permanently deleted large folder from external HD, how to recover?

man i feel like an idiot!

I was cleaning my external HD and deleted a folder that I didn't want to because I was dumb. It was too big so it asked if I wanted to permanently delete it. I clicked on "yes". Damm it!!

I tried to run 4 different recovery tools including "Recover my files". It seems like it only is able to recover smaller folders or files that probably didn't get the "are you sure you want to permanently delete" message.

any ideas?

I'll hate myself for the rest of my life if I can't get it back. It's not just dumb movies or music

my gut feeling says i'm SOL? and windows pretty much removed it from oblivion?

 

I guess... most importantly... don't do any big writes to your HDD before you recover the folder or parts of it could be overwritten.

Try Ultimate Boot CD Ultimate Boot CD - Overview They have a data recovery tool that works pretty well.

 

Don't write anything to the external drive at all! If you don't, most or all of the data will still be there. If you do, you will start losing data.

The "permanently delete" thing that came up was just because the size of the folder you wanted to delete was larger than the amount of space allocated to the trash can.

 

thanks for helping guys but i tried that and I'm pretty sure I'm SOL...i was right about to do a backup on it too, but was not nothinging when i did that delete...lesson learned...

 

I don't think you should give up so quickly. If you didn't actively write over the deleted data, it should still be there. The same thing happened to me before and I was able to recover a lot of it. I'm sorry I can't help you on what so specifically do, but I know it can be done.

 

Agreed!

You won't be able to recover the folder and all of its contents as if you had never deleted it. What will happen is that the data recovery program will grab whatever files it can find (hopefully names too) and put them onto another drive of your choosing (best be a big one). You're embarking on a journey. If the data is worth it, then do the work.

 

You might try this: PC Inspector FILE RECOVERY
But please read the instructions and the FAQ on their website carefully before you start.

Michael

 

I've tried to recover files on a USB drive (not sure if flash memory is different than memory on a platter...well it is...but you know what I mean), and I was only able to get some of it back. I've never really had any luck with these programs. If it is financially worth it, I would suggest contacting a computer shop that does data recovery...and there are even some businesses that do JUST data recovery. It will be costly, but I think that is the most surefire way to get most of what you want back.

 

Data deleted from a platter is different, yes. It's not actually deleted until it's been written over. Deleting files is the equivalent to removing your friend's address from your contact book. The house is still there, but you don't think it exists anymore.

Data recovery specialists will charge you to do something that you can do on your own. The difference? They've got experience.

 

Exactly. They can't do anything you can't do at home, except maybe a few of the better ones might even be capable of transferring platters from a broken HD to a good one, but that isn't the problem here.

 

They'll also have you leave it with them, so you never quite grasp that data recovery takes HOURS, depending on the size of the drive. The program has to read the disc, bit for bit.