Retrieve Deleted Files - How to Restore Deleted Files

Recover Deleted Files I have written another article on how to rertieve deleted files, with the title Recover Lost Files, which deals with the issue of deleted files, without really elaborating on the preparation process. Since it's vitally important to have your system ready to deal with restoring deleted files, I have decided to write another article on the subject, to answer questions about disk partitioning that have been asked via e-mail. Retrieve Deleted Files What really happens when you delete files that enables you to have a shot to restore them? Well, the files are not really thrown away, it's just that new data gets written over them. Files in the hard disk are stored in fixed places and when you delete files, the places where they're stored are marked as free and then the files can be overwritten. That means, even if you have deleted files, if they haven't been overwritten by new ones, you can retrieve them and restore them! Here lies the problem: Say you've deleted some files that are badly needed and decide to download file recovery software to restore the deleted files. What a better way to overwrite the recently deleted files than install new software! See how this isn't going to work? You can either use external disks to run the file recovery software from, which is quite a hassle, or plan ahead and separate your hard disk into two (or more) virtual disks, for example, disk C:\ and disk D:\. This can be done without loss of data with the use of special disk partition software like Partition Magic, which enables you to create as many virtual disks as you want or with the fdisk command in MS DOS. The former should only be done in older machines than Windows XP which doesn't support MS DOS and before you actually start using the PC and producing files and documents. So, either buy a copy of Partition Magic, or keep in mind the disk partition command in MS DOS for the next computer you set up. The great thing about having separate disks is that one can be the system disk (where your system files and software are stored) and the other one can be the data disk (where you store important files that might accidentally be deleted and need to be recovered). When you delete vital files from the data disk, you can install the file recovery software in the system disk and have a high chance of retrieving all or part of the deleted files. Trying to restore deleted files is tough! That's the reason a regular hard drive backup is a good idea. If you've already lost data howver, I wish you retrieve the deleted files with minimum trouble and confusion. Where are my data Data Loss - How to minimize data loss Lost Data - Insane ways to lose data (personal experience) Hard Drive Back up - How to back up your hard drive Hotmail Password - Find a strong password for hotmail Recycle Bin - Let's take a closer look at the traschan Recover Lost Files - What to do to recover your data