Robert in CA wrote:
I have a Dell XPS 8500, with Windows 7 Professional, SP1,
with Spywareblaster, Malwarebytes, Avast , Windows Defender
and Windows firewall.
(1) TB HD
Intel (R) Core (TM) i7-33-3770 CPU @ 3.40 GHz
Ram 12.0 GB
System type : 64-bit operating system
I also have
I have a Dell Optiplex 780 Tower, with Windows 7 Professional,
SP1, with Spywareblaster, Malwarebytes, Avast , Windows Defender
and Windows firewall.
Seagate Desktop HDD ST2000DM001 2TB 64MB
Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal
System type : 64-bit operating system
and (external hard drives)
(8500)
WD BLACK SERIES WD2003FZEX 2TB 7200
RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal
Hard Drive
(780)
Seagate Desktop HDD ST2000DM001 2TB 64MB
Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5"
Internal Hard Drive
The problem lies with the 8500.
I inadvertently deleted or moved a
folder and I can't find it. Before I do
any more damage I thought I had better
post it here and maybe I can recover the
folder/files?
Thanks,
Robert
You must stop using the partition immediately,
to avoid damage to the missing items. Like, don't use
Firefox or any other program which causes writes to
the C: with the "missing files".
https://www.ccleaner.com/recuva
The colored dot next to the file name, indicates
how damaged the file is. If it has already been
overwritten (the clusters reused by the file system),
the dot will be red. If the file is in perfect condition,
the dot will be green. A color of yellow is bad news too.
Let's draw an example to illustrate. This is the drive, when
the accident happens.
+-----+--------------------------------+
| MBR | C: Windows with deleted files |
+-----+--------------------------------+
Plug in your emergency boot drive, boot from it.
+-----+--------------------------------+
| MBR | C: Emergency Boot Drive | === download Recuva onto this one.
+-----+--------------------------------+ Then, point it to E: to scan.
Store the recovered files on C: of
Emergency Boot Drive, not on E:
+-----+--------------------------------+
| MBR | E: Windows with deleted files | === we're not running this one, we're
+-----+--------------------------------+ trying to recover the files while this
operates as a "data drive".
Now, maybe you would be sticking one drive inside
your machine, and the second drive in your USB enclosure.
But, you get the idea. C: would be inside the machine,
E: would be in the enclosure.
Note: Piriform is the company that invented Recuva. There are
many similar programs, it's not the only one. Piriform was
bought by Avast, and when you download Recuva, there is a
danger that other garbage software will get installed.
Read all prompts carefully, and do your best to avoid
getting unnecessary passengers from the Recuva installer.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Recuva
Paul