Simple undelete

[Craig234]

I didn't realize a file had changed directory to E: and did an erase *.*.

I don't know whatit erased if anything.

I checked the recycle bin and it's empty; I did a test and deleted other files, and the recycle bin is still empty so that was useless.

This is Win 7 64-bit, isn't there some simple undelete?

If not should I consider a 'restore point'?

I installed an undelete program 'recuva' but it finds 110,000 files, that's a headache.

 

[Puppies04]

I would try using a restore point but if you don't know if anything was deleted how are you going to know when you have everything back?

 

[Matt1970]

It would have only deleted what was in the root of E:
Anything in any folders should be safe.

I think with recuva you should be able to sort by location in the results.

 

[Craig234]

Well, I was looking for something simple like 'undelete *.*' in the same directory, or why the recycle bin shows nothing after I erase files.

Recuva shows a couple dozen filed in the directory, the newest of which is 2008... bunch of nonsense files it mostly looks like but not easy to be comfortable with it.

As for the restor point, if I restore to before the erase, wouldn't that get the files?

 

[Puppies04]

Well, I was looking for something simple like 'undelete *.*' in the same directory, or why the recycle bin shows nothing after I erase files.

Recuva shows a couple dozen filed in the directory, the newest of which is 2008... bunch of nonsense files it mostly looks like but not easy to be comfortable with it.

As for the restor point, if I restore to before the erase, wouldn't that get the files?

Is there some reason that you haven't tried a restore point yet? Why even bother asking, just try it and you will have your answer.

 

[Craig234]

Is there some reason that you haven't tried a restore point yet? Why even bother asking, just try it and you will have your answer.

Because I'd prefer a simpler solution if one is available than re-learning how to use a restore point and if it's going to do what I want. If that's the best answer, I'll try it.

 

[Bubbaleone]

So long as the Volume Shadow Copy service is enabled on the volume where you accidentally deleted or renamed a file or folder, you can restore a previous version of that file or folder, but you need to know the location where the file or folder was saved. To restore a file or folder that was deleted or renamed, follow these steps:

1. Open Windows Explorer.

2. Navigate to the folder that used to contain the file or folder, right-click it, and then click "Restore previous versions" from the context menu.

3. If the folder was at the top level of a drive, for example C:\, right-click the drive and then click "Restore previous versions" from the context menu.

4. Double-click a previous version of the folder that contains the file or folder you want to restore. (For example, if a file was deleted today, choose a version of the folder from yesterday that contains the file.)

5. Drag the file or folder that you want to restore to another location, such as your desktop or another folder.

6. The version of the file or folder is saved to the location that you selected.


Note: If you don't remember the exact file or folder name or its location, you can search for it by typing part of the name in the search box in the Computer folder.


.

 

[Craig234]

When I right click on Windows Explorer for the drive, it says no backup is available.

 

[Bubbaleone]

When I right click on Windows Explorer for the drive, it says no backup is available.

Then System Restore isn't turned on for that drive because the "Restore previous versions" feature uses the data from a System Restore Point to restore individual files and folders. Unless you've previously created a manual backup of the drive where you're trying to restore the deleted file from, and then use that backup to restore the previous version, your only option now is recovery software. But that's no guarantee if you've been writing to that drive the entire time since you deleted the file, and the file has now been overwritten multiple times.