Data Recovery Help Needed

Spoken like a true statesman! 🙂

Who is this guy???🙂

Here’s the deal with how data actually works:
1. we've got these tables on a hard drive where binary number combinations get written down.
2. the actual data is just one single cell within that table.
3. when you format it, everything looks like it's filled with zeros—at least that's what Windows shows you visually.
but in reality, until you actually overwrite that specific spot with something new, the old data is still sitting there. think about it like this: if you have a 5 GB hard drive, you install XP which takes up 1 GB, and then you use the next 1 GB for your own stuff.
you could technically format all 5 GB an infinite number of times, but if you just reinstall that same 1 GB OS, you'll see that at the 2 GB mark where the old data used to live, there's nothing there—well, Windows can't actually "see" into those deep table layers, so it just tells you it's empty.
however, programs like Master Undelete... I mean, the original version is pricey, but it's incredible (though I'm using a cracked version), and it manages to find every single file from those other 1 GB chunks of data.
it runs perfectly on Windows, though the only real pain is that you kind of have to go file by file, and if you don't know what you're looking for, you just type in *.* to search for everything available. it also has some really advanced search filters, like searching only for files in good condition and stuff like that... honestly, I've managed to rescue hundreds of my own files using it.

I've messed around with a ton of those programs, but honestly, all you can really do with the files they dig up—like photos—is look at them. You can't even save them back. Plus, I never actually stumbled onto anything worth having...
which one is actually legit and free???

Nothing worth having comes for free.

Everything is free if you just know how to work the system.

It isn't exactly "free" if you have to jump through hoops just to make it work 😛

Joshua Davis18 said:everything is free if you know how to work the system.

I second that... 😎

Joseph Peterson5 said:If you format it, then partition it, then format it all over again, your chances of getting any data back are basically zero.

That is just plain wrong. Look, sure, if you take it to some high-end specialized lab where they tear the drive apart, pull the platters out, and shine them under some crazy specialized equipment—I don't even know the technical specifics—but it's possible. It really just comes down to how much this data actually matters to you, because those pros aren't cheap. We're talking potentially $333 per gigabyte or something like that, though I can't give you an exact quote, but they might be able to recover almost everything.

Yo, anyone else dealing with issues getting their data restored?
A buddy of mine works over at Ford
so he can get it done without it costing an arm and a leg...
If you're struggling, just hit me up via PM and I'll see what I can do 👍

hollowgull5 said:hey, if anyone is struggling with data recovery
a buddy of mine does this stuff at home using specialized gear
so it won't break the bank
if you need a hand, just hit me up via PM👍

Sure, you can do it if you manually wipe everything, but forget about trying it on formatted drives. Those professional software suites are insanely expensive, and you need specific techniques to pull it off. Unless you've got a full lab setup right in front of you, don't even bother.

Jeffrey Gray66 said:Sure, you can do it if you wipe it manually, but forget about doing it on formatted drives... those specialized programs are insanely expensive and require specific techniques, unless you're sitting there with a full lab setup and all the gear...

Just go back and actually read my post again, then maybe you'll finally get what I'm saying...👍

hollowgull5 said:just read my post again and you'll actually get what I mean

hehe 😵 😵 😂 😂 🙏 🙏 👍 👍 🧐 🧐

Honestly, I think you can actually pull back quite a few files just by using some of those basic data recovery tools right after a format. Even if you go through the whole hassle of running a zero-fill program—and I mean even if you do multiple passes—you might still find that you can recover SOME of your stuff.

Hey everyone, can I get some advice here? So, I’ve got this external hard drive that was working perfectly fine until about a week ago, and now it just won't mount. Like, at all. Every once in a blue moon, if I leave it plugged in for a few hours, the computer finally recognizes it, but then immediately pops up a message saying I need to format the drive to use it. Here's the kicker: I have some really important documents on there that aren't backed up anywhere else, and I am absolutely not ready to lose them. Should I go ahead and format the thing and then try running some recovery software to see what sticks, or is there a way to actually fix this without wiping everything first? Thanks a ton!

Maybe you could try a quick format? But honestly, I guess it really just depends on how big those individual files are on your drive. Unfortunately, if you're trying to get those photos or bitmap variations back, your chances of a successful recovery after a format are probably sitting around 70% at best. For smaller files, that percentage might actually be a bit higher, I suppose. Good luck!