Have Your Files Really Been Erased?

The Scenario: Your boss has recently called upon you to deliver those original files to complete the big project. The problem is that you deleted them long ago. Suddenly, you go into a frenzy, realizing that the file has been permanently erased with no way to recover it.

Thankfully, with certain techniques, you no longer need to hyperventilate with stress. In fact, deleted files can be easily restored to your hard drive, along with those that have been overwritten, damaged, or reformatted.

The Reality of Data Recovery: Recovering data and lost files is much easier than you may think. This is because the content is not actually erased from your computer. Instead, files are merely removed from the folder where you have known it to be.

Windows users who have deleted items via Internet Explorer can normally find those files in the Recycle Bin, the first place you always want to look. If this is the case, these files can be restored entirely in a few simple steps.

The Complicated Situation: What if the file you seek is not in the Recycle Bin? Perhaps you recently emptied the Recycle Bin or deleted in a manner that prevented the file from making it there. Do not despair - there is still a great chance that this item can be recovered. This simply means that the file has been removed from the list of folders or the Recycle Bin itself, and it has been made available for reuse by your operating system. In most cases, Windows will not need to immediately reuse the disk space – and this makes the possibility of recovering those files very strong.

Data can actually be recovered or completely undeleted immediately thereafter or after a significant period of time. Of course, the chances of a full recovery will decrease the longer the file remains dormant. Chances may also be decreased by using your system defragmenter. Performing this task will delete all pointers that lead to the location of the file, making recovery very difficult. In this instance, your only chance at restoring that data is to utilize advanced software designed to dig deep into the system’s registry.

The Solution: Tools that help you retrieve files outside of your Recycle Bin typically do not come standard with your operating system. To get the best results, you will need to call upon the aid of a powerful program, an application that comprehends the internal workings of your computer and can detail clues of where a lost file rests on your hard disk.

A great way to prevent future data recovery loss would be to use a second hard disk to backup important information. This could be a USB-based flash card or removable network drive. ParetoLogic Data Recovery Pro, File Recover from PC Tools and Stellar Phoenix quality software that can be installed onto your primary hard drive, and then used to save the files you recovered on the secondary drive to maintain disk space.
If you do not have another hard drive to use, this program has the ability to store recovered files directly onto a CD without creating temporary files on the hard drive of your computer. These types of exclusive capabilities make these advanced products ideal in many situations, giving you the best chance of successful data recovery.