Standard Ways To Recover Lost Data
There are a couple of things to try if you need to recover lost data before resorting to sending your computer off to data recovery specialists. This article highlights how to recover deleted files and how to recover data when Windows just won’t start up.
If you just need to recover deleted files then it is simply a case going to the recycle bin and finding the files you wish to restore (right-click on the file and choose ‘restore’).
If you have deleted files and they are not appearing in the recycle bin then may still be recovered. This does however require data recovery software to restore the files. It is worth pointing out that deleted files are never completely removed – they merely are flagged on the hard drive as being no longer required and so may be wiped/overwritten. Recovery software is able to scan the hard drives, find files flagged in this way and display them back to you so you can restore them.
When Windows fails to start correctly for you then it can be a little trickier for you to recover lost data. Here are some approaches to try that will hopefully get Windows up and running and allow you to back-up/recover data:
- Try booting Windows in safe-mode. Once Windows is running recover lost data to an external drive before trying any computer repairs
- Boot up in DOS mode. If you are technically proficient then running in DOS will be less daunting. It can allow you to browse the file system and copy files to floppy drive. Copying files in DOS to external drives is usually not possible (requires DOS driver files for the external drive, which few manufacturers provide).
If Windows is stating at boot-up that there is a corrupt drive then you will need to use a boot disk (Windows emergency boot disk, Anti-virus software boot disk, Reimage boot disk) to get the operating system started. Once it starts, copy personal data to an external drive, run a full virus scan and then investigate disk repairs.
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