Hi,

I tried to search through FAQ's etc before posting. I had a corrupt system config and took my comp to a university student that said he could fix it. I booted the comp and showed him the screen that said "put original disk in and hit R to repair". I turned my back to make some calls and when I returned he was reformatting my HD. He was at the screen that asks for the product key, so he did not go any further before I nearly choked him to death.

I have been trying to educate myself about recovery and from what I see, it appears to me that even if I am able to recover the data, all of my programs are going to be lost. I do not see that the HD will be able to be resored to its original state. I have found Recover My Files and am running a scan now. Is this the best program to use? I am willing to pay for a program that will do the best job.

Thx,

Jeff

The unique way to restore a disk 100% to a previous state is image it then restore image.

In your case assuming you have a full snapshot of system files and restore points it is possible to restore the system to a previous state. An EXPERT should do it in half an hour.

P.S. at present the OS seems partially overwritten and probably some data is gone so the point above is not applicable anymore. The original problem was maybe only a partial corruption of registry hives - easy fixable by an EXPERT in half an hour.

I do it everyday....

Any guidance as to how I can locate an expert in Salt Lake City? Is there a registry associated with this forum?

J

Try searching members by location, or wait, maybe someone will drop a post here.

In any case, at this point (partially overwritten OS, etc.) , the best that an expert can do is to locate documents and important files (RAW recovery), then after that finish installing the OS.

There's a chance : if the registry was partially corrupted but not totally compromised (it depends on what happened exactly), the attempt to re-install or perform a repair installlation of the OS could have "stopped" at the point where the product key is requested so the process maybe is OK.

I would have imaged the disk on another one, fixed the OS or attempt a repair install, then after final check for data being OK I would have cloned this disk into the original one. This is safe - always work on an image (as a policy I make 2 different images everytime).

P.S. I forgot, if importance of data inside the disk is crucial, DON'T do anything before the disk is checked thoroughly by an EXPERT. No more DIY attempts especially on the "original" disk.

DriveImage backup shows that the drive I am having issue with (which is slave at the moment) shows 1 gig used and 319 free. I did continue and created the image xml file to the external drive. After looking at this though, I see no information that was previously on the drive before the reformatting.

Jeff

Is it just me or are there a bunch of suspicious/fake people with multiple accounts lately?

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

Clone your drive and then work on the clone. You will then be able to try dozens of free data recovery software without risking additional data loss.

Don't panic, and don't write on your problem drive.

This is boyfriend helping girlfriend with terrible sister problems. I think girlfriend asked boyfriend to help her save her computer from the looks and sound of this one. Two posts same on this one.

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Iorana Haraharaini

I dunno. "jmikl"'s post says he took it to a university student who reformatted the drive. "Kimberly"'s post says her sister deleted all of her files. Doesn't sound like the same case to me.

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

About "clones" : I already said that admin should take a look at the logged IPs (or better : host name) of freshly registered posters... too many people seem being really just ONE man (or two)

(OT for this thread maybe)

Dmitry is always watching; I know he checks IPs, but he is currently very busy working on Atola Matters, so his watchful eyes may be occupied.



Anyways, I don't think that these cases are related. I am not sure why some people are so paranoid, these questions asked arn't really that invasive. It's not like they are asking for the solution alignments issues, or blueprints for spindle extraction tool for Seagate HDD.


To both Jmikl and Kimberly: In your cases it will be difficult to make your programs work again, but most of your files *Should* be easily recoverable assuming there is not some underlying mechanical issue with your disk, which is not likely from the sound of both stories.

I do not know of anyone in Utah from these forums, but I am located in California and could handle this case easily. You can PM me if interested. Otherwise I can always recommend quite a few members of the forum who are more then qualified to handle these cases.

You could also continue trying the DIY route, but with valuable data enough risk has been taken.


Regards,