Author Topic: Finding/Recovering Files  (Read 632 times)

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M. O.

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Finding/Recovering Files
« on: October 23, 2014, 12:33:28 am »
Ok, so somehow a folder with about 50 files (txt, sound and pdf) disappeared. I tried using windows search, but it's complete rubbish. After a long while of trial and error, manual search and what not, I made a test file in some remote folder for it to find. And to my amazement it couldn't find it even when I searched that folder explicitly. I don't know how Microsoft continues to ship a product like that.

Anyway, a third party app (locate32) I installed could find that test file in an instant, but the speed of it worries me in terms of search accuracy. I don't know if I can trust the results. I couldn't hear any hard drive activity and so on.  So when I couldn't find the files using that application, I was thinking if I could've accidentally deleted the folder. Yes, I thought, that's always a possibility, so I fired up Recuva. It's able to find age old files, but still no luck, and again I don't know if it's accurate enough (but at least one file should probably show up if I managed to delete 50 files). So in a situation with the files not being deleted and not being there at the same time, made me question if the files existed in the first place. But they did, so I'm thinking the tools I use must be substandard. Do you have experience from some other ones?
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ZOldDude

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Re: Finding/Recovering Files
« Reply #1 on: October 23, 2014, 03:22:34 am »
Magnetic or SSD storage?

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M. O.

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Re: Finding/Recovering Files
« Reply #2 on: October 23, 2014, 02:58:10 pm »
Both. The files were on a magnetic disk, but it's possible they were moved to the SSD.
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MrMedic

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Re: Finding/Recovering Files
« Reply #3 on: October 23, 2014, 06:32:32 pm »
there is an old trick to hide files and or folders from explorer +s +h if i recall correctly , this will completely hide the file or folder, its still there but the os cant see it at all, have you anything like that on your pc , if not then its possibly some kind of spyware or another tool messing around as files don't magically disappear like that , unless youve been drinking heavy or had a very good night out.
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M. O.

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Re: Finding/Recovering Files
« Reply #4 on: October 23, 2014, 07:11:32 pm »
I guess I might've been too trigger happy on the delete button when I went through old files, I don't like when there's stuff in the recycle bin, but I had hoped for at least one file to appear in the "deletion history" to confirm that idea. I remember I renamed the folder and moved it to the SSD. Perhaps I accidentally clicked the delete option instead of rename which is just below, or maybe there's a problem with the SSD. I don't know. Never happened before.
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M. O.

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Re: Finding/Recovering Files
« Reply #5 on: October 25, 2014, 04:38:21 pm »
I found the problem. It appears I moved the files to a HD which disappeared, and then re-appeared yesterday. So it looks like a hardware problem.


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ZOldDude

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Re: Finding/Recovering Files
« Reply #6 on: October 25, 2014, 09:45:48 pm »
I found the problem. It appears I moved the files to a HD which disappeared, and then re-appeared yesterday. So it looks like a hardware problem.




Run SpinRite 6.0 on the HD in mode #4.

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