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I had a Toshiba laptop that crashed, so I bought a Sony Vaio … but I still need to recover all the files that were on the hard drive in the Toshiba. I was going to take it to a data recovery company but was told that by using an Icy Box I could recover the data myself and make use of the spare hard drive; so I bought one. I connected my hard drive to the Icy Box and then to my laptop. Messages came up identifying the new hardware and stating that it is ready to use. I clicked the Computer tab and saw that there was in fact no new drive. I tried using the Icy Box and old hard drive in a PC that runs on XP and the same problem occurred there. I also restarted both the laptop and the PC and the old hard drive was still not usable.

I’ve edited your question, but you had a lot of good information in there. Even though you say you don’t know much about computers, you are definitely on the right track. You’re right, you DON’T want to reformat the drive as that will erase all of the valuable data that you are trying to recover. It shouldn’t be that hard to get to your data, so let’s look at our options.

External Hard Drive

The IcyBox is an external hard drive enclosure that is used to pull data off of a drive or for extra storage. To use it, you take the old drive out of your laptop and put it in the external hard drive, then hook that up to your working computer using either a USB port, FireWire or SATA. It sounds as if you have already checked to see that it is not the USB port, as the external drive also does not work when attached to a different computer. Although the IcyBox is new, it’s possible that it is defective. Can you get a refund or replacement on that particular unit? If so, I would try a different one and see if the drive will be recognized by your computer.

Use as a Slave Drive

Using an external hard drive enclosure should be the easiest way to go, but you can also set your old hard drive up as a slave in a working computer so that you can pull the data off of it. Here is a basic outline of the process:

1. Shut down the computer and unplug it.
2. Open the case of the working computer.
3. Find the jumper somewhere on the top of the defective drive. You want to set the jumper to “slave”.
4. Put the drive into an empty bay in the computer.
5. Now find the hard drive cable and connect the very end of the cable to the slave drive and connect the middle of the cable to the drive that was already in the computer.
6. Now connect the power connector and put the case back on.
7. Boot up and try to recover your data.

There is a nicely detailed set of instructions complete with video and photos on the DTI Data tutorial website. This is another option for you if you don’t want to go through the trouble of getting a new external hard drive enclosure.
In any case, your data should be recoverable using one of these methods.

Two or three picture folders are missing from the hard drive. I have performed every search task including undelete programs without success. The folders are not in the Recycle Bin and were never deleted (not intentionally anyway). Is there anything I can do without spending large amounts of money on technicians without any guarantee of recovery? I will be grateful if you can give me some advice in this matter.

Missing Folders

The other day, I accidentally dragged and dropped a folder into another folder, which made it seem as if the folder had disappeared. I’m wondering if something like this may have happened to you. With that in mind, let’s see if we can’t find the photo folders before moving on to data recovery tools.

If you know the name of any of the missing file names within the folders, then that would be helpful though I understand it’s difficult to remember. But if you have a general idea, we can use that. For example, if the photos are Christmas photos, and you think you might have named them with a descriptive name such as “Christmas 2008″ we can do a wildcard search for files containing the word “Christmas.”

Open Windows Explorer by right-clicking the Start button and choosing Explore. Now, click on the main drive (this tells Windows where to search) before entering your search term in the Search box. In the example above, type in: *Christmas*.jpg

The asterisks are wildcard characters while the .jpg is the file extension most commonly used for photos. With this particular term, jpg photo files containing the word Christmas will be listed such as “kidsChristmaspics.jpg” or “Christmas003.jpg.” Any results will be displayed along with the path to the folder where the file is located.

Check the Search Tools settings of Explorer to make sure that all subfolders are being searched as well. To make this adjustment, click Search Tools > Search Options and make the selection.

Using Windows Photo Gallery to Find Lost Photos

If you have Windows Vista, then you can use Windows Photo Gallery to sort photos and find lost photos. If the original photo folder has been moved to a subfolder, you will be able to find the photos themselves and then determine the path and their location based on the date the photos were taken.

For example, if you know that the missing photos are from your summer trip to Italy in 2007, go into Windows Photo Gallery and scroll down the left side pane until you get to the Date Taken section. You’ll see a list of years. Click the year in question and it will expand to show the months. In the main pane, you’ll see thumbnails of the corresponding photos. In this example, you’d click on 2007 and then start browsing through the summer months until you find your Italian vacation photos.

Once you find one of the missing photos, right-click it and choose Properties. From there, you can view the exact folder location.

Using Data Recovery Tools

The above two options assumed that the folders have been moved rather than deleted. If you still cannot find the photo folders and believe that they have indeed been deleted, then a data recovery program might help. We recommend Data Recovery from Paretologic for two reasons: it’s effective and it includes a free scan that lets you see if the folder is recoverable before you have to buy the product. Download the free data recovery scan tool and let it run. This tool categorizes deleted files by type, so look under the Photo section to see if your lost photo folders have been found. If so, then you can purchase the product for about $40 or $50 (depending on which version you choose) and recover the photos.

