Computer woes resolved, back to RC in good shape

Justjoe · #1 09/02/2007, 08:48 PM

Hey,
Just thought I'd pass on some info, especially for those of us that are CC (Computer Challenged).
My "C" drive went bad, I bought a new one, replaced it and did a system restore on it, just as I had in the past, but this time the system restore jumped to my "D" drive and nuked all pics, files, video, etc. Talk about a sickening experience, even though I had some stuff backed up on DVD.
So a panicked email to Joe Burger, he referred me to this website:
http://www.recovermyfiles.com/recovery-checklist.php

So, even though on my computer said the "D" drive was blank, it really wasn't as explained by Joe:
"When you format the drive you don't always erase the drive, normally you just erase the master file table (MFT) that points to everything else on your drive, meaning it doesn't erase what's on the drive it just delete the MFT that keeps track of what's on the drive, So the PC looks at the MFT and says "hey the master file table is blank so that must mean the drive is empty". So there is a good chance you can recover the deleted MFT if no other data has been written to the drive, even then you might still be able to recover"

So a local chain store had told me they could send out the drive and it would be at least $600 to retrieve the data which wasn't affordable.

So two valuable lessons learned:
1) If you have two drives, it is always best to make sure they are separated with the right wiring/ jumpers so you have two confirmed separate drives. Just because the previous drives were separate, it doesn't mean your recently installed drive will be separated.
2) If you do a system restore, it is always best to physically separate the two drives and unplug the drive you don't want to restore.

The above program worked wonders and I strongly recommend it.

cb747 · #2 09/02/2007, 09:23 PM

Good to know!

dnsheavy · #3 09/02/2007, 10:22 PM

Glad you are back up and running.

Lesson #3 :

When you have a club member in the business, don't be afraid to ask for help.

--Dave--

JB NY · #4 09/03/2007, 10:37 AM

Glad I could help.

directional · #5 09/03/2007, 11:01 AM

If any of you guys ever have trouble I am a Network Engineer so I can help you guys out.

bobbbm · #6 09/03/2007, 11:54 AM

Aye same here...

dnsheavy · #7 09/03/2007, 10:23 PM

Same here...

Justjoe · #8 09/03/2007, 10:27 PM

Thanks guys, you've all be added to my newly constructed contact list for the "oh crap what did my computer just do to me" list. And its written down in my pocket planner.