Hi there, you will need to bare with me as I am not an expert in computers, I know a bit about them but not enough to know all the exact termonology etc!

Basically, about a week ago my hard drive in my laptop(laptop only around 8 months old) went A-wall. It came up an error code at start-up which I could not get past and would not allow me to boot up, even using a windows 7 boot disk. I set up my hard drive externally to another computer and there were 2 drives (E & F). When I would try to open the drive E it would tell me I needed to format the drive. However I was able to get into drive F which said it held 116gb of files on it, which was exactly how much stuff I had on the hard drive when it was working, so I knew all my files were there, However they were trapped in a VHD file which I could not get open on the computer I was using as the computer was running Vista.

Anyway, to cut a long story short I read many things online and tried many different programmes with none of them working. Then I got "EASEUS Data Recovery Wizard Proffessional". I ran "Advanced Recovery" through the drive F, and FINALLY it seems to have recovered all my files. However it is at this stage that I am very confused of the next step, I have attached a screenshot of where I'm at just now and I am hoping someone could give me some advice and let me know what my options are.


It is very hard to see what all the files when viewing them on the programme as they seem a bit jumbled up, and to me it just all seems a big mess of files (probably because I am not an expert!)

I'm wondering if because I have recovered my files it means that I can write them back onto the hard drive I have recovered them from (if that makes sense) and use the hard drive again? The hard drive has windows 7 on it and I am hoping because I have recovered these files I have recovered windows 7 and therefore can fix the drive and use windows 7 on my laptop again?

sorry for all the random questions etc. hope you can make sense of it all, I am just freaking out because I have spent days trying to recover the files and now I have them I don't know what to do, I am an Architecture student and just want my laptop back to normal working order so I can use my AutoCAD again!!

PLEASE HELP!! thanks, Sean

P.S on the programme there are 2 tabs for the recovered files...one is "Files" and the other is "Raw", the files tab says the recovered data is 96 gb which seems about right, but the Raw tab says the recovered data is 296gb!! again, help if you can! thanks.

If anyone is willing to help me with this situation...maybe a list of options that I might have and some step by step instructions on what to do next...that would be a huge help!!!

thanks again!!

@Shnoff: Unfortunately the story is too confused for me to offer the step-by-step level of help you are requesting. If you don't know how to use the logical recovery software, then other options include reading its docs and/or using the vendor's support. This isn't an EASUS support board, so if you are requesting help on that software (which seems to be the case), then only some members will have used it (which limits the help you may get). No-one expects architecture students to know about computers; similarly I can't design buildings.

The help which I can give is related to some of your other questions:

There has been no accurate diagnosis of the original hard disk mentioned so far in your story. From the symptoms, I am concerned that the hard disk may have a hardware problem. Don't try to use it again, until you've recovered the data from it and have thoroughly tested that recovered data to be complete and usable - and even then, I would be cautious about reusing a "suspect" disk. It's usually worth paying the extra and getting a new disk, if in any doubt.

For that and other reasons, the answer to your question about recovering files back to your original hard disk is NO - at least not until much later in the process. Otherwise you could just be re-using a faulty hard disk which will cause you more grief. Also, you don't want to overwrite anything on the original disk during the recovery process itself (which seems to be what you're suggesting).

In general, if your chosen logical recovery software has really found (and is really able to read) your files from the original hard disk, then they should be recovered onto a different (preferably "known good" i.e. tested) disk drive.

Due to the concerns about the original hard disk, I wouldn't have done what you have done i.e. trying to do a file recovery directly from a failing hard disk. Instead, cloning that whole original hard disk onto another disk is generally preferred & less risky, and then doing the logical recovery from there.

Another reader who understands your description might be able to suggest a way forwards from where you are now. However, to be honest, I would suggest getting some local help - there are limits as to what help is sensible to expect from a web forum, considering that we can't see your PC.

Also, if the data on that disk is really important, you also need to consider whether you are willing to accept the risks of the DIY recovery that you are doing - you could make things worse. Or you might prefer to reduce the risk by using a DR company to recover your data. There are people in the UK with a good reputation on the board who can offer services to you.

Good luck with whatever you decide.

User "buster80" is in Scotland and is more than capable of sorting out you problem for a reasonable price.

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