what to recover?

[user4574]

I am preparing to recover my files and am VERY impressed with this software to say the least. My question is, what do I recover? Many file types I don't recognize by name or type (ie: Data.dat) or necessarily what is in the red X folders. Should I just recover everything and try to put it together in a Windows environment and copy what I need? I know there would be a lot of stuff I don't need, but I also don't want to delete or not recover something I do.

Would there be any files to avoid or could cause a conflict with a running program (like recovering Windows files), or would they be inactive with the primary system running? I am recovering from an external (formerly internal) HD to an empty partition on the new internal drive if that makes any difference.

Thanks!
James

[GDH]

SAVING FILES WITH RECOVER MY FILES

You must save the files to another drive. Recover My Files is designed specifically not to write data to the drive being searched so that the deleted files are not accidentally overwritten and destroyed.

You can save files to another drive letter on the same drive, a separate hard drive, a USB, thumb/pen drive, CD or DVD (click the drop down arrow next to the save files button) or a network drive.

SAVE v's SAVE AS

Clicking the SAVE button will save all selected files.
Clicking the SAVE AS (drop down arrow next to the SAVE button) will prompt you for the new file name of each file to be saved.

WHAT SHOULD I SAVE

Recover My Files is designed to get back your created photos, documents, music etc. Select and save the files that are most important to you.

Remember;

* There is no point saving gigabytes of Windows System files that will be worthless to you and it will just slow the saving process down;

* Rather than trying to recover and save software programs, it is better to reinstall software programs from the original disks or installation files to be sure the integrity of their registry settings etc;

* Start by saving only a small quantity of files. Windows will not like it if you try and save 200gb of files at once! Once you save a small sample of files, go to the drive on which the files are saved and open and test them to make sure they are complete and there are no saving problems.

HOW TO SELECT FILES TO BE SAVED

A File: To select a file to be saved, in the search results screen place a tick in the box next to the file.

A Folder: To select a folder to be saved, place a tick in the box next to the folder, and all files within the sub folders will automatically be selected.

A Group of Files: To select groups of files, hold down the SHIFT or CTRL key, highlight the files with your mouse, and then press the SPACE BAR to turn the selection ticks on (or off).

HOW MUCH SPACE DO I NEED?

In the grey bar at the very bottom of the search results widow, you can see how many files have selected and the total volume of those files.

WHAT WILL THE FILES LOOK LIKE WHEN THEY ARE SAVED?

If you are saving files from "Folder View" the files that are saved will have same file names and folder structure that you see in the "Folder View" window.

If you are saving files from "File Type View" the files that are saved will have same file names and folder structure that you see in the "File Type View" window.

WHAT HAPPENS AFTER I SAVE THE FILES?

As a file is saved, the tick is removed from the selection box. The results stay in the search window. In version 3.98, the results only disappear if you start a new search or close the program.

I hope this helps.

[user4574]

Thank you for the reply. It does help a lot!

Will there be any major changes with the next version as to what it will recover or will the drive be good to format and reuse once recovery is complete? I'm getting the upgrade option anyway; I'm just asking to see if I should consider not formatting/using the drive for some reason until then.

Thanks!
James

[GDH]

Hi,

Yes, there are a lot of improvements to the format recovery functions in Recover My Files Version 4.

I should have a beta version available for you for testing within the next 2 weeks. Please send an email to support@getdata.com asking to be put on the RMFv4 beta testing list and we will send it out to you as soon as the beta is ready.

Thank you.