ohh... Crap.

[Eventer]

Im Furious. Totally ropable!
Mum managed to wipe the computer of ALL its memory - Like it was brand new again. (She put it through recovery mode)
I LOST EVERYTHING!!
All my photos ive ever taken are gone! Sure I have a few on my blog and on Facebook (But like thats any help with their crappy photo hosting...)

Is there ANY way of somehow getting these back? Has anyone had this happen before?

<-- Thats how happy I am right now.

 

[err_ok]

There is various data recovery software you can get which may recover your files, I have used them before on friends computers who have been in similar situations. It tends to be a bit pricey though and it is always a bit hit and miss with what you get back.

I'll have to have a look and see what it is called, can't remember off the top of my head...

 

[shaunly]

Unless she reformatted HDD, I believe you can take your comp to a specialist where they can do some sort of disk recovery.

 

[Eventer]

Whats the HDD? Hmm ill have to have a look where she can take it...

 

[err_ok]

I've used this one before to recover music from my GF's computer, we got a fair amount back. Windows isn't very intelligent when it comes to reformatting so i'd wager that you will be able to retrieve some data. It's worth a shot if it's important to you right?

 

[shaunly]

Basically all you data is still there, but when you delete something, it's simply telling the PC that it's ok to overwrite it. So I highly recommend not to save anything on your PC right now so it doesn't overwrite anymore of your old date. Like I said though, I believe this only applies if the HDD didn't get reformatted.

 

[Eventer]

Oh no, mum she said "yeah, It said it was reformatting"...

 

[shaunly]

HDD - hard disk drive

 

[shaunly]

ughhhhh.... that sucks. I could be wrong though. I'd still say call up some expert and see if they can recover it. Make sure you tell them it was reformatted.

 

[JamesMason]

HDD is hard drive. You need to stop using the computer immediately. Data is never actually deleted it is put as a space than can be overwritten. if you stop using the computer and take it to a data recovery specialist they will be able to help. there is also many apps on the web that may be able to help you. If you have ever bought one of the higher end sandisk memory cards there is a good free app that comes with those.(not sure if it does hard drives tho)

reformatting should not matter, if you take it to a specialist. ive seen hard drives wiped, smashed and then set on fire before they have been recovered.

 

[Fatback]

Try this Recuva - Undelete, Unerase, File and Disk Recovery - Free Download. I have used to countless times to get back photos I have accidentally deleted. Taking it to a Data recovery expert will cost you thousands of dollars. Once you download the program. Pick the folder you want it to search, it will find anything that has been deleted. If it has been written over it will still find it, but it will probably not be recoverable, or only some of it may be. Like others have said STOP using the computer. Do not save anything new to the hard drive. The more you save the more you lose.

Here is a little guide to help you http://docs.piriform.com/recuva/using-recuva/recovering-files-from-damaged-or-reformatted-disks

 

[RobNZ]

Oh damn eventer!!!! I hope you can get them back. A workmate had a an external drive pack a sad and it had their wedding photos and pics of their young kids/babies on it, $2k (physically damaged drive) later 97% recovered.

My advice, Step1:recover what you can.
Step 2: Go to dick smiths or Harvey Norman and buy at least one external HDD ($100 will get you 640GB-1TB) and do regular backups. I keep copies of my "important" files in several places so any major failure/theft/damage or user error is limited.

 

[pgriz]

If you're using a shared computer, you have little or no control over what others do. So if your stuff is important to you, you have to put in where others can't damage it. That generally means an external drive. And since these too will fail (just a matter of time), you really need to have two. Plus a workflow that makes sure that all important/good stuff is in at least two places. Throw in periodic backups onto CD or DVD, and you have a decent chance of not losing stuff. However, keeping track of where stuff is becomes a job in itself, so that's where establishing a routine workflow helps. Looks something like the following (YMMV - your mileage may vary):
1) take pics (store in-camera on memory card)
2) EVERY DAY download to External HD 1 (because memory cards can die)
3) Every week, copy all the new stuff from HD 1 to HD 2.
4) Make a backup copy onto DVD of your new stuff. How often you do this, depends on how much you shoot. If you shoot one a day, then it may take a while to build up enough to justify doing it. If you shoot 200 each day, then you may want to do this every day.

Some photographers make it part of their everyday habit to store/backup their stuff every day, and also to do a quick review/classify/tag the same day. Makes life easier in the long run when you're looking for something and all you have to do is a key-word or tag search.

 

[auntieofjed]

get a usb drive and a ubuntu cd, you can request one from their site if you do not have one, put the ubuntu cd in, "test drive it" DONT INSTALL. it will boot up into another operating system, even though all your other harddrive stuff is still there, there should be a way to get into your other harddrive from one of those drop down menu's. go into the harddrive, find your pictures and copy them to your usb drive.
there you go you have your pictures.
you can install your operating system back on the harddrive again
message me ifyou need help

 

[err_ok]

get a usb drive and a ubuntu cd, you can request one from their site if you do not have one, put the ubuntu cd in, "test drive it" DONT INSTALL. it will boot up into another operating system, even though all your other harddrive stuff is still there, there should be a way to get into your other harddrive from one of those drop down menu's. go into the harddrive, find your pictures and copy them to your usb drive.
there you go you have your pictures.
you can install your operating system back on the harddrive again
message me ifyou need help

Pretty sure that only works if you have created a new partition table but not formatted, when you format NTFS drives they go a bit weird.