Oh my God, lifes work was deleted!

[rodney_carpenter]

<p>Data Recovery Wizard program it will recover deleted and missing files or use a program called Spin rite !<br>

All the best in recovering!</p>

[wogears]

<p><strong>Leigh: </strong> There is a lot of recovery software that consists simply of an executable with its dlls, etc. This can be downloaded to a flash drive (using another computer), then run from that flash drive on the target machine. This will NOT write to the drive until it finds files and you instruct it to write (to any drive).</p>

<p>System Restore does NOT delete files unless it is undoing a software install. Furthermore, SR keeps incremental backups of the files it needs to restore; thus they are still on the drive and can be recovered. </p>

<p>DriveSavers.com, or any other professional recovery service is very expensive. Figure a grand to start (that's USD 1,000). </p>

[leighb]

<blockquote>

<p><strong>Leigh: </strong> There is a lot of recovery software that consists simply of an executable with its dlls, etc. This can be downloaded to a flash drive (using another computer), then run from that flash drive on the target machine. This will NOT write to the drive until it finds files and you instruct it to write (to any drive).</p>

</blockquote>

<p>Does this product use your regular display and keyboard? If so, it's using operating system resources and writing to the HD. There's no way to prevent it, unless the s/w incorporates a complete operating system with all the peripheral drivers and other required "middle ware".</p>

<p>Such stand-alone operating systems do exist, usually being some variant of stripped-down Linux.</p>

<p>- Leigh</p>

 

[1815photography]

<p>Choose your "experts" carefully. There are people out there who think they know what the hell they're doing and don't. I've done several successful recoveries of my own data and the best method from my experience is (and I don't recommend this for everyone but I'm just posting this to share the knowledge).<br>

1. (just like others have said) Don't use the machine at all. The data for your photos is there but it's just marked by the hard drive as space that is now available to be written over. Even when you open a program it may be writing temp files or adding to logs or what have you that are overwriting recently deleted data.<br>

2. Remove the hard drive and connect it to another machine. I like to use this device (<a href="http://ppa-usa.com/hard-drive-adapter-3-in-1-connector.html">http://ppa-usa.com/hard-drive-adapter-3-in-1-connector.html</a>) instead of cracking the case open and putting the drive in another machine. Your drive will show up as a USB drive.<br>

3. Then I use this Undelete software, I've used it for years with much success. <a href="https://www.diskeeper.com/undelete/home/home-edition.aspx?wid=4&s=A4">https://www.diskeeper.com/undelete/home/home-edition.aspx?wid=4&s=A4</a>. The quicker you stop using your PC after an accidental deletion the better chances of this software recovering your data.<br>

As far as making backups, this is what I do.<br>

PC (what I used to use) - Memeo backup software backing up data to a mirrored 1 TB network storage device (<a href="http://www.netgear.com/home/products/storage/simplesharing/default.aspx">http://www.netgear.com/home/products/storage/simplesharing/default.aspx</a>). But that's ONLY my image data and Lightroom catalogs.<br>

Mac (what I use now) - TimeMachine backup of the entire machine to an external 2 TB hard drive AND the method mentioned above.<br>

And I burn DVDs every 3 months or so.<br>

These are all fire and forget backups. When you make changes its on top of the backups like white on rice. <br>

We put too much time into our photography to skimp on backing up.</p>

[leighb]

<p>As a suggestion for future operation, after you've recovered your data...</p>

<p>Install a second hard drive in your computer (a D: drive under Windows), and use it for all your working files.</p>

<p>By doing so you leave all of the default HD accesses (operating system and such) on the C: drive, eliminating any writes to the D: drive unless specifically commanded. This would permit you to install recovery software or other programs on C: in the event of a problem without compromising any data on D:.</p>

<p>- Leigh</p>

 

[Uhooru]

