It makes a difference what filesystem (and possibly what OS's version of
it...) you're trying to recover -- there are far more options for FAT32
then for NTFS, for instance.

There are a few paid ones, I believe -- or at least there used to be --
which offered free "try before you buy" versions that wouldn't save the
recovered files, but could show you what the paid version would be able
to recover.

The main way you can cause damage at the moment is if (a) the drive is
very close to full, and (b) you write new files -- such as installing
the recovery program -- to that drive.  The risk is that the OS might
find it necessary to re-use space that was part of a deleted file before
you get your chance to reclaim it.
  I've probably used half a dozen recovery utilities in the last 20
years.  Not all of them would work in every case that might arise today,
but every one worked when I needed it.

David Gillett


-------- Original Message --------
Subject: [PCSOFT] Recovering deleted files
From: Tom Waddell <[log in to unmask]>
Date: Sun, June 13, 2010 9:41 am
To: [log in to unmask]

Anyone know of a reliable program that will recover deleted files? I
have looked at free ones and expensive ones. Not sure if the free ones
will do more harm than good or if the expensive ones work as well as
they claim.

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