austraLasia 1485
"Can I get that lost file back, or is it gone forever?"
ROME: 11th March 2006 -- Every problem (almost) has a solution. Two things prompt this austraLasia: a request from a desperate confrere with a corrupt Word file and the arrival of a 'Dear ...' letter from a data recovery firm offering 'free-to-try' data recovery software. The request was easily solved; the letter - well, according to a principle espoused in #1475, why should one pay (after trying) when it is possible to do the same for nothing? As everyone at some time or other unthinkingly deletes a file then needs it back, or suffers some form of file corruption, I thought maybe some simple practical advice might be helpful. At a certain point, however, simple solutions don't work and you either get expert help or give up!
The solution to the confrere's problem was simple. Not always but often, a corrupted Word file will open in another, similar program. I use OpenOffice anyway, as often as I can, and that's free. On this occasion OO had no trouble in opening the 'corrupt' file. But there was another method we could have used - and most people don't know they have it! Select a file to open in the 'open' window, and once you have selected it go down to the 'open' box where you see a little down-arrow. Left click the arrow and you will find an 'open and repair' option. Excel has the same option.
Yet another solution was to save a copy of the offending file but as .txt instead of .doc. Then try opening that - it often works.
What if it is a case of a deleted file? That too can be easy enough, especially if it was recent. Let's presume you've looked in the recycle bin and can't find it there (since looking there is the best way to begin). No file is actually really deleted for quite some time, even if all visible traces of it are gone. The trick is to know how to find invisible traces! There is a very simple little zip programme, free of course, that you can download. I keep it on my desktop - or rather, I unzip it to the desktop where it is easily visible and usable from a folder, since it involves several small files. It is called Restoration.zip. http://www3.telus.net/mikebike/Restoration.zip Just follow the directions once you've unzipped it. You don't need to have lost a file to try it. It will find all your recently deleted files for you. That's a Hungarian effort. If you prefer a Japanese one and want something also a bit more sophisticated, then DataRecovery at http://tokiwa.tomato.ne.jp/EN/DataRecovery_EN.zip should help. One step further up the ladder is PCInspector, still free atwww.pcinspector.de/file_recovery/uk/download.htm There are still other solutions of this kind, also free, but enough is enough!
These will not solve all your problems, and you may have additional ones anyway, like a failed disk. But for mine, it's worth keeping a copy of Restoration.zip since it adds nothing to your computer, doesn't fiddle with the disk, and simply finds what you've lost, most of the time.
_______________________
AustraLasia is an email service for the Salesian Family of Asia Pacific. It also functions as an agency for ANS based in Rome. For RSS feeds, subscribe to www.bosconet.aust.com/rssala.xml
"Can I get that lost file back, or is it gone forever?"
ROME: 11th March 2006 -- Every problem (almost) has a solution. Two things prompt this austraLasia: a request from a desperate confrere with a corrupt Word file and the arrival of a 'Dear ...' letter from a data recovery firm offering 'free-to-try' data recovery software. The request was easily solved; the letter - well, according to a principle espoused in #1475, why should one pay (after trying) when it is possible to do the same for nothing? As everyone at some time or other unthinkingly deletes a file then needs it back, or suffers some form of file corruption, I thought maybe some simple practical advice might be helpful. At a certain point, however, simple solutions don't work and you either get expert help or give up!
The solution to the confrere's problem was simple. Not always but often, a corrupted Word file will open in another, similar program. I use OpenOffice anyway, as often as I can, and that's free. On this occasion OO had no trouble in opening the 'corrupt' file. But there was another method we could have used - and most people don't know they have it! Select a file to open in the 'open' window, and once you have selected it go down to the 'open' box where you see a little down-arrow. Left click the arrow and you will find an 'open and repair' option. Excel has the same option.
Yet another solution was to save a copy of the offending file but as .txt instead of .doc. Then try opening that - it often works.
What if it is a case of a deleted file? That too can be easy enough, especially if it was recent. Let's presume you've looked in the recycle bin and can't find it there (since looking there is the best way to begin). No file is actually really deleted for quite some time, even if all visible traces of it are gone. The trick is to know how to find invisible traces! There is a very simple little zip programme, free of course, that you can download. I keep it on my desktop - or rather, I unzip it to the desktop where it is easily visible and usable from a folder, since it involves several small files. It is called Restoration.zip. http://www3.telus.net/mikebike/Restoration.zip Just follow the directions once you've unzipped it. You don't need to have lost a file to try it. It will find all your recently deleted files for you. That's a Hungarian effort. If you prefer a Japanese one and want something also a bit more sophisticated, then DataRecovery at http://tokiwa.tomato.ne.jp/EN/DataRecovery_EN.zip should help. One step further up the ladder is PCInspector, still free atwww.pcinspector.de/file_recovery/uk/download.htm There are still other solutions of this kind, also free, but enough is enough!
These will not solve all your problems, and you may have additional ones anyway, like a failed disk. But for mine, it's worth keeping a copy of Restoration.zip since it adds nothing to your computer, doesn't fiddle with the disk, and simply finds what you've lost, most of the time.
_______________________
AustraLasia is an email service for the Salesian Family of Asia Pacific. It also functions as an agency for ANS based in Rome. For RSS feeds, subscribe to www.bosconet.aust.com/rssala.xml