<p>Unless you really know what you are doing, if these photos are really important to you, than don't try to do the recovery yourself, unless you really understand what you are doing. You've already started "pushing" buttons when it didn't work the first time, not knowing the consequences of what your were doing. It's like a co-worker I have, when something go wrong, she starts clicking the mouse on anything she sees that sounds like it may relate to the problem, and virtually everytime she just ends up freezing the thing up. Or a friend that pushes the wrong button on the TV remote control, somehow changing the cable setting, and then, in confusion and panic, starts pressing every button trying to fix it. Unless you can sit back and analyse it and know how to recover it, my advice for what it's worth would be to stop using it, immediately and take it to professional recovery service. It might be expensive, but it's worth it, don't you think?</p>

[hughw]

<p>Barry is correct.as an IT professional i would strongly suggest that unless you are very comfortable dealing with recovery software that you send the disk to a recovery firm. It will save you further pain</p>

[randall_pukalo]

<p>Dont panic, but do as others siad and run a recovery program. Its all still there, as long as you have not overwritten it.<br>

This is one of the reasons I like shooting film - I have a hard copy backup to go to. Yes, other hassles to deal with, but I like having a real, tangible result of my efforts.</p>

[leighb]

<blockquote>

<p>Its all still there, as long as you have not overwritten it.</p>

</blockquote>

<p>Not necessarily.</p>

<p>A directory is just file. If you delete the directory containing the image files (as is the case here), and that area of the disk gets overwritten with some other information, the image files are gone. Permanently. Period.</p>

<p>Since the directory is created before any of the files are added to it, it will appear "first" in the sector order on the disk. Thus, if it's erased, that area will be the first to be re-used to store new information, before any of the individual file areas.</p>

<p>The individual image files may still be there, but without a directory to locate them, they're no longer accessible.</p>

<p>That's the reason for not doing ANY disk activity.</p>

<p>- Leigh</p>

 

[jamespjones]

<p>Hi Bob,</p>

<p>If it were my life's work -> I would hire an expert. No question. Please consider it before running any software.</p>

[Mike D]

<p>I only use Iomega external hard drives and they offer a service for reclaiming data from their hard drives if a problem arises. Check with Western Digital if they offer a similar service. Probably much more expensive than doing it yourself but it depends how valuable your images on you hard drive.</p>

[dan_meyers1]

<p>Bob,<br>

I recently had an internal drive fail -- the circuit board got fried. The contents were important enough that I sent it out to a professional recovery company. They recovered everything intact for exactly what they quoted me and they were not the most expensive company I contacted. Truth is, the money spent is already a forgotten issue.</p>

<p>Worth contacting them for an estimate: http://www.gillware.com/about.php<br>

Good luck!</p>

[AaronFalkenberg]

<p>Bob, while I heartily endorse the "expert" approach, there is one thing here that no one has suggested and might save the day: Windows Shadow Copies. If you are running Windows Vista or 7, there is a good chance windows itself has created a backup of the folder you deleted without you even realizing it. <br>

1. Right click on the container folder, i.e. the folder holding the folder that you deleted. In this case, if it is Windows' generic "Pictures" folder, that folder is in your Username folder, probably called "Bob" or something. This is the folder that also has the Music, Documents, and Desktop folders, etc.<br>

2. Click Properties, and then "Previous Versions." If you're lucky (and don't clear the windows shadow copies cache) you can step back in time and retrieve the "Pictures" folder as if it had never gone.<br>

Someone once told me, after I had a similar incident, that no matter how many backups you make, the universe doesn't like your data. <br>

I really hope you get it all back (we've all been there), but if not, then all your prints just became limited edition, cha ching!</p>

[leighb]

<blockquote>

<p>Right click on the container folder...</p>

</blockquote>

<p>So you're suggesting that he run the compromised computer???</p>

<p>Apparently you haven't read the recommendations of numerous individuals against doing so.</p>

<p>Since you obviously don't know what you're talking about, kindly refrain from making suggestions that could further aggravate the situation.</p>

<p>- Leigh</p>

 

