Sachin=GOD Posted July 7, 2011 Author Posted July 7, 2011 hmm.. What is with this sudden loss of pictures, docs, dropping Hard disks @ ICF. Well - back to the OP. only hope is - do not write any more files on the computer, if possible do not use it at all (esp if the lost documents/files are of small size - few 10-100s of kbs). You have more hope if the files were of big size (10s/100s of mbs) Try "get data back" ( for ntfs, or fat - depending on what is the file system of the drive the files were on). There are more s/w, but basically they also do same thing like "get data back" - e.g. Active Undelete. So, if getdbback is not showing deleted files, its highly unlikely others would. @sree - system restore has different purpose. It is not meant for backing up/restoring documents, pictures and other data. It keeps tack of the changes in system software - e.g. changes in configuration ( registry), installing drivers, programs and such. So, if something stops working, or blue screens ( not due to temperature), then system restore can help.. But not for recovering lost documents/data. If you depend on this, then you have false sense of security and "your time will come". Or better start taking backups. @others - Shift-delete - does not mean you are in hopeless state. Even formatting the drive does not permanently delete data from the hard drive. It is about how much write-activity has happened on the drive (post deletion), and how much important data is (how much time/money you are willing to pay). I have been able to recover my data from states like - post-formatting, re-partitioning - and I am not alone, just that it took quite some googling and costed quite some time. There are some s/w specifically for 'wiping' the permanently deleted data. They are there for a reason. Trivia: I remember watching a discovery forensic episode - where certain suspect destroys the floppy disk ( literally cuts it into small pieces using scissor) and the forensic team was able to recover the crucial evidence/data from those pieces. But that was extreme case. It was a small Word Doc and I immediately tried GetBackData but it didn't work. Don't know why :dontknow: Best thing to keep data safe IMO is to keep online backups (although I didn't do it in this case :D)
DomainK Posted July 7, 2011 Posted July 7, 2011 @Akki: Shift-delete is not hopeless, but can lead to frustrating situations. Basically, it's a bad habit to always shift-delete out of sheer habit.
akshayxyz Posted July 7, 2011 Posted July 7, 2011 Problem solved. One of my friends had those document so I simply took it from him and have now created a restore point on the computer to avoid such situations in the future. p.s. thnx for all the advice guys. :facepalm: System restore wont keep backup of your documents/data!!!! start taking backups - on external drives, or on web-storage like dropbox (if data is not too big). If you forsee accumulating lot of data (esp work related) in future, then familiarize yourself with proper backup softwares, or even disk image backups (clonezilla).
cricketlover Posted July 7, 2011 Posted July 7, 2011 Easy. System restore your computer to an earlier date. If you deleted them today, restore your operating system to the state it was say, yesterday. Takes about 20 minutes to do and every bloody version of windows has this capability built into it. can anybody tell me more abt how system restore works and the uses... or i could google but i dont wanna read a 1000 words document
akshayxyz Posted July 7, 2011 Posted July 7, 2011 @Akki: Shift-delete is not hopeless' date=' but can lead to frustrating situations. Basically, it's a bad habit to always shift-delete out of sheer habit.[/quote'] true. I have long since changed that habit into cancelling first couple of shift-delete confirmation prompts (yes-no box) :). Sometimes I even used to check re-cycle bin, just to be sure whether there is anything useful sitting in there - now I keep backups of backups :).
akshayxyz Posted July 7, 2011 Posted July 7, 2011 can anybody tell me more abt how system restore works and the uses... or i could google but i dont wanna read a 1000 words document In least words possible - the default "system restore points" as we know: "It keeps tack of the changes in system software & programs - e.g. changes in configuration ( registry), installing drivers, programs and such" Windows does have another feature - "Backup and Restore" - there you will have to setup manually what all you want to keep back-ups of. It also has feature, where you can backup the complete disk/partition image.
cricketlover Posted July 7, 2011 Posted July 7, 2011 In least words possible - the default "system restore points" as we know: "It keeps tack of the changes in system software & programs - e.g. changes in configuration ( registry), installing drivers, programs and such" Windows does have another feature - "Backup and Restore" - there you will have to setup manually what all you want to keep back-ups of. It also has feature, where you can backup the complete disk/partition image. tthanks.. another qs. so lets say a virus has attacked your computer (eg the registry which is)... system restore to an earlier date will get rid of that virus?
akshayxyz Posted July 7, 2011 Posted July 7, 2011 tthanks.. another qs. so lets say a virus has attacked your computer (eg the registry which is)... system restore to an earlier date will get rid of that virus? there is no straightfwd answer - depends on the virus/worm. But yes, that is one thing you can always try.
cricketlover Posted July 7, 2011 Posted July 7, 2011 there is no straightfwd answer - depends on the virus/worm. But yes' date=' that is one thing you can always try.[/quote'] ok thanks anyway... i guess for normal low threat viruses it might work but system restore wont be of use against malware
ganeshran Posted July 7, 2011 Posted July 7, 2011 System restore doesnt work against any complicated viruses, maybe on very basic ones.
Sachin=GOD Posted July 7, 2011 Author Posted July 7, 2011 :facepalm: System restore wont keep backup of your documents/data!!!! start taking backups - on external drives, or on web-storage like dropbox (if data is not too big). If you forsee accumulating lot of data (esp work related) in future, then familiarize yourself with proper backup softwares, or even disk image backups (clonezilla). Yeah, I use backups on external drives and also use web storage. Woh toh aaj galti se mistake ho gayi :D
rajaali Posted July 7, 2011 Posted July 7, 2011 Easy. System restore your computer to an earlier date. If you deleted them today, restore your operating system to the state it was say, yesterday. Takes about 20 minutes to do and every bloody version of windows has this capability built into it. System Restore is not intended for backing up personal files, so it cannot help you recover a personal file that has been deleted or damaged. . You can check the microsoft's article here windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows-vista/What-is-System-Restore When a file is deleted from your computer, its contents aren't immediately destroyed. Windows simply marks the hard drive space as being available for use by changing one character in the file table. If you manage to start an undelete process before Windows overwrites that part of hard disk with new files. You can set that flag back to "on" and get your file using data recovery software next tyme if u want to recover deleted data you can go for "Kernel for FAT and NTFS" an efficient and powerful data recovery software for recovering deleted data
The Outsider Posted July 7, 2011 Posted July 7, 2011 For the future, it might be best to do a cloud backup if there are significant number of important files on your computer.
maniac Posted July 7, 2011 Posted July 7, 2011 If it's at work...the files are stored on the corporate server and it is easy for restoration,....not sure about the Home PC...A time machine software from my personal experience messes up your registry and slows down your computer.
Roshanrocks Posted July 7, 2011 Posted July 7, 2011 just do what akshay said :whack: he took the pain to write all that and you took the doc from your friend? :mad: :hysterical: i stopped reading at this... what a gem
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