Finding a Lost File

Hi JustSerfin,

There are third party software available on the internet using which you may be able to recover the lost files. Example: Recuva.

Note: It is not a Dell recommend software.

How same is it?  I am hesitant (& do not like) downloading something that I do not know what it is or who the publisher is….I’ve had problems with that before (got bugs and/or viruses that way) so I do not trust 3rd party software & do not ever download anything without knowing EXACTLY where it is coming from.  So unfortunately telling me “just download this or that” does not help me - no offence but I feel that just downloading 3rd party software is just putting me at risk for more bugs and/or viruses.  There’s noting else I can do?

JustSerfin,

I agree with DELL-Appu S, try downloading Recuva and do a deep scan. It should find the file(s) you're looking for.

Rick

JustSerfin,

My son erased the pictures off the camera SD card. I was able to recover all my pictures and put them on my computer. I then burn them to a disk to keep.

I have also had members lose their files during an installation of Windows and they thought their files would be there. Doing a Depp scan with Recuva brought most of their files back.

Rick

JustSerfin,

The time of the scan depends on the size of the hard drive. The bigger the hard drive, the longer the scan time.

I cannot remember how long it took, but for a USB Flash drive, it should be quick. Do you have Recuva looking at the flash drive, may on drive g: ?

Rick

Does it generally take 3-5 hours?  ‘Cause that’s the estimate time that I’m getting & that is much longer then I’d think it should take so I stopped it….I don’t want to wait that long for it.

JustSerfin,

When I did a deep scan, I told it to find everything, then copied everything to a new folder on the desktop. I then looked at the files, some may have a little different name(not sure if when they get deleted the name is changed slightly). I found almost every file I was looking for.

The only was the file would get deleted, if you wrote a file larger that would eventually run out of space, then use the space to go over it. Most files, when deleted, the new files continue on free space until it's all written on. That way if you do lose a file, you can use programs to recover the missing files. Businesses use goverment wipes to put x's and o's on such files so it cannot be found.

Rick

That’s what I was doing wrong….searching my whole hard drive & not the USP disk.  Once I did that it only took 1 minute but still couldn’t find what I’m looking for….I know exactly where the file I’m looking for was (in the folder it was in, etc.) but it won’t let me narrow my search that much & don’t remember the [exact] name of the file so I’m not having any luck.

I get that but I shouldn’t have to save EVERYTING when I have a idea of what is was….I also don’t need or want to restore something that says it was “last modified” in 2008 when I know the file I’m looking for wasn’t even created until 2012 but its hard to sort through everything when they are all mixed together….I’d think I’d be able to do it in alphabetical order & skip down to whatever letter but I can’t even to that when I have Es mixed in with Ps, etc.  What sense does that even make?  So I can’t even skip right to this or that….it shouldn’t be this hard.

JustSerfin,

I think that's why I put them in a folder, you can then click on them and sort in alphabetical order.

Rick

OK, next issue….I think I found some files that I think MIGHT be what I’m looking for but when I try to open the file I get a error message pop-up saying “Microsoft Word needs a converter to display this file correctly.  This feature is not currently instilled.  Would you like to install it now?” but regardless of if I select “Yes” or “No” another pop-up appears with I guess the text of the document but it whatever font it is in is next to impossible to read.

Hi JustSerfin,

Whenever we open a Word document, it creates a temporary file in the cache. There is a possibility that when you tried to restore the files using Recuva, it may have restored the temporary files. Try opening a different file and check if the same issue occurs.

Please reply with the findings.

Nothing has worked….I have not been able to find the file.

Hi JustSerfin,

Thank you for the response. We tried helping you as much as possible; unfortunately things didn't work out. I am not an expert in this domain. You may want to consult an expert to explore other options, if available.