KVR Audio

Mushy Mushy · Post by **Mushy Mushy** » Thu Jun 09, 2016 6:42 pm

Right so I made a mega mistake.

Last night I installed Live 9 on my work PC and to do this I needed to free up some space. I deleted the Recycle Bin to make some room.

At some point though I must have inadvertently deleted My Docs in the meantime. No idea how, such a numpty.

I've therefore now lost some very very important work docs. I can't go to my IT help desk because:
a) I shouldn't be installing Live on the PC;
b) I shouldn't save anything on C drive for this exact reason;
c) I don't want them knowing I've f*cked up this hard.

And nup, no backup. It's my work PC so it never crossed my mind. I treat it like a baby due to the sensitivity involved (present irony appreciated).

Any suggestions? Recovery software?

Or am I proper fkd and about to be sued by all and sundry?!

standalone · Post by **standalone** » Thu Jun 09, 2016 9:15 pm

http://easeus.com/data-recovery-software/

Try the free version first to see if it works (2GB limit)

standalone · Post by **standalone** » Fri Jun 10, 2016 4:47 pm

In case it is helpful, there is a 50% sale during the weekend using the code ENDW-74XD

Numanoid · Post by **Numanoid** » Fri Jun 10, 2016 4:52 pm

standalone wrote:http://easeus.com/data-recovery-software/

Try the free version first to see if it works (2GB limit)

Watch out for free stuff from EASEUS, or at least read the requirements carefully.

I tried to use their free partition manager at a point, and it totally locked up my computer, needed to pull out the HDD and wipe it

Numanoid · Post by **Numanoid** » Fri Jun 10, 2016 4:57 pm

Mushy Mushy wrote:Or am I proper fkd and about to be sued by all and sundry?!

I would talk to IT support at your job.

It is no crime losing docs on a computer. What if the computer had been stolen, they would have been lost then as well.

If you have synced your computer at work earlier, you may be able to find some of the docs in the cloud there.

I don't see that it is a big crime installing Live on your work computer (as long as you have the proper license for it and no "try before you buy" version ; )

That you can install software in the first place, means that they have given you administrator rights to the computer. So if they don't want you to install software on your computer, they should'nt have given you those rights.

standalone · Post by **standalone** » Fri Jun 10, 2016 5:43 pm

Numanoid wrote:
standalone wrote:http://easeus.com/data-recovery-software/

Try the free version first to see if it works (2GB limit)
Watch out for free stuff from EASEUS, or at least read the requirements carefully.

I tried to use their free partition manager at a point, and it totally locked up my computer, needed to pull out the HDD and wipe it

Yes, read carefully before altering your computer in any way and with any tool. I personally never had problems with any easeus software, they are always my first option.

Numanoid · Post by **Numanoid** » Fri Jun 10, 2016 5:46 pm

standalone wrote:Yes, read carefully before altering your computer in any way and with any tool. I personally never had problems with any easeus software, they are always my first option.

Yeah, I too had good relations with EaseUS in the past. So when I got a new computer, I just installed their free partition manager right away, and didn't bother checking if it was suitable for Win 8, which it turned out it was not at that particular time. So I ended up with locking the HDD on a computer I just had bought

And the problem with free software is of course no chance of support for an amateur tinker

sprnva · Post by **sprnva** » Fri Jun 10, 2016 6:30 pm

Numanoid's points above are spot on. The IT department should be able to help if necessary because a) if they didn't want you messing about with your laptop's software they should have locked it down better and b) important work documents shouldn't be entrusted to any one employee. There should be backups kept on a server.

As for recovery, I wouldn't hold out much hope. The fact you had to delete files to make space tells me the disk was already fairly full and now you've overwritten some of the freed-up space with Live. So the chances of getting any complete files recovered will be slim. But depending on the size and quantity of the important files, you might get lucky.

Try TestDisk (it's free) and see how you go. I haven't heard of any paid software solution that come with any guarantee of success so you might as well try the free approach first.

If all else fails, are there any small children you can pin the blame on? They might go easy on them...

Mushy Mushy · Post by **Mushy Mushy** » Fri Jun 10, 2016 7:30 pm

Thanks for your replies fella's. Will reply properly shortly.

DevonB · Post by **DevonB** » Fri Jun 10, 2016 7:39 pm

Stupid question, but did you check under your previous version tab to see if it's maybe still there?

Devon

bronxsound · Post by **bronxsound** » Fri Jun 10, 2016 8:45 pm

well, it is a tricky one. ideally in case of deleting files one should stop using the hdd to prevent overwriting sectors. i assume docs folder is on the boot partition and this in itself causes a huge probem. there were a few good free recoverers. recuva springs to mind. payware, winternals was really descent. i guess if you get hirens boot cd there are a couple of others in the recovery section.

Mushy Mushy · Post by **Mushy Mushy** » Mon Jun 13, 2016 10:39 am

Many thanks for your replies guys.

Apologies for the late reply, I was at a wedding all weekend and already in trouble so time on here was out of the question.

There are a few great suggestions above. I'll try these today and report back.

camsr · Post by **camsr** » Tue Jun 14, 2016 12:05 am

Maybe windows system recovery subsystem can revert it to a previous state. There are programs out there that will find file fragments and sometimes full files of deleted files, but they may be nameless, in which case you would have to sift through all of them.

Mushy Mushy · Post by **Mushy Mushy** » Wed Jun 15, 2016 12:53 pm

None of the above have worked unfortunately.

I have managed to find older versions of a few of the more critical files on the shared drive at work. The majority of the others I have lost are personal so not too bad in this respect.

Such a silly billy

Restoring without a backup