Deleted data

Archlyn · February 22nd, 2003

I was reading a couple articles on TechTV about how erased data isn't always REALLY erased, and they had some good tips and software tools to help you do the job right, but what about UNdoing it? I don't mean unerasing one file, but, say unformating an HD?

I only ask because too many times have I lost important data I thought had been backed up and yet it hadn't

**Yeloazndevil** · February 22nd, 2003

if u format the hard drive everything is gone and u can't get it back.....if u delete a file it still on your pc until u defrag your hard drive

Quatro · February 22nd, 2003

well depend on how you erase the data... if you delet it from the recycle bin... its gone.

but soemtimes, some are stored over the temp folder but not all (mostly program installation)

others like documents, you might see if there are any rescued documents

Gamer1 · February 22nd, 2003

Quote:

Originally posted by yeloazndevil
if u format the hard drive everything is gone and u can't get it back.....if u delete a file it still on your pc until u defrag your hard drive

no, even when formatting, data is not even erased. they could always get the data back. just look at psx memcard images. have you ever made an image of your psx memcard and ran it through psxge? you could see your "deleted" saved data, off course... if you haven't overwritten it yet.

the data is burned to your hard drive. when you defrag, the data is still there but a copy of it also moved to another part of the disk. assuming of course, it wasn't overwritten. the data just gets marked as ready to be overwritten.

Quatro · February 22nd, 2003

> no, even when formatting, data is not even erased.

huh??? isn't it when you reformat a HD, everything in it will be gone right??? then what do you mean it's not even erased???

Gamer1 · February 22nd, 2003

>>huh??? isn't it when you reformat a HD, everything in it will be gone right??? then what do you mean it's not even erased???

there is 2 types of formatting. a quick format and a format that wipes the disk completely (high level format, if i remember correctly from a+). quick format... is just bassically, a big delete. data is still there... just waiting to get over written. while a high level format (not sure about the name), sets everything back to 0.

**Kane** · February 22nd, 2003

Gamer1 is right. Quick format just wipes the File allocation table. Full format wipes the data. Data recovery is a professional business and costs a lot.

**Prafull** · February 22nd, 2003

There are hundreds of data recovery tool and I have tried demos of almost all of them(allow recovery of anything between 1-10 files).

The only free one that works well is "pc inspector recovery file recovery".

Archlyn · February 22nd, 2003

Whick kind of format would something like "Format C: /s" do? and I think it's a lowlevel format that Gamer1 was talking about

**Kirby** · February 22nd, 2003

Format C: /s leaves the system files on the drive so the drive can be bootable without a floppy. Format C: /q is a quick-format

Archlyn · February 22nd, 2003

I knew that (about the /s switch)... I just wanted to see what kind of format it was.. Thanks!

**Kane** · February 22nd, 2003

Low-level formatting is something you do with a special utility, or in the BIOS of some mobos.

**Yeloazndevil** · February 22nd, 2003

Quote:

Originally posted by Gamer1

no, even when formatting, data is not even erased. they could always get the data back. just look at psx memcard images. have you ever made an image of your psx memcard and ran it through psxge? you could see your "deleted" saved data, off course... if you haven't overwritten it yet.

the data is burned to your hard drive. when you defrag, the data is still there but a copy of it also moved to another part of the disk. assuming of course, it wasn't overwritten. the data just gets marked as ready to be overwritten.

o ic, hey I just learned something

**Kirby** · February 22nd, 2003

Quote:

Originally posted by yeloazndevil
o ic, hey I just learned something

That software that overwrites the sectors with 00 should wipe out your kiddie pron

**Yeloazndevil** · February 22nd, 2003

lmao, it can also overwrite your g** pron

**Kirby** · February 22nd, 2003

Quote:

Originally posted by yeloazndevil
lmao, it can also overwrite your g** pron

let's not get overly excited

What about the NTFS file system and wiping out single files from XP? is there software that actually can do it?

