Hi Guys & Gals

I have a client who, who deleted a partition from his hard drive and then extended the remaining partition so he could have more free space, now it seems there is/was a 4-6GB database files in the deleted partition which he would like to get back. My questions are:

(1) Can this data be recovered all drives are in perfect working order
(2) how simple a job is this
(3) does he need a PRO....
(4) if pro is not needed what would be the best course of action to recover this data if it can be recovered

Thanks

Obviously sending it to a pro is always going to achieve best results especially if the data is important. Job reasonbly simple for pro.

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Zero Alpha: zeroalpha.com.au
Find Cheap Donor Drives App: https://www.zeroalpha.com.au/donor-drive-app Updated February 2026

If you're not good at it, it would be more honest to outsource to someone who TAKES CARE of data instead of trial and error. Usually my customers demand solutions and results, not excuses or "sorry, we have tried with internet stuff but it didn't work... (and now don't know if your valuable data is safe and sound , but this is never told)". That's why they pay.
P.S. sometimes I outsource too, when I have no parts , it's the 1st case and have NO 2nd chance, or simply have never seen it before. So my colleagues do with me. It's not a sin and it's a win-win-win situation : the customer, the outsourcer who gets paid, and me because I add my markup for the added value.

Yep i know sending to a pro is best....

I am not good YET so this will definately need to be out sourced.... it would be GREEEEEEEEAT if this could be done remotely lol lol lol.... neways who's the nearest DR PRO to me im in the Caribbean... Barbados to be exact...

Dammit i need a teacher or a DR Workshop.....

This sounds like an easy job. Just clone the drive, then shrink the enlarged partition on the clone to a size that is not greater than its original size. Now hopefully the EBR or boot sector of the deleted partition will be intact and in the unallocated area. You can then try TestDisk or Partition Find and Mount to recover it.

Partition Find and Mount — free partition recovery software:
http://findandmount.com/

TestDisk - CGSecurity:
http://www.cgsecurity.org/wiki/TestDisk

Even easier than resizing the partition with a software utility is to temporarily resize it (without regard to the integrity of file system) by directly editing the max LBA entry in the MBR. Then restore the original value after the files are recovered. Just don't touch the first partition until the MBR is restored.

I think what makes the difference between a Pro and Timmie is the fact they will go the higher road and protect the data, even if it cuts int their profits. The client and their data is the most important thing, if you are willing to risk something that isn't yours... yeah

I guess what bothers me is that you say you have clients, but even in a basic / logical answer do not know where to go... I am a person who believes that the client's interest is very important, and if I cannot help them well and know someone else who can, I will straight up tell them.

I am not trying to call you out fzabkar, but a lot of the suggestions you offer are to agents who are working on clients dives who do not know what they are doing, and they are risking "clients" data. For all you know the client thinks their agent is a Pro and can take care of it all when in reality they are ruining things over a Google search. I think that is where a lot of your controversy comes from, you are possibly making things worse for the client in terms of $$ and recoverability, and for the Pro who before DIY could have make it $$$ less.

You can ask on this forum until the kind people get tired of answering questions which are easily answered by searching this forum or even by using google.
Why don't you read a bit and then suggest a method and ask people here for their opinion or just be done with it and send it to a pro company.
Are you sure it was the client who deleted and modified the partitions?

I advised the OP to clone the drive and then work on the clone. The subject drive has no history of faults. Therefore I don't see why you should find this advice objectionable.

This is a good point.
A lot of times client will tell you that they formatted partition just few days ago and nothing was written after that, but you might realize that old data was overwritten by gigabytes of data few month ago.

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www.datarecoveryne.com

XanderSholtz yes i said clients..... i work with a small IT company troubleshooting networks workstation software etc issues so yes we have clients.... we dont have DR clients as yet but its a dimension i would like to add.... if some one calls the office and say hey we have a hard drive with a "clicking" noise then i want to have the know how to say ok this is a simple job for us or this is a job for the pros if the data is important.....

I guess there are alot of pros on here and you guys dont want ppl learning coz then we are cutting into your market..... i dont know im just thinking out loud...

i mean i love this forum, i love the advice and learning but im sure they are some things someone with IT knowledge and common sense can do... every DR job once you have an image shouldnt be rocket science if you have some pointers in the right direction.... those pointer turn into experience and then into a budding DIY dr guy/gal...

don't find me ungrateful i'm just saying my piece....

By the way i already PM'd BlackST for info on having a PRO deal with this issue for my client....

PS DICK..... if i deleted the partition or moved it or what ever i wud say i made a mistake there is nuttin wrong with that.. but just to put your pretty little mind at ease NO it wasnt me

Extreme tiredness / bitterness towards recent personal things

I apologize to anyone I might have offended in this post, I see that fzabkar recommended cloning before attempts which I completely missed also I assumed the OP was a DIY home DR guy just trying to recover data.

Foot = In-Mouth, I am banning my forums posting between 11:30PM EST and 2:00PM EST.

XanderSholtz

Hey no worries.... im not offended, i was just getting letting you and the forum know exactly what the situation was... get some rest and remember when you going thru hell just keep going coz when you stop is when you are DONE..... keep yuh head up....

I think this is the more relevant section, and it does not apply only to any one person. IMO it is unethical to represent one's self to a customer as being a professional when one is really just asking random people on the internet what to do for even super-basic situations (also not directed at anyone specific).

Consequently I think it is damaging to the integrity of the industry as a whole for random people on the internet who DO know what they are talking about to continue to enable the people who don't know what they are talking about to charge money for it.

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You don't have to backup all of your files, just the ones you want to keep.