Greetings everyone,

This is my first post in this forum.

I have a WD 400GB IDE drive with Vista 64 installed. This was accidentally formatted and Vista was reinstalled on top of newly formatted space by my girlfriend...

The most important thing on that drive was not the photos or anything else but my Firefox bookmarks...

I tried using several software recovery tools (GetDataback NTFS,FileScavenger,Restore Ultimate) but all I get is corrupt .json and .sqlite file (the file formats that Firefox stores bookmark information in.

Any ideas about any specific tools for this case or any company that specialises on such cases in Europe?

Regards

If you don't mind sending to Italy I can help you, but keep in mind that what is overwritten is lost forever. If you are lucky enough (yes, it's just matter of luck this time) with special techniques and custom tools it is possible to find and reconstruct what you need. But only if it has not been overwritten, so I cannot guess how many chances you have about getting your data back.

Alternative (you can give it a go first) : In Greece contact Xronis (T3 data recovery) , send PM to "rafaela" in this forum.

I will contact Xronis and if there's no luck I will send it to you in Italy. What part of Italy are you in?

Thanks.

Hey, I'd just be pretty proud that my girlfriend could actually install Vista!

_________________
Data Recovery Ireland

Never undervalue the capabilities of girlfriends...

Can you share few screenshots of CUSTOM TOOLS to other mortals of the forum?

No.

LOL

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

JSON files consist of human-readable text.

This article has examples:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/JSON

ISTM that you could search your disc for sectors that contain recognisable bookmark fragments, and then use a text editor to reassemble them.

As for .sqlite files, it may be an idea to create new bookmark files and examine them with a hex editor. Then you'll know what to search for.

HxD - Freeware Hex Editor and Disk Editor:
http://mh-nexus.de/en/hxd/

Photorec (freeware) may be able to find your photos:
http://www.cgsecurity.org/wiki/PhotoRec

HA HA HA
You are right , if such a thing does not exist so obviously how can you give any details.
Do you get paid for making peoples fool? Do you think pros around the world will believe in your stupid posts.
Before making yourself a laughing stock , stop using custom word from your posts.

I decide what to use and when to stop. Not you. Keep learning. Period.

I am not looking for photos just bookmarks.

The .json files I have recovered are not readable in any way. They look like they are corrupt.

The same stands for the .sqlite files I have recovered. They are corrupt.

Looking for pieces of files in various sectors is an idea but HOW could I do it?

Manually would be insane. That's what I am asking. Is there a sophisticated tool/method to use for such a case?

This post is foolish. Why would you expect someone to show you their custom tools?

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

If you don't have any thoughts on how to do this you should probably let someone else handle it

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

Yes there is. BUT IT'S NOT FOR SALE.

If your data recovery software can't find your bookmarks, then you could search your disc with a disc editor such as HxD.

Go to Extras -> Open Disk, ensure that the Open as Readonly box is ticked, and select your Physical Disk.

Then Search -> Find, select a Data Type of Text String, and enter the text that you want to find. I'd keep the string reasonably short to reduce the likelihood that the string spans across two noncontiguous sectors, in which case you wouldn't find it.

If your JSON files are small, and if your disc was reasonably unfragmented, then each file will probably occupy contiguous sectors, in which case you won't need to reassemble disparate pieces.

Use HxD to view a sample .sqlite file so that you know how it is structured. With any luck there will be a signature string in the header. For example, JPEG files may have a "JFIF" text string in the first few bytes.