Mr Urt · February 22nd, 2003

there are programs that will overwrite files several times before deleting them, redering the information virtually unrecoverable. I would imagine that the file system has nothing to do with anything.

btw, if you're interested in low-level reformat you can check you hd manufacturer's site for utils. I know WD has a util that does that as well as a few other potentially usefull things.

**Kirby** · February 22nd, 2003

That WD ultility saved my HD from bad sector galore. Caused by the ME setup. And thus my hate begins

Quatro · February 24th, 2003

> Gamer1 is right. Quick format just wipes the File allocation table. Full format wipes the data.

thats only applicable to your HD right and not the likes of a floppy disk?

Gamer1 · February 24th, 2003

>>thats only applicable to your HD right and not the likes of a floppy disk?

unfortunatly no, floppy disks are the same.

February 22nd, 2003	#1 (permalink)
Archlyn Registered User Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: The land of Insanity Posts: 571	Deleted data I was reading a couple articles on TechTV about how erased data isn't always REALLY erased, and they had some good tips and software tools to help you do the job right, but what about UNdoing it? I don't mean unerasing one file, but, say unformating an HD? I only ask because too many times have I lost important data I thought had been backed up and yet it hadn't __________________ Computer Specs: ASUS A8N SLI Deluxe (nForce4) \| AMD Athlon X2 3800 @ 2.0ghz \| 2x1.0GB OCZ Platinum DDR400 RAM (128-bit DDR mode) \| GeForce 7600 w/ 256mb VRAM \| Onboard Sound - for now OS1 : Windows XP / SP2 \| Direct X 9 OS2 : Gentoo Linux 2006.0 OS3 : Windows Vista Beta 2 ePSXe config: Pete's OpenGL 2.0 \| Eternal SPU 1.4 \| ePSXe Internal CD core (W2K) Project 64 config Jabo's D3D7 1.5 \| Jabo's DSound 1.5 \| Jabo's DInput 1.5

February 22nd, 2003	#3 (permalink)
Quatro c3rTifiEd V@mpIr3 Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Laguna Posts: 8,295	well depend on how you erase the data... if you delet it from the recycle bin... its gone. but soemtimes, some are stored over the temp folder but not all (mostly program installation) others like documents, you might see if there are any rescued documents __________________ BE ONE OF US I JOIN THE WOLF CLAN - when you think that you have accomplish so much, many think of it as so little...

February 22nd, 2003	#5 (permalink)
Quatro c3rTifiEd V@mpIr3 Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Laguna Posts: 8,295	> no, even when formatting, data is not even erased. huh??? isn't it when you reformat a HD, everything in it will be gone right??? then what do you mean it's not even erased??? __________________ BE ONE OF US I JOIN THE WOLF CLAN - when you think that you have accomplish so much, many think of it as so little...

February 22nd, 2003	#6 (permalink)
Gamer1 Anti-Brand Loyalist Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Its too dark to tell... Posts: 3,237	>>huh??? isn't it when you reformat a HD, everything in it will be gone right??? then what do you mean it's not even erased??? there is 2 types of formatting. a quick format and a format that wipes the disk completely (high level format, if i remember correctly from a+). quick format... is just bassically, a big delete. data is still there... just waiting to get over written. while a high level format (not sure about the name), sets everything back to 0. __________________ Iris: (Proc:Intel Pentium4 2.8Ghz w/ HT UNLOCKED @ 15x200) (Mobo: Asus P4C800-E) (RAM: Corsair XMS 2x512MB DDR400) (HDD 1: Seagate 80GB, 8MB Buffer, 7200 RPM) (Disk Drive 1: Lite-On 16x DVD Burner 1673S) (GFX Card: Radeon 9800 All-In-Wonder Pro 128MB) (Sound Card: Sound Blaster Audigy) Morrigan: (Proc:AMD Athlon 2500+ @ 11x200) (Mobo: Asrock K7V88) (RAM: Corsair XMS 512MB DDR400) (HDD 1: Seagate 80GB, 8MB Buffer, 7200 RPM) (Disk Drive 1: NEC 16x DVD Burner 3200AG) (GFX Card: Radeon 920064MB) (Sound Card: Sound Blaster Live! 5.1)

