Am I dead?

Roger Hassenforder

Recently my (sony Vaio) laptop starting giving gyp; slow, not starting, hanging etc., so i backed up my fotos and videos and did a system restore...

However much to my chagrin, once I restored, it appears I missed a "few" folders when backing up.

Are these well and truly gone? Are they professionally recoverable (recommend anyone?) or is there freeware available to give it a shot?

Or am I dead when she finds out...

hearny

Stop using the computer.

There are plenty of freeware programs such as:
http://www.piriform.com/recuva/download

Your best bet is to remove the hard drive from the laptop, you can connect it to another computer using a SATA to USB adapter (as long as the drive connection is SATA see this image http://www.laptopparts101.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/sata-ide-laptop-hard-drive.jpg)

Something like this would do the trick:
http://www.ebay.ie/itm/2-5-SATA-TO-USB-2-0-ESATA-EXTERNAL-ENCLOSURE-HDD-CASE-/320728024050?pt=UK_Collectables_HardDriveEnclosures_RL&hash=item4aace143f2

If you have access to a desktop PC and are comfortable opening it you should be able to connect the laptop provided the computer has some spare cables. The connections are the same size.

Install the Recuva program (NB on a different hard drive) and scan the drive removed from the VAIO.

wil

or run Recuva portable from a usb and recover to an external HD

riclad

I formatted a 16 gig sdcard,
then used recuva to recover all the files i wanted ,
mostly podcasts,mp3s
IT listed all the files docs,
mp3s, pdfs so i could select , just to recover about 4gig of data.
Its very easy to use.
the safest approach is not to install anything on drive c;/
and put it in a caddy.
sata caddy 2.5inch around 14 euro ,
Get a with a plastic
not metal one.



recuva marks files green=
no overwritten clusters, easily recoverable.

Long story, i had to format the drive,



in order to use recuva on it.
i use quick format default on my laptop.

i never used Photorec,
supossed to be good for recovering photos,
if recuva doesnt work.

recuva listed ALL the files,
on the drive,
even old songs i deleted 8 months ago .

i was able to recover 98 per cent of the files i wanted,
mostly, music, or podcasts.

recuva easy to use ,
you dont need to be a tech Expert.
set it to deep scan.
search for documents first.

Roger Hassenforder

Thanks everyone, something to have a crack at!

Dermot Illogical

The #1 rule is to, as far as possible, prevent any further writes to the drive.
Removing it and connecting it to another computer as an external drive is crucial.
The next step I would take would be to image the drive using FTK imager or similar, so that any screw-ups made using recovery software won't prove fatal. FTK imager basically clones the entire drive to a forensic image which can be resurrected if required.
Once i was happy I had that done I'd give the various recovery tools a go.
As for professional services, I would recommend Critical Data in Ballycoolin. If it can be got back, they'll do it.

While you may get lucky, you've completed a fairly destructive process so don't be too surprised if you end up in the doghouse.

Roger Hassenforder

cheers folks, i got some stuff back.

degsie

riclad wrote: »

I formatted a 16 gig sdcard,
then used recuva to recover all the files i wanted ,
mostly podcasts,mp3s
IT listed all the files docs,
mp3s, pdfs so i could select , just to recover about 4gig of data.
Its very easy to use.
the safest approach is not to install anything on drive c;/
and put it in a caddy.
sata caddy 2.5inch around 14 euro ,
Get a with a plastic
not metal one.



recuva marks files green=
no overwritten clusters, easily recoverable.

Long story, i had to format the drive,



in order to use recuva on it.
i use quick format default on my laptop.

i never used Photorec,
supossed to be good for recovering photos,
if recuva doesnt work.

recuva listed ALL the files,
on the drive,
even old songs i deleted 8 months ago .

i was able to recover 98 per cent of the files i wanted,
mostly, music, or podcasts.

recuva easy to use ,
you dont need to be a tech Expert.
set it to deep scan.
search for documents first.

Why do I feel like I'm reading a poem?