I don't have space for cloning. I'm running a deep scan with Recuva at the moment.

 

Killing the disk is not the problem. The problem is overwriting the old files still left in the OS partition. And this can happen by just turning on the system. If the data is vital, 50-80 bucks for another hard disk are a good investment. If the data is not worth such a small amount of money, then acting before thinking might be a good strategy.

 

That's why I suggested buying another drive.
Anyway, good luck with the recovery.

 

Yeah, best of luck from me and my friends Kittie Kat! I'll pray for you.

 

Turns out I had nothing worth recovering on the C drive to begin with... I grabbed some IRC logs for nostalgia's sake. I guess I'm lucky I used the D drive for most my stuff.

Still I'm worried I might have song lyrics and stuff I wasn't able to find because I gave them stupid unassming names, but hopefully they won't get overwritten as quickly as others.

The only thing I really need is RMClock's configuration file, though I think that could be stored in the registry. How would I go about that?

 

So you're getting your files back?

And I lied. I don't pray.

 

here is the solution
http://www.cgsecurity.org/wiki/TestDisk
is the best ever partition recovery tool..........
read instruction in the site and burn it then boot.