February 22nd, 2003	#7 (permalink)
Kane 邪魔ゎ指せない Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Gosport, England Posts: 26,255	Gamer1 is right. Quick format just wipes the File allocation table. Full format wipes the data. Data recovery is a professional business and costs a lot. __________________ >Site Live< Pop over to my site for help with setting up PSX emulators. Help for the Final Fantasies and other RPGs avalaible Celes: (Desktop) Athlon 64 X2 4200+, 2Gb 400MHz DDR Ram, MSI K8N Platinum, GeForce 8800 GTS 320Mb, 500Gb RAID HDD, Vista Business Erika: (MCPC) Athlon XP 2400+, 1Gb 400MHz DDR Ram, geForce 6800 256Mb, 80Gb Hdd, XP 2005 MCE Kimiko: (Desktop 2) Athlon 64 3000+, 512Mb 400MHz DDR Ram, Asus K8V, geForce 6800 128Mb

February 22nd, 2003	#2 (permalink)
Yeloazndevil :3 Join Date: Jul 2002 Posts: 10,147	if u format the hard drive everything is gone and u can't get it back.....if u delete a file it still on your pc until u defrag your hard drive

February 22nd, 2003	#8 (permalink)
Prafull Administrator, PCSX2 tester Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: India Posts: 682	There are hundreds of data recovery tool and I have tried demos of almost all of them(allow recovery of anything between 1-10 files). The only free one that works well is "pc inspector recovery file recovery". __________________ E6750, Abit ip35E, XFX 8600GT 256 MB DDR3, Transcend 2GB DDR2 800 RAM

February 22nd, 2003	#9 (permalink)
Archlyn Registered User Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: The land of Insanity Posts: 571	Whick kind of format would something like "Format C: /s" do? and I think it's a lowlevel format that Gamer1 was talking about __________________ Computer Specs: ASUS A8N SLI Deluxe (nForce4) \| AMD Athlon X2 3800 @ 2.0ghz \| 2x1.0GB OCZ Platinum DDR400 RAM (128-bit DDR mode) \| GeForce 7600 w/ 256mb VRAM \| Onboard Sound - for now OS1 : Windows XP / SP2 \| Direct X 9 OS2 : Gentoo Linux 2006.0 OS3 : Windows Vista Beta 2 ePSXe config: Pete's OpenGL 2.0 \| Eternal SPU 1.4 \| ePSXe Internal CD core (W2K) Project 64 config Jabo's D3D7 1.5 \| Jabo's DSound 1.5 \| Jabo's DInput 1.5

February 22nd, 2003	#10 (permalink)
Kirby Politically incorrect FTW Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Massachusetts, USA Posts: 8,445	Format C: /s leaves the system files on the drive so the drive can be bootable without a floppy. Format C: /q is a quick-format __________________ AMD Athlon64 X2 4400+ Toledo, Nvidia GeForce 7950GT SLi, 2GB PC3200 2-3-2-5, ABit AN8-SLi, Sound Blaster X-FI XtremeMusic

February 22nd, 2003	#11 (permalink)
Archlyn Registered User Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: The land of Insanity Posts: 571	I knew that (about the /s switch)... I just wanted to see what kind of format it was.. Thanks! __________________ Computer Specs: ASUS A8N SLI Deluxe (nForce4) \| AMD Athlon X2 3800 @ 2.0ghz \| 2x1.0GB OCZ Platinum DDR400 RAM (128-bit DDR mode) \| GeForce 7600 w/ 256mb VRAM \| Onboard Sound - for now OS1 : Windows XP / SP2 \| Direct X 9 OS2 : Gentoo Linux 2006.0 OS3 : Windows Vista Beta 2 ePSXe config: Pete's OpenGL 2.0 \| Eternal SPU 1.4 \| ePSXe Internal CD core (W2K) Project 64 config Jabo's D3D7 1.5 \| Jabo's DSound 1.5 \| Jabo's DInput 1.5

