How to Restore Data Recovery
Whether you use your computer for school, work or just for fun, files stored on your PC are often critical to your day-to-day activities. Accidentally deleting one of those files is a frustrating experience. All hope isn't lost, however, as you can download and run a file-recovery utility that scans your hard drive and reconstructs the original file so that it can be used again.
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Instructions
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Navigate a web browser to a website that offers a data recovery utility such as "Recover My Files" or "GetBackData" (see Resources). Check through the support section of the website to make sure the program can recover the type of data that you have lost.
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Download and install the file recovery program. Open the program once the installation process has finished. Close the "Tips" box.
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Click on the "Recover My Files Wizard." Click on the "Complete File Search" button at the center of the window. Click on the "Manually Set Options" icon at the lower-right corner of the window to bring up a new options window.
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Navigate to the "Advanced" tab. Click on the check boxes marked as "Search in Active areas" and "Allow Searching of Physical Drives." Click on the "OK" button. Close the options window.
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Click on the check box that corresponds to the drive where your lost files were originally stored, such as "D:\" if the file was on the D drive. Click on all of the check boxes if you aren't sure where the file was deleted from. Click on the "Next" button.
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Scroll down through the list of file types the program can search for. Click on the check box for the type of data you lost, such as "Graphics" if it was an image file or "Documents" if it it was a Microsoft Word file.
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Click on the "Start" button and wait for the program to scan your hard drive for the lost files. Click on the "Save Files" button at the top of the window once the scan has finished.
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Locate the folder where you want the files to be saved and click on it. Click on the "Save" button to restore your lost data.
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Tips & Warnings
If your computer is running the Windows Vista operating system you may need to right-click on the desktop icon for the recovery program and choose "Run as Administrator."
Your computer's hard disk drive is constantly writing over old data anytime you create new files or modify old ones. Stop opening, changing or making new files as soon as you realize you need to restore lost data to maximize the chances that the data can be recovered.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit Stock Xchng
