Hard disk data recovery *Solved & Fully Recovered*

[KBC]

Sohum, if possible, could you simplify the FindNTFS tutorial?

P.S. I'm ordering Digit magazine from the next month. Been too late to be lone since the last subscription.

 

[sohum]

Sohum, if possible, could you simplify the FindNTFS tutorial?

P.S. I'm ordering Digit magazine from the next month. Been too late to be lone since the last subscription.

Here, I'll have a go:

1. Download fpart499.zip
2. Unzip it into your new hard disk/the hard disk you want to recover from
3. Open a command prompt by typing Windows+R and then cmd.
4. Browse to the directory you unzipped to by first typing X: where X is the drive letter and then typing cd path_to_dir. For example, if you unzipped it to D:\findpart\, do the following:

cmd> D:
cmd> cd findpart

5. Type in findpart all fp.txt
6. Post your fp.txt file here so I can take a look at it. Alternatively, if you can figure out the drive number that you are trying to recover from from this txt, use that number in the following steps.
7. Type in findntfs n 0 1 1 files files.txt where n is the drive number.
8. This will take a while to complete. Once it's done, you will have a large text file containing all the data that the findntfs utility was able to find. Post this file up as well, so I can give you further instructions. Otherwise, figure out the root directory number of the files you want to backup (for example, if all your files were in C:\MyStuff\ find the directory number for C:\MyStuff).
9. Type in findntfs n 0 1 1 copy d where d is the directory number.

Let me know if this works... I haven't done it in a while so it may be a bit inaccurate!

NOTE: Run all these commands from a hard disk that you're NOT attempting to recover from. Make sure the hard-disk you are running from has enough storage space to contain all the recovered data.

 

[KBC]

Thanks a lot mate! I'll give it a go this evening.

Just a query, if, if the data loss is almost unrecoverable, or inaccurately recoverable in my limits here, is there a way i can find out the contents that used to be there in the previous partition? I'm asking for more jeez, but if i could know what/which/how much's there in my program files/etc or any info like that, I'll get an idea of what i've lost. That makes me think if there is such a thing, the recovery software should probably use it for retagging after recovery.

I've taken some screenshots (habit), many just days before the HDD was done by, but it's funny if i could rely on them to recover data.

The more i type, the more questions come into my mind that I'm better if i don't bear themm in my mind as i have a helpful place here.

Maybe i'm going back to where all this started, but even as i type this, i know the answer is no, but to put those off my mind....

1). Is there a way i can recover the previous accounts/settings? YES/NO? Thank you!

2). Should i ever take the chance of taking this to a more reliable computer solutions (i can't find any than this place. But practically..) nearby in my City?

3). ........I forgot.

Well, those are probably my last options in this stage, if i can gather the answers for them, I might have to prepare the start from there.


Once again, Thank you great lads!

 

[KBC]

Could anyone help me on those queries? I think i'm gonna try and take the HDDs to a data recovery company, Stellar, hopefully.

Thank you all.

 

[MattW]

They will just run a recovery tool like you already have. Just run one and let it go through on whatever are the most thorough and deepest settings, if you don't get everything back, there is little chance a company will do better enough to warrant spending money on it.

To answer your other question, the contents of the partition is what gets deleted and overwritten when you format, that's what formatting does, drop the tables that describe the files on the disk. So the sort of information you want is mostly gone.

 

[KBC]

All right! Everything's going on track, back again! I got news that my 2nd and the other 80 GB HDD has been fully recovered!! On total, the data recovery is more than half-done. I'll take the lossless risk (isn't it not supposed to be a risk when you're on the verge of losing nothing!? !?) to take to one more time to a solutions company, This time a trustable (probably) company, Stellar. They're no. 1 in India, but the numbers i don't think i'll mind, all i need is my data!

Also, the data in the C: drive did come out, but in as said, unallocated, unnamed, coded folders. I'd spend days and hours and nights to see what's in there.


But all i wanna say right now is THANK YOU ALL. You don't know how much you've helped over online than anyone has here by physically.

Thanks! PC is one of the best and the site always in my priority list if i get a prob again!

Endless thanks!

 

[KBC]

I was so happy but my troubles got better and bigger again. I'm hating that guy every second. EVERY SECOND.

He brought the other HDD, and know what? There was just 11 GB and OVERWRITTEN on the diisk. WHO THE HELL took him in the company? Man, It's sick to swear but i've got nothing to get from it. Everything you name was in those HDDs, and now it's all gone. I.....

The end. Thank you guys. This might probably be the end of this struggling fight. Thank you anyways! You've been such a help!

 

[Abhas]

I didn't understand.. You said the data was extracted?

Abhas added 2 Minutes and 36 Seconds later...

Oh, btw.. talking from personal experience, I had a crashed disk once, and i tried recoving the data using most of these software.. I could see the file, even the size was looking alright, but I could not open them. Most of them were PSD, CDR, Tiff, etc.. Even though the files were extracted successfully, they were unusable.
So, better open the files to check, just in case.

 

[AbBh]

If you haven't taken it to a data recovery company yet, I'd suggest not to. Its only worth if your hard disk stopped spinning. They'll also use software based recovery tools to recover data from a format. So the results won't be any better.