February 22nd, 2003	#12 (permalink)
Kane 邪魔ゎ指せない Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Gosport, England Posts: 26,255	Low-level formatting is something you do with a special utility, or in the BIOS of some mobos. __________________ >Site Live< Pop over to my site for help with setting up PSX emulators. Help for the Final Fantasies and other RPGs avalaible Celes: (Desktop) Athlon 64 X2 4200+, 2Gb 400MHz DDR Ram, MSI K8N Platinum, GeForce 8800 GTS 320Mb, 500Gb RAID HDD, Vista Business Erika: (MCPC) Athlon XP 2400+, 1Gb 400MHz DDR Ram, geForce 6800 256Mb, 80Gb Hdd, XP 2005 MCE Kimiko: (Desktop 2) Athlon 64 3000+, 512Mb 400MHz DDR Ram, Asus K8V, geForce 6800 128Mb

February 22nd, 2003	#15 (permalink)
Yeloazndevil :3 Join Date: Jul 2002 Posts: 10,147	lmao, it can also overwrite your g** pron

February 22nd, 2003	#17 (permalink)
Mr Urt gone postal Join Date: Jan 2002 Posts: 1,569	there are programs that will overwrite files several times before deleting them, redering the information virtually unrecoverable. I would imagine that the file system has nothing to do with anything. btw, if you're interested in low-level reformat you can check you hd manufacturer's site for utils. I know WD has a util that does that as well as a few other potentially usefull things.

February 22nd, 2003	#18 (permalink)
Kirby Politically incorrect FTW Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Massachusetts, USA Posts: 8,445	That WD ultility saved my HD from bad sector galore. Caused by the ME setup. And thus my hate begins __________________ AMD Athlon64 X2 4400+ Toledo, Nvidia GeForce 7950GT SLi, 2GB PC3200 2-3-2-5, ABit AN8-SLi, Sound Blaster X-FI XtremeMusic

February 24th, 2003	#19 (permalink)
Quatro c3rTifiEd V@mpIr3 Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Laguna Posts: 8,295	> Gamer1 is right. Quick format just wipes the File allocation table. Full format wipes the data. thats only applicable to your HD right and not the likes of a floppy disk? __________________ BE ONE OF US I JOIN THE WOLF CLAN - when you think that you have accomplish so much, many think of it as so little...

February 24th, 2003	#20 (permalink)
Gamer1 Anti-Brand Loyalist Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Its too dark to tell... Posts: 3,237	>>thats only applicable to your HD right and not the likes of a floppy disk? unfortunatly no, floppy disks are the same. __________________ Iris: (Proc:Intel Pentium4 2.8Ghz w/ HT UNLOCKED @ 15x200) (Mobo: Asus P4C800-E) (RAM: Corsair XMS 2x512MB DDR400) (HDD 1: Seagate 80GB, 8MB Buffer, 7200 RPM) (Disk Drive 1: Lite-On 16x DVD Burner 1673S) (GFX Card: Radeon 9800 All-In-Wonder Pro 128MB) (Sound Card: Sound Blaster Audigy) Morrigan: (Proc:AMD Athlon 2500+ @ 11x200) (Mobo: Asrock K7V88) (RAM: Corsair XMS 512MB DDR400) (HDD 1: Seagate 80GB, 8MB Buffer, 7200 RPM) (Disk Drive 1: NEC 16x DVD Burner 3200AG) (GFX Card: Radeon 920064MB) (Sound Card: Sound Blaster Live! 5.1)

Thread Tools
Show Printable Version Email this Page
Display Modes
Linear Mode Switch to Hybrid Mode Switch to Threaded Mode