Does anyone know how I can find something that appears to have been deleted on my laptop?
I seem to remember reading somewhere that *everything* is recoverable on a laptop (or PC for that matter) if you just know how to look for it.

I downloaded a video, started watching it last week and got distracted by something else...went to look again today and it's gone...I was 'tidying' up my download folder and putting stuff over onto external HD and now it's gone
:(

Any suggestions?


Erm...useful suggestions that is, ones that might help me find this file again.
( chickenlady b3ta's very own Elizabeth Taylor, Wed 13 Aug 2008, 21:41, 13 replies, latest was 16 years ago)

Have you searched for it?
Failing that, plug in the External HDD and do a search for all videos, then look through the list of results 'til you find it.

Out of interest, was it horse porn?
( Cawl, Wed 13 Aug 2008, 21:44, Reply)

I think you can do a system restore
to find it. Not sure how far back they go though.
( fuck shit up the best you never had, Wed 13 Aug 2008, 21:49, Reply)

I asked for that didn't I?
*shakes head*


I ran loads of searches before I asked here.

And it wasn't horse porn, not this time.

*Edit* Hmm...system restore....doesn't that require me to have something like Norton Ghost loaded up? I haven't got it.
( chickenlady b3ta's very own Elizabeth Taylor, Wed 13 Aug 2008, 21:50, Reply)

Oh...
'cos I can likely send you it again if was horse porn, I've got a fairly comprehensive library.

EDIT: Windows does it's own system restore.
( Cawl, Wed 13 Aug 2008, 21:51, Reply)

What's norton ghost?
I know that system restore works on XP and vista, but not sure of how it works exactly. Should be in the help topics on your computer
( fuck shit up the best you never had, Wed 13 Aug 2008, 21:53, Reply)

@chickenlady
Did you delete the file when you thought you had copied it elsewhere? Do you even know the filename or the extension?

Try searching for part of the filename (on both the laptop (selecting "Local harddrives" in the 'look in' dropdown-menu) and the external hard drive.

If you launched it directly from your browser but didn't save it, it may still be in your browser cache under some weird filename (the location of the browser cache will depend on which browser you are using).

EDIT: System restore only restores the computer's configuration and installed software to an earlier state. It usually doesn't help when finding missing videos (unless it backs up the entire hard drive).
( mistaspakkaman and the inedible shifting caterpillars, Wed 13 Aug 2008, 22:03, Reply)

Get a mac with time machine on it
Oh wait, not useful for now. Useful for future though.

Macs FTW!
(PenguinOfDeath is Scottish, and most likely angry, Wed 13 Aug 2008, 22:05, Reply)

i have data recovery software
both bog standard user and forensic level. Gaz me and i can email a simple one
(Ethelred is watching cheese grow, Wed 13 Aug 2008, 22:11, Reply)

Try this
www.techsupportalert.com/best-free-data-recovery-file-undelete-utility.htm
(Rich T has a clever and witty sig, Thu 14 Aug 2008, 0:21, Reply)

A similar thing has happend to me...

when transferring a movie onto my External Drive. The problem was that the movie file was larger than 4GB so Windows wouldn't transfer it, but it had no problem transferring the folder that the file was in over.

Thusly giving the impression that I had successfully moved it. So when I deleted the other files from my PC in my 'tidy up' it took the original movie with it.

On discovering this, I believe the word I used was 'buggeration'
( Pooflake braces for an onslaught..., Thu 14 Aug 2008, 9:40, Reply)

I tried doing a system restore....a number of times
Didn't work.

Pooflake, I think that's exactly what I've done.

Buggeration indeed.


I shall now just have to break the law and download a torrent of it.

And no, I'm still not telling what it was....



But thanks for everyone's suggestions anyway...I did learn something, so it was worthwhile.
( chickenlady b3ta's very own Elizabeth Taylor, Thu 14 Aug 2008, 9:45, Reply)

System Restore
System restore won't work to recover videos, it changes settings and installs, but happily proclaims "System Restore returns your computer to an earlier time (called a restore point) without causing you to lose recent work, such as saved documents, e-mail, or history and favourites lists"

BUT I WANT TO RECOVER A DOCUMENT YOU USELESS BASTARD TOOL, ARGH!
( Agnostic Antichrist Baltimora, Thu 14 Aug 2008, 13:50, Reply)

^^This
Do you by any chance live next door and overheard me shouting this out last night?
( chickenlady b3ta's very own Elizabeth Taylor, Thu 14 Aug 2008, 22:28, Reply)