Photo recovery...free?

[slowngreen]

My mom somehow found her self in something she didn't know what to do with on her laptop and ended up reinstalling Windows so now all her pics are gone. Is there a free way to restore them without having to buy a program?

 

[WoodiE]

I've used Recuva in the past and have had pretty good luck with it.

 

[Rolex]

I'd try WoodiE's suggestion first, but I think a full "Destructive" restore of the Window's operating system would have wiped out everything on the drive. If it was a "Non Destructive" restore, all her files and folders would still be there and only the OS would have been repaired and/or replaced.

 

[HPIguy]

Yep, Rolex is right. A clean install destroys anything that was on the drive before. The repair option would have saved all those files.

 

[slowngreen]

Well I downloaded Recuva and it found 70,000+ files. You have to select which files you want restored so I'm just selecting every picture I see.

 

[WoodiE]

A clean install of Windows does not zero out the drive and is why you can still recover files after Windows has been re-installed. It's also a common risk people take when selling old computers / hard drives. Thinking they can simply re-install windows or format the drive. These are not secure ways of removing the data and can very easily be restored.

Glad to see you're getting some of your files back @slowngreen

 

[Rolex]

You lucked out. That's great information, WoodiE. Future info, if you ever want to totally clean a drive before selling it run Darik's Boot and Nuke. also known as D-BAN. It triple wipes the drive while overwriting with Xs and 0s. Basically a government wipe and totally unrecoverable. After that you can reinstall the OS and have a totally clean install.

 

[HPIguy]

I wasn't aware of the fact that Windows files were recoverable after a clean install. I was aware that it wasn't a secure wipe. Then again, I haven't done systems side stuff in years now. Don't miss it either.

 

[slowngreen]

Really it's kind of scary how easy it was to retrieve these files. I've sold a few laptops that all I did was a reinstall. Glad I know now for future reference.

 

[WoodiE]

D-BAN

D-Ban works great on spinning drives, though I wouldn't recommend using it on SSD drives. Instead for SSD most manufactures offer a free cleaning program which will suffice.

Really it's kind of scary how easy it was to retrieve these files. I've sold a few laptops that all I did was a reinstall. Glad I know now for future reference.

When you delete a file or do a quick format all that's really going on behind the scenes is Windows deletes the file from it's index. The actual location/file is untouched and thus with the proper tools the files can be recovered.

While there are tools out there like D-Ban and others, to help wipe a drive. They normally take hours for an effective wipe. I'm lazy and don't want to wait that long so instead are taken to the garage concrete floor and introduced to my hammer. After several good hits they are thrown away.

 

[HPIguy]

One 62gr green tip from 50yds is less work.

 

[hamz9561]

One 62gr green tip from 50yds is less work.

I prefer a 120mm Sabot from 800m...

 

[HPIguy]

I prefer a 120mm Sabot from 800m...

Better to be safe for sure.

 

[Rolex]

An ice pic to a Lithium-Ion should also do it in.

 

[HPIguy]

An ice pic to a Lithium-Ion should also do it in.

They're pretty unimpressive these days actually. Some thermite would work, just be sure you're far, FAR away from the shrapnel.