[raczoliver]

<p>Wait. If you deleted the pictures from the internal hard drive <em>instead </em>of the external one, that means you do have a backup of almost everything on your "I" drive, right?</p>

[bgelfand]

<p>Bob,</p>

<p>You have two chances to recover - the "C" drive on which the PICTURES file disappeared, and the "I" which you erased in preparation to backup. DO NOT write anything to the "I" drive - the external drive. It also has your files on it.</p>

<p>By the way, is there any chance the you MOVED rather than copied your PICTURE directory to the "I"? That would write it to the "I" drive and delete it from the "C" drive in one operation. Have you looked at the "I" (look but do not write to it).</p>

<p>What operating system are you running? If it is VISTA or Windows 7, both make Shadow copies of files. This may be easier to get back than you think.</p>

<p>Last, if you are running Windows 7 or VISTA, both systems have an automatic backup system. When you get things back, I recommend you install a second hard drive - larger than your primary drive - and schedule automatic backups to it, in addition to your external drive.</p>

 

[chris_letts]

<p><em>For goodness sake lets not start another slanging match - this guy is in TROUBLE.</em><br>

<em>From Bob's original and subsequent posts he is obviously no PC expert, and ANY recovery methods he might try other than just searching, will probably make everything worse or impossible.</em><br>

<em>I therefore endorse those who keep saying, don't use the PC, take it to an expert recovery company. be warned though it isn't going to be cheap...</em> </p>

[marc_rochkind]

I hope some good comes from this thread:

 

1. Bob gets his photos back, and

 

2. "A ship on the rocks is a warning to those still at sea."

 

--Marc

[rossb]

<p> Yikes, sorry to hear that. </p>

[jay_poel]

<p>Do to the seriousness of this situation - every photo gone, I'd go the professional route too.</p>

<p>Everyone keeps making the most important point - DO NOT USE THE DRIVES (computer).<br>

Take both the computer and your external drive to a professional. I agree that they charge a LOT for what they do (I've recovered many files from SD cards in the past and a quite a few from a borked hard drive - its not rocket science) but because this is your LIFES work of photos - I'd let a pro do it.</p>

<p>@ Leigh "The individual image files may still be there, but without a directory to locate them, they're no longer accessible."<br>

Not sure what you meant here - but just because there is no directory does not mean the files are unreadable. That's what the recovery software does - it searches the drive bit by bit (it can take a long time on a big drive) looking for files and fragments. I recovered 90% of the photos from a microSD card that Windows wouldn't even recognize (showed 0 bytes total, 0 bytes free and took a few minutes even to get to that point).</p>

<p>Also, Microsoft has a free sync tool that works really well for backing up - I use it to backup from my D: working drive to my E: backup drive and from D: to my external drive everytime I add files. It only writes the changes made (and you can have it delete files that were deleted from your working drive too - ie. shots out of focus and other not keepers). <br>

Microsoft SyncToy - <a href="http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/details.aspx?familyid=c26efa36-98e0-4ee9-a7c5-98d0592d8c52&displaylang=en">http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/details.aspx?familyid=c26efa36-98e0-4ee9-a7c5-98d0592d8c52&displaylang=en</a></p>

[bojepsen1]

<p>Sorry to hear of your misfortune, Bob. But like so many have commented above, there should be a good chance of your being able to recover the files. Good luck.</p>

[paul_de_ley]

<p>Bob, do you remember exactly how you deleted your Pictures folder from the external drive? If it was an ordinary delete and you did not try to write anything else to it afterwards, then there's a pretty good chance all or most of those files are still there. Only a complete multipass reformat on the whole drive, or serious physical trauma to the platter surfaces, would absolutely definitively erase all the data.</p>

