Deleted Files with system Restore

[Snakier]

Ok, so i recently made a mistake. i was deleting files in c drive (some game files) and when i finished, i went on the internet, did some other stuff, and restarted my computer (don't remember why). When it rebooted, it said i had deleted a .dll file, and it wouldnt let me go on in safe mode, or any mode. Thinking i had no other way out, i did system restore (or the kind of restore HP computers have right when it is starting up that reverts everything to factory settings). The problem now are files that were in my hard drive, mainly some very important pictures, very sentimental. The question is: can i get them back, and if so how? I emailed a tech but he hasn't emailed me back, thus my desperation and me coming here. Thank you in advance.

[programming_pat]

if you have access to another working computer, you may be able to take the hdd out of the "dead" computer and hook it up as a secondary drive on the working desktop. you can then use a free utility that scans the drive and tries to recover lost files....

not sure of a free program that you could use, but someone else may know.

we also require some comp specs such as processor, memory, operating system

[patio]

What flavor of Windows is this ? ?
If it is Win2K or newer go to Start/Run and type sfc /scannow and hit Enter....
Have your Windows CD handy...it will ask for it.
Let it finish and re-boot.
Post back with your progress and/or any error messages recieved.

[Loren]

Go back to system restore, there should be a box you can check for 'undo system restore'.  Check that and hit enter, that should do it unless you did the full destructive restore, if you did that then I don't think there is much hope to get anything back. 

[Snakier]

Pat: this comp (im using) is the one that had the drive rolled back, and i don't have another comp.

Patio: i have no idea the "flavor" of the computer (don't even know what it means, googled it and i had no idea what they were talking about) but i did type that in, and it said to wait while it checked if all the protected files were intact. i canceled it b/c i don't have the xp disk, brandsmart usa didn't give it along with the pc (in 2003 i think)

BTW the link to my specs http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/genericDocument?docname=c00057188&cc=us&dlc=en&lc=en&jumpid=reg_R1002_USEN


Loren: Ok the restore i did doesn't have that "go back to previous settings" or w/e option, and if it would have it, i'd still be missing the .dll file and thus not be able to use the pc and be screwed.

[patio]

See if you can find a friend with the same version and Service Pack you have on that machine with a Microsoft CD and run the command i posted...this is the easiest way out of your dilemna right now...

System Restore will not repair files.
If you accidentally deleted those photos all bets are off.

[Loren]

Interesting problem, here is how it should have worked.....
http://lifehacker.com/software/windows/geek-to-live--roll-back-windows-with-system-restore-193546.php

[patio]

Interesting problem, here is how it should have worked.....
http://lifehacker.com/software/windows/geek-to-live--roll-back-windows-with-system-restore-193546.php

The files they are missing are not system files therefore i don't see how this would work...

[Broni]

or the kind of restore HP computers have right when it is starting up that reverts everything to factory settings

Snakier didn't use System Restore, as far, as I can see.
He/she reverted his/her computer to day 1 state.
If so, all data is gone.

[Snakier]

the only reason i have any kind of hope is because the first step that that thing did was to save some files... (it said so anyways)

[CBMatt]

or the kind of restore HP computers have right when it is starting up that reverts everything to factory settings

Snakier didn't use System Restore, as far, as I can see.
He/she reverted his/her computer to day 1 state.
If so, all data is gone.

Broni's right.  Although the term System Restore was used, Snakier actually reformatted his hard drive.  It's important to pay attention to everything that's said because not everyone knows all of the proper terms (i.e. some people also use the term "restart" when referring to reformatting).



Snakier,
Unfortunately, there is little hope in your case because the procedure you took is meant to wipe the drive clean of all personal files and leave only the originally-installed files/programs.  When it "saves files", it's typically referring to important system files.  Although there isn't a lot of hope, there is still some.

First of all, make sure you don't write to that drive!  That means don't download anything or create new files or anything else of that nature.  The more you write to the drive, the more likely you are to lose your files forever.  If you have another computer, use that while trying to research this problem.  Now, with that said, here are a few links with some suggestions for you to consider...

http://www.velocityreviews.com/forums/t188871-retrieving-files-after-a-reformat.html
http://www.easeus.com/datarecoverywizard/recover-formatted-partition.htm
http://forums.afterdawn.com/thread_view.cfm/434147

You can take programming_pat's suggestion and try a program such as Recuva.  I can't tell you how well it will work in your case (if at all), but it's worth a shot.


As you can see in some of these links, chances are fairly slim.  If you took your hard drive to a professional, they might be able to recover some of the files for you, but I can tell you right now that it won't be cheap because this isn't exactly what is considered a simple procedure.  There is a very good chance that your files are gone, but I wish you the best of luck.