 

[KBC]

No. Let me clear out brief on this again.

I've probably got nothing to lose since there's really nothing but, As i said, my other 80 GB HDD arrived yesterday, and here i'll brief the possibilities for you champs to find an answer.

As almost been his usual drill, he's overwritten 11 GB data back to the HDD, 6 GB of data that's recovered with all tagged names, so i think it must have gone back to where it's from, causing no overwriting over the data, or if i'm wrong, or it isn't always that way, please do correct me, and i assume before the format, there was 1 GB Free space. I'm not sure it's completely defragmented, but nonetheless, if that's the case, that 1 GB may've been occupied. My ideology is dubious but I'm trying....

and the rest 5 GB came in unallocated, untagged, coded folders as it did in the other HDD. So if it's that way, have i at a cost lost just 4 GB to overwriting? Or along those lines?

I've done my part in reviving the First HDD, and please tell me if i've to do it to the second HDD before handing it to the Stellar, or should i just hand it over risking it, or just do my part over this?

Every second gets serious as it goes. What a time too.

My laptop crashed, it's display cable's wiped off, the hinches twisted off, and then my UPS, and then my Server in my Uni, where i lost all my 6-8 months of hard work, which i thought was alright since i took backups from it and have/had(?!?!?!?!) 75% of it in my HDD, and my HDDs were formatted.

Should all the rocks fall to test the endurance? Idk! I'mma just going crazy! And the venom behind this tragedy is that the GUY DIDN'T ACTUALLY KNOW WHAT'S IN WHAT DISK until i explained to him today!

Jesus, That's the last time i'll see his face, a pretty nice guy, he tried his part, but faults are his faults. He finally accepted on his part, but too late to rewind the disk mate, the crowd is gone.

HELP. Again. The last time. Please.

KBC added 9 Minutes and 32 Seconds later...

I didn't understand.. You said the data was extracted?

Abhas added 2 Minutes and 36 Seconds later...

Oh, btw.. talking from personal experience, I had a crashed disk once, and i tried recoving the data using most of these software.. I could see the file, even the size was looking alright, but I could not open them. Most of them were PSD, CDR, Tiff, etc.. Even though the files were extracted successfully, they were unusable.
So, better open the files to check, just in case.

Yeah mate, was going over my music stuff late yesterday, and they sure had glitches and screeches. I'll have to deal with them, I'm not completely drowned over them because neither did all the files were effected by that and my bro has all those stuff i ever need in this paRT with him.

If you haven't taken it to a data recovery company yet, I'd suggest not to. Its only worth if your hard disk stopped spinning. They'll also use software based recovery tools to recover data from a format. So the results won't be any better.

Hey! Thanks mate. Basically i may've to send them HDDs nonetheless if not for recovering, but for repairing the HDD. It's always been slow and unstable ever since we connected it to the comp, but it was working damn fine. The tech guy had a bad taste of it, he put it in his Comp, and it didn't work. He thought his computer can run any HDD in the world, and he screwed it up.

On a second note, the other priority is just them. Maybe stellar has a tad advanced R&D team developed software they use, just giving it a try, they'll just call if the possibilities are good enough to recover the data i need, or i'll cancel the deal if i could recover that data myself and got nothing extra from them.

Thanks anyways, glad to see help coming from all you guys!

 

[KBC]

Okayh, I don't know why I'm starting this again. But if i have to go for the peak, top-most level for Data recovery, where and what can it be? I know most would say and prefer or say no company in the world can recover your data, but those who can get to bring back the data or closer to that..

The best before the military, defence or the Investigation, forensic centres?

 

[sohum]

Look man, money has nothing to do with it. Think about a file as a piece of paper. If you left home one day with all your important documents sitting in your house and your house burned down, there's nothing anyone could really do to recover them. Digitally there is some hope because of the way hard disk interfaces are designed. But at some point you're going to have to come to terms with the fact that the data has been lost and that in the future you have to back it up.

 

[KBC]

Yeah. That's probably it. But just wondering out of the wilderness........

 

[Dutch]

I recently got a quote of 2000 NZ Dollars for a hard disk recovery process Needles to say I kindly requested that they went forth and multiplied themselves.

 

[KBC]

Look man, money has nothing to do with it. Think about a file as a piece of paper. If you left home one day with all your important documents sitting in your house and your house burned down, there's nothing anyone could really do to recover them. Digitally there is some hope because of the way hard disk interfaces are designed. But at some point you're going to have to come to terms with the fact that the data has been lost and that in the future you have to back it up.

Sorry for everything. I'm pinging to the limit of human limits but does re-installing windows on a formatted drive as mine, will install the data on the same allocated space or it takes whatever space allocation it has to write the data? If that's the case, The things that are overwritten are just mostly the windows files?

Another query, I've had about 8 GB of documents and settings, and does all of the data inside the documents and settings get wiped off well with the creation of the new documents and settings in the new installation or it pushes them into random spaces of unallocated folders, unnamed type files In it's previous spaces as well or it messes up other spaces and overwrites random?

I'll just ask for this to be briefed that's it! I'm being picky but my greed has to show to get the data amap for the 9-10 years at least!

Cheers!