My continuing computer problems

[Podmark]

Hey guys, some of you are aware of my computer troubles that have plagued me. I'm on a break from class so I won't go into detail just yet, but my current computer just apparently got it's C drive wiped during a crash. I've got things under control more or less and should be back up soon, but I needed to ask if there's any way to save the files that were on the drive assuming they're still there, before I have to reformat.

Thanks.

[tommyboy]

That depends on whether you can still access them or not.
There are expensive data recovery firms and programmes, and less expensive ones like norton disk doctor, or even windows own chkdsk which if used judiciously can repair damaged data.
You really need someone who knows their elbow from a hole in the ground technically speaking to examine the drive.
DO NOT try to format it, or copy anything new onto it if you really need the data on it, or you risk losing some or all of it.
Try googling "free data recovery programs" or "free hard disk drive checking programs" if you can do it yourself but money is an issue.
If you have a techie friend or trust a repair shop, have them look at it.
If the data is precious but you cant spare hundreds of dollars to get it back, remove the drive for now, buy a new one and reinstall on that, and in the future you MAY be able to recover the stuff on your old one.
Sorry this is all a bit vague, but without my being able to run tests myself, there are a LOT of possible answers to your question, from Yes to No, and all points between.

[Podmark]

Thanks Tommy. Yeah I've got a few Techie friends that I've contacted for help. So I'm looking into things. Generally I'm trying to save my latest PSDs which were on that drive, and a few other things if I can. The drive is partitioned and according to the Windows install screen my D partition is fine.

I'll be looking into a few things, might consider buying a new hard drive. Is there any information I can give that could help you guys make any suggestions?

[stumpy]

If you know a techie, ask him to hook up your drive as a secondary on his machine so you can see if your files are there to copy off. It's not a tough operation and, if he's done it before, it can be done in ~15 minutes (not counting copying files, burning CDs, etc.). In addition, it's sometimes easier to get a recovery program up and running when the PC is booted from a different drive than has crashed.

The main thing, as mentioned before, is don't try to partition, format or write anything to the "damaged" partition until you've gotten what you need off of it (or given up). That includes making any backups that are written to that same drive, "preparing" the drive for a new Windows install, etc. If the file system on the drive is corrupted, there are some programs (like the Norton Utilities/Systemworks and others mentioned) that can try and recover the files, but they are severely limited if the old file system info or data has been overwritten.

[Podmark]

Yep I know not to do anything with the drive until I've tried my best to get the files back.

I've actually hooked up drives before, so I'll try that as I can borrow a friends PC.

[randyripoff]

Dunno if they still make it, but Lost and Found has always worked for me.  There are also some tools on the Ultimate Boot CD that might be useful.

[Podmark]

Back up and running now. Didn't manage to recover everything, lost most of my new PSDs, but otherwise did well. The good news is that all those skins had already been released except a new Rockslide that I had barely even started.

Thanks for the help guys.