I lost my files due to a cut-paste being interrupted, how do i get them back?

TallOne123

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Oct 16, 2011
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Hey guys, I've run into a little problem here.

I just bought and installed a 3TB internal hard drive in my computer, and was transferring about 600 gigabytes of data. The problem is, my cut paste operation got interrupted because my windows explorer crashed. I think I lost about 9 gigabytes of data.

Is there any way to recover them? I was transferring from ( E: ) -> ( C: )
 
Solution
First, have you modified the Options and located the PRESERVE FOLDER STUCTURE? checkbox?

This is done after the Scan process, and then select the SWITCH TO ADVANCED... button (upper right side). Then select OPTIONS, then the ACTIONS tab... (Once you set this Preserve Folders, RECUVA will use that from this point forward.)

Once you've verified that, then look at E: Drive and try to recover files to some C: Drive Destination - NOT your final, intended destination, but something like C:\RECUVA location. Your E: Drive Folder Structure will rebuilt under this new destination tree.

Select the files you want to recover, and let it run.

All those duplicates you see are Versions Of Files With The Same Name. If I edit files, then my...

USAFRet

Titan
Moderator
Cut/Paste is really "Copy/Paste/Delete"

Your files should still exist on the original drive/Folder.

However...if it was many, and a deep folder tree, finding what did and didn't may be a hassle.

Personally? I always do a Copy/Paste. Only after it is done and verified do I then Delete from the old location.
 

christinebcw

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Sep 8, 2012
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Recycle Bin is one issue. Do you have, like, a Drive F - another hard drive? If so, then I'd install PiriForm's RECUVA on it, then let it examine C: and E: for any recoverable files.

(RECUVA has one very BAD default option - it doesn't, by default, recover the Folder Structure of a file, so it wants to throw every recovered file into one Destination Folder. UGH. However, before I run RECUVA, there is an Options and Advanced Options to wade thru, and the "preserve folder structure" is a checkbox. Whew!)

WHY F: DRIVE? This way, I won't be installing anything on a drive that might have recoverable files - the installation of new files can overwrite files that I might want to recover.

If you don't have an F: Drive or some other hard-drive, then I'd install it on Drive C: and do Recovery from Drive E (their original location). The MOVE operation is still a DELETE function, which is 'only' a Rename Function, changing a file's name into a non-displayable format. All of the original files on E: Drive should be there.

I confess that I relatively swear by these file-recovery tools - there are several products out there. And after Motherboard Drivers and WinUpdates, I install RECUVA as the very first program on my computer. Then, everything else gets loaded. The reason for this is to ensure the RECUVA program files are locked-and-loaded into one place long before so many other files are, thus enhancing all following installations a better chance of being recovered.
 

christinebcw

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For me, Win7 and Win8's version of their file manager makes it so much easier to inadvertently delete whole folder structures because they require Mouse Clicks instead of Cursor Movements to folder-file selections. This has made file/folder recovery tools handy for those "too big for recycle bin" errors.
 

TallOne123

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Oct 16, 2011
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18,630


Just used Recuva, and its listing a LOTT of files. Does Recuva only list files that I've lost? I'm confused since some of the files listed on Recuva, I already have.

Does the state (very poor, unrecoverable, excellent) mean anything? Some of the files that are labeled as unrecoverable works perfectly fine (video files)
 

christinebcw

Honorable
Sep 8, 2012
472
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10,960
First, have you modified the Options and located the PRESERVE FOLDER STUCTURE? checkbox?

This is done after the Scan process, and then select the SWITCH TO ADVANCED... button (upper right side). Then select OPTIONS, then the ACTIONS tab... (Once you set this Preserve Folders, RECUVA will use that from this point forward.)

Once you've verified that, then look at E: Drive and try to recover files to some C: Drive Destination - NOT your final, intended destination, but something like C:\RECUVA location. Your E: Drive Folder Structure will rebuilt under this new destination tree.

Select the files you want to recover, and let it run.

All those duplicates you see are Versions Of Files With The Same Name. If I edit files, then my Original Version maybe #1, my Second Edit may be #2, etc. So yes, you'll likely see duplicates. In general, the older ones are less recoverable.

The quality of recoverable files is never known until they're 'recovered'. Sometimes, Recuva has returned useless, too-corrupted files. C'est la vie. "It's the best it can do" may be the only comfort. There is a Deep Scan option, by the way, which I've used but that means "good night, see ya tomorrow" for the recovery process. Still - if those are important, it's what I've done.
 
Solution