lost file

[Ines]

I somehow seem to have erased a file by mistake. I was
just typing along, and the contents of the file
disappeared. Is there some way to recover my data?

[Crusty \(-: Old B@stard :-\)]

Well, if you saved it, at least once, and know the name of the file, you may
be able to recover to that point! Look in the recycle bin to see if it's
there. If it's not, you will need 3rd party software to try to recover it.
The more you use the computer, until the time you attempt recovery, the less
chance you have for a successful recovery, as the file may be subsequently
overwritten.

"Ines" > wrote in message
...
> I somehow seem to have erased a file by mistake. I was
> just typing along, and the contents of the file
> disappeared. Is there some way to recover my data?

[Ken Blake]

In , Ines wrote:

> I somehow seem to have erased a file by mistake. I was
> just typing along, and the contents of the file
> disappeared. Is there some way to recover my data?


Have you checked to see if it's in the recycle bin?

If not, deleting files just removes the pointer to them and marks
the space available for use. If that space hasn't since been
reused, the files can be undeleted with appropriate software.
there are third-party programs that can sometimes recover deleted
files. The problem is that the space used by the files is likely
to become overwritten very quickly, and this makes the files
unrecoverable.

So your chances of successfully recovering these files are decent
if you try recovering them immediately after deleting them, and
rapidly go downhill from there. If you've been using the computer
since then (for example to write this question and read this
answer), your chances are probably very poor by now.

But if the files are important enough, it's worth a try anyway.
Stop using the computer in question immediately, if you haven't
done so already. Download a file recovery program on a friend's
computer and bring it yours on a floppy to try.

If this fails, your only other recourse is to take the drive to a
professional file recovery company. This kind of service is
*very* expensive and may or may not work in your case.

--
Ken Blake
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