for xp experts

[armand]

i need your help. i accidentally deleted a folder, which contains quite a number of shortcuts. deleted as in ive accidentally emptied my recycle bin. ive forgotten what and where the original source of the shortcut is. i know that when you empty your recycle bin the files or your folder werent actually deleted. so any of you guys know how to retrieve the deleted folder?

[caitho]

Haven `t tested it , but i know a friend of mine used this:

Free Undelete Utility Recovers Deleted Files, Unerases Lost Data

Hope it helped, Gl !

Btw you shouldn `t install it on the same drive as you lost the data, that may increase the chance of something beeing over written.

[john_g]

I've not used it, but others seem to rate this freeware... SoftPerfect File Recovery - Reviews and free SoftPerfect File Recovery downloads at Download.com

[armand]

ive tried a couple of file recovery softwares, and most of them only gave me video and music files. i was hoping to get a software that can retrieve the folder together with the files in em. you guys know any software that can retrieve folders? it doesnt have to be a freeware, so dont worry about the price.. but i am gonna try caitho and john's suggestion though. thanks guys.

[Sp00k]

Recuva works well for me! And moreover, it's free.... Hey! I'm a poet! :)

[AngusG]

I use a product called EaseUs DataRecoverWizard Professional... But it's probably overkill for just deleted files... (VERY handy when it comes to deleted partitions and the like...)

Why not just do a search for the name of the file that the shortcut was pointing to??

Also a word of warning... As Caitho said, don't install onto the same drive as the lost data..

Also you shouldn't use the same partition that the data was deleted from either...

[AngusG]

Originally Posted by armand

i know that when you empty your recycle bin the files or your folder werent actually deleted.

I don't know where you got that information from but it's wrong...

[markvvoc]

Originally Posted by AngusG

I don't know where you got that information from but it's wrong...

no he is right, the pointer to the file thats been deleted, gets deleted, and the files you "deleted" get moved to the front section of the hard drive and are used to compile directory tree structure, they are eventually overwritten....

so he was right.....file are not so much deleted, they are overwritten in time....

[john_g]

Yes, it's the pointer to the file that get deleted, not the data on the disk but, as time goes by, the space (that is now flagged as being free) will get over-written. I've just tried the product I identified above and it discovered over 40,000 files it could recover on my computer. Also it is very small and isn't installed on your computer - the download *is* the program, so it reduces the risk of deleting valuable information - especially if you download it to a CD or floppy. It shows the directory from which the files were deleted and, when you choose to restore them, allows you to choose the destination you want.

[MadCow]

Doesn't system restore reinstate deleted foldes?

I could be barking up the wrong tree here but I'm sure it does.