Recover Deleted Files - Comments Page 2

Hi! I deleted our MSN chat back up folder and just realized that there is something in it that I need. It's not in the recycle folder. I don't want to install any recovery software either. Is there any way to find it somewhere hidden in the computer?

EDITOR'S NOTE: I don't think you'll find it without recovery software.

Hi, I want to know if its possible to recover the files deleted from a Kingston pen/flash drive? What happens to the deleted files from a flash drive?

EDITOR'S NOTE: Nothing different than a regular hard drive. You can use a file recovery tool on a flash drive.

If you accidentally save over a file, is it possible to retrieve them? Would one do this through dos?

EDITOR'S NOTE: Most llikely not, since the file will probably be written to the same physical space on the disk.

i accidently used full system restore on my pc and all my files are gone but my applications are still working. wat can i do to recover the files because i didnt back up or anything.

EDITOR'S NOTE: I think the full restore formats the disk. If so, your files are truly gone.

I did system restore and my last restore point was a lot longer than I realized. I know that this mean I basically reformatted my entire hard drive but for some reason when I look at the disk space available it shows that my hard drive is way more full than I can remember it ever being. I lost a ton of music and backed-up dvds so I'm just not sure how this can be. The programs that I had installed on my computer were still there after this restore including some pretty weird obscure non-system ones and part of the virus that i was trying to nuke. I know XP tends to come with a load of extra crap that I've gotten stream lined down before but this seems ridiculous. Before restore I my hard drive usage was like 80gb outta 224gb. after restore it was 105gb.

I accidentally deleted my trash can (recycle bin) on my Windows XP desktop. How can I get it back?

EDITOR'S NOTE: I'm pretty sure you have to mess with the system registry to delete the Recycle Bin. It doesn't even have a Delete option when you right-click it. On the chance that it's just hidden, try searching your computer for "recycler" and if you find it, create a short cut to it on your desktop. Another option is to do a System Restore to yesterday (or the most recent restore point prior to the deletion). See http://askbobrankin.com/system_restore.html

Well - just like Mike - I accidentally deleted my trash can icon from my desktop - I have Windows Vista - the drop down menu did have a delete option and I think I probably hit that instead of hitting Empty Trash can - aaaaagh - it happened so fast!! I have Windows Vista and definitely wasn't messing around in the registry. So - I will try searching for "recycler" - I did a search for Trash Can and nothing came up - and then if that doesn't work I will try the System Restore but I'm not sure where to find that! I am just a silly 65 yr old lady who doesn't know as much about her computer as she should!

EDITOR'S NOTE: It's very odd if Vista lets people delete the Trash Can. Under XP, the System Restore is found by going to Start, then Help and Support.

Hey - guess what - I got my Trash Can back!! I didn't really delete it totally - I just deleted the icon off my desk top. I right clicked on my desktop - chose Personalization - over on the left I clicked Change Desktop Icons and guess what - there was a picture of the Trash Can Icon and there wasn't a check mark beside it! I checked it - hit Apply - Okay - and I got my Trash Can Icon back! Hooray! You don't know how proud I am of myself for figuring this out! LOL

Mike - I hope you can find as easy a fix - I know you have XP and I have Vista but I'll bet you can do the same thing!! Let me know if you are able to! :o)

By mistake I deleted from my xp registry the file HKLM\SOFTWARE\MICROSOFT\WINDOWS\CURRENT VERSION\SHELL SERVICE OBJECT DELAY LOAD. Can I just type it back in? And at what location? What is it used for? Was in the process of removing adware files.

EDITOR'S NOTE: You could try a reboot, and see if Windows replaces it for you. If not, I'd first try a System Restore. (See http://askbobrankin.com/system_restore.html) If that doesn't do it, try exporting the key from another computer, then import it on your computer (using REGEDIT).

Hi, thanks for all of the advice on your website. It's been quite useful to me lately. I have a little bit of a strange question: I have a USB storage device purchased from the Apple store on which I've stored lots of important files. Recently my computer hard drive crashed and nothing was recovered.

I've just discovered that before the computer crashed, I transferred a few important files by clicking on them and moving them to the internal (computer) hard drive.. Any chance that there is some trace of them left on the external hard drive (if I cut or dragged them out of it)?

EDITOR'S NOTE: It's quite possible. I suggest you try an undelete tool on the USB drive.