[GDH]

The golden rule of data recovery is that if you see your files get them off and backed up as fast as you can.

My guess is that you have lost the files from your C: drive and between your first and second searches the computer has been in use.

Continued use of the computer will change the contents of the C: drive. Microsoft Windows can dump data quite randomly on the C: drive if the computer is in normal continued operation. This is why you will often see us suggest that the problem drive be connected to another computer as the secondary drive.

There are some key areas of your drive that are important in data recovery. Of primary importance are MFT records for each file that contain the name and storage location of the data for a file.

If these MFT records get overwritten then you will notice a chance in the search results. ******ially you can still find the data for the files even if the MFT record for a file has been destroyed. You must run a "Complete File Search" for specific file types. The files found will no longer have their original names and will start with "Recovered....".