C:\Lost Files folder

[MelodyC]

Our IT administrator deleted my personal profile on my C:\drive C:\documents and settings, did a system restore and then created a new personal profile to fix a problem on my computer. The old profile was not backed up and what we did not realise was that this old profile became the default location for saving my personal Paperport files and they have all been deleted along with the old profile.

I downloaded the free software and did a Complete Search of Paperport files .max and found there are a lot of Paperport files listed in the C:\Lost Files folder. However, there is no recognisable file name or creation date associated with these files, all the files are shown as being 1024KB and under 'Recovery' it says unknown.

I would like to know if there is a way of determining if these are indeed the files I'm trying to locate before purchasing the software. If the files are indeed 'lost' or unrecoverable then it seems pointless investing in the software. I did try and preview one of the files but it does not open.

[GDH]

At the start of your disk there is a table called the Master File Table which contains:

• The file and folder name of every file on your computer
• the location on the disk where the data for each file is stored

As a result of the what the IT administrator has done to your system, your original Master File Table has been destroyed and replaced with a new one. This is why Recover My Files can no longer find the original names.

When you run a search for .max files Recover My Files can still find them by looking for their unique file structure (header/content/footer) as it scans through the disk. However because the file and folder names are destroyed it gives them a name starting with "Recovered....." and puts them in the "Lost Files" folder.

The majority of these files are most likely to be valid. However, you won't know until you save them and try and open them.

How big were these files? If the files were bigger than 1mb, (which is 1024k) then you should try the same search, but this time first go to the OPTIONS - SEARCH TAB - under "search for lost files" take the tick out of "try and determine file size of lost files" and set the file size to the size of the biggest file.

[MelodyC]

Great- thanks for the info. Will give this a shot on Monday...

[tikur1]

Hello --

I noticed this issue with "Lost Files".
My problem was due to a different cause. I had an external (500Gb) drive connected and running when it was accidentally bumped over ... it stands vertically. There was a 'grating' sound and I turned it off as quickly as possible. I tried a few times to attach it again hoping for a miracle but just heard the same 'grating' sound.

I opened the enclosure and have attached the drive directly to my mobo. It showed up as a physical drive so I began a scan which ran all night. There were some "bad sectors" reported. There are a lot of jpeg and .avi files but the .avi are all showing the same size -- just under a Gig. I don't remember having so many files of that size. Will they work?
Similarly alot of the JPEG files are showing as 4.5Mb - but my camera only takes pictures half that size (or less).

Any suggestions ...

[GDH]

What type of search are you running? In your situation you need to start with a Fast Format Recover and search the physical drive. If it is possible, this search will quickly find and display the missing partition.

If the Fast Format Recover does not work, then you need to run a Complete Format Recover of the phsyical drive, searching just for the default selected file types ONLY. You dont need to let this search run all the way to the end - as on a 500 gb drive it will take a long time. When the OS Items number in the progress window reaches a high number (each OS item represents a file with a full file and folder name) then you can press the stop button and let the file system rebuild.

During the search Recover My Files finds the default selected file types and displays them in File View - but these files are not given their full name until the program rebuilds the file system at the end of the search and dispalys the results in Folder View.

The reason the files can be bigger is that durig the first part of the search the program looks for the file type headers - if it does not find the footer (the file could be fragmented) then it cuts the file off at a default size.

I hope this helps.

[tikur1]

I'm not sure if it was clear ... but my drive is physically damaged. I did not delete partitions or any such thing.

I have seen a preview of some files that have been recovered and it seems that some large .avi files have been broken up -- I can see that some files named such as "054D88DB.JPG" are just a frame of what was on a .avi file.

I'm thinking I will not recover anything meaningful at this point as it is just fractions of larger files that are all jumbled up. One .avi file got played but was just bits and pieces all mixed up. Most don't even play.

Am I out of luck with this?

[GDH]

You should run the Format Recover options first. These will try and use the Windows reference information to rebuild the drive.

If the format Recover options dont work, then run a "Complete File Search" on the physical drive. This search will look for file header and footers and should return valid results, but will not find original file names.