<p>If it were me I would take the external drive to an expert and other than the potential cost of their bill I wouldn't be too worried about the likelihood of a successful outcome. But the bad news is that (if they really are experts) their recovery may take weeks at the normal price rate, while if you're willing to pay for their highest priority rescue efforts then it goes faster but at a really expensive price rate. Recovering a crashed 500 Gb drive from my wife's laptop at work last May was eventually successful, even though the local store had tried and failed, by sending it off to a last-line-of-defense recovery expert company. However, they charged a whopping $1400 for priority treatment and their story was that, due to a series of recent mergers, very few companies still offer the most advanced recovery services and so the remaining ones are swamped with orders. Note also that they are likely to have you pay for a new external drive, which they will need to write all recovered files to in the process of extracting them (unless your Pictures folder was small enough to fill just a couple of DVDs).</p>

<p>So with this recent experience from my wife's mishaps, if I were in your shoes then - despite all the good advice not to touch anything on either drive - I personally <em>would</em> in fact still take my chances first and keep looking around a bit longer on the C drive, to make absolutely sure the Pictures folder did not get accidentally camouflaged for some trivial reason. As mentioned above the folder might have inadvertently gotten moved into another folder, the name of the folder might have been modified without your intention to do so, it might have something to do with logging in as a different user, etc etc. If you recall any filename from a recently processed picture that should be in the missing folder (if not then check the recent file list in your image editing software, or recent files on one of your last used memory cards) then you could search the C drive for that.</p>

<p>If that didn't work and the folder did really disappear from C then it's time for that potentially costly decision to send it out to the pros. The rate for undeleting the folder from your I drive only may be a bit lower than for recovering it from the C drive (or both drives at once) because the latter probably has a lot of other data that are still intact and includes many other essentials, which may make it trickier for them to proceed. That may mean you might still consider one ultimate DIY option, and that is to go look on the C drive for deleted files and folders yourself with a recovery software package.<strong> I'm definitely not saying you should, but it would be something on my own mind if I were at that point in the recovery decision making process</strong>. A good list of data recovery software is <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_data_recovery_software">here</a> in Wikipedia, I've used PhotoRec before to successfully salvage most files from an utterly dead USB stick, with the same level of completeness as what the recovery go-to guy at my college succeeded in getting out of that flash drive.</p>

<p>Lastly some tips on how to avoid this in future: rather than deleting your old Pictures folder on your external drive before backup, just rename it (for example to Pictures_old) if there is enough drive space left. Only delete Pictures_old when you run out of free disk space on I. Even more importantly, use TWO backup drives, not one. Do your backups to drive one every week or so, and to drive two roghly every month, then store drive two somewhere else away from your PC or even away from home, so it won't suffer the same fate as your other hardware in case of fire, flood, burglary etc etc.</p>

[photo5]

<p>I make new folders, and date them. Never delete the old ones. I also have a full time shadow copy application running, Apple Time Machine. It backs up everything all the time. If I delete something a week ago, and want to go back and get it, I can. Amazing program.</p>

[bob_estremera]

<p>I'm back. Contacted a specialist who accessed my C drive remotely with recovery software named Stellar Phoenix. All the folders and files were there and indeed had been deleted.<br />Many thanks to all those that advised, 'Shut it down, don't use your computer".<br />The recovery is painstakingly slow. Might not be completed until around Thursday. Lots of RAW, TIF and PS files.<br />What a bullet I've dodged.<br />I won't know if I've been successful for sure until I try to open the files. But so far, it's looking very hopeful.<br>

You have all been a great help to me in this. I can't tell you how grateful I am.<br>

Thanks again. I'll reply to this thread when all is said and done.<br>

Bob</p>

[KenPapai]

<p>Bob -- how costly will this be, if you don't mind sharing?<br /> This would & should be a good warning to the audience reading this that do not understand how to do proper backups and even if they should be done at all.</p>

<p>Rule #1 is NEVER EVER delete from your original source drive/memory card unless you are "expert enough" to verify their backup.</p>

<p>Rule #2 - infrequent backups are too infrequent. They should be daily if you edit/add content daily.</p>