I recently tried out the Data Recovery Pro free download. Having opted not to purchase the product, I deleted it from my computer. Is that adequate?

Data Recovery Pro’s Free Download

Data Recovery Pro’s free download is a trial version of the full featured software. It allows users to try the software at no cost to see if the product meets their needs. If so, users can purchase a license and begin recovering lost data. If not, users can safely uninstall the program from their computers.

Deleting Data Recovery Pro

Depending on how you deleted it from your computer, you may or may not need to do a little clean up. Software should not simply be deleted; it should be uninstalled. While programs create folders on your hard drive, deleting the associated folder does not remove the program completely. Programs also make entries in the Windows registry instructing Windows to perform certain actions. If you simply delete the folder, the registry entries remain behind and Windows may attempt to follow these instructions. Only trouble is, Windows can’t because the necessary files it is trying to find have been removed; thus, computer error messages or slow performance.

Using the Uninstall Feature

Many programs come with a built-in uninstall feature which provides a one-click way to completely uninstall the program and its related entries. In this case, Data Recovery Pro does not offer such a feature. However, many programs do so it’s a good idea to check. Typically, the uninstall feature is located within the program’s main folder and will show up in the Start button list when you click and expand the folder.

Using Add and Remove Programs

When programs do not provide an uninstaller, use Add and Remove Programs (or Programs and Features if you are running Windows Vista) to completely remove the program and its related entries. Go to the Start button and find the Control Panel. From there, click on Add and Remove Programs (Programs and Features) and select the program that you want to remove, Data Recovery Pro. Click on the Remove (Uninstall in Vista) button. This is adequate for removing Data Recovery Pro from your system and you won’t need to do anything further.

What if you did delete the folder? If you deleted the program, the easiest way to clean it up is to reinstall the program and then uninstall it using Add and Remove Programs.

Is there an easy way to get my pictures and other info off of a computer that the motherboard had a meltdown? I have a new computer and still have the old hard drive. I was thinking that there may be some way to take the hard drive out of the old computer and connect it to my new computer, perhaps through a USB port. Help?

You were completely on the right track. In fact there are two good ways to get your information off the old hard drive. One is to get an external hard drive enclosure that you can put your hard drive in and transfer the information to another computer. The other way is to put your old hard drive in the new computer and use it as a “slave.”

Hard Drive Enclosure

The easiest thing to do is to purchase an inexpensive hard drive enclosure. You can find them all over computer stores and the web - two places to try are New Egg and Tiger Direct. Don’t be frightened by the 4-bay enclosures that cost a few hundred dollars. All you need is an enclosure with one bay and that should run you considerably less than $50. All you need to do is take the old hard drive out, put it in the enclosure and hook the enclosure up to your new PC using the USB port. The new computer will assign the enclosure a new drive number, and you should be able to access the information and transfer it to the new system with no problem.

Set Up as a Slave

You can also put your old hard drive into a free bay in your new machine and set it up as a slave so that you can recover the data. Follow these directions to set it up as a slave:

1. Unplug the old PC and take the case off. Locate and remove the hard drive by removing the screws and take the small power cable on the side (it will have red, black and yellow wires). Pull the hard drive out.
2. Now you need to set the jumper. Find a set of pins that are located on the back of the hard drive - they are usually between the power and hard drive cable connections.
3. You should see one labeled Slave. For most hard drives, you should put the jumper here to save it as a slave.
4. Now get into the new computer and find an empty bay for this hard drive. You will see a big, wide cable. You want to connect the very end of the slave drive and use the second connection to the end for the drive that is already there.
5. Connect a power connection to the hard drive and put the case back together.

For my money, as long as all you want to do is access the data, a hard drive enclosure is the way to go. It is inexpensive and easy to do and you should be able to access everything off of it as long as it hasn’t been damaged.

I think one of my excel files has been deleted. The short cut is still on my desktop but the file will not open. I get an error message that says the file has been changed or moved. I have looked in every folder I have for this file. I even tried to do a system restore but the system says it cannot restore to that date and to try another date. I have tried every date going back to the beginning of February. I have a back up drive and the short cut icon is there but still no file opens. Please help me find my file.

Finding Lost Excel Files

It is possible that your Excel file has gone missing or has become corrupt. In addition, the file may be just fine, but the shortcut could be bad. Let’s explore the options and see if we can’t find the file in question. Also, System Restore won’t help as it only restores system files, not data files.

Recycle Bin

First, let’s check the Recycle Bin on the off chance that the file was accidentally deleted. The Recycle Bin has a “sort” feature where you can view your contents by type. Click on the label marked “type” and then scroll down to view all of the recycled Excel files. Is your missing file listed? If so, right-click it and choose Restore. If entire folders are listed in the Recycle Bin, look in each folder as well in case the Excel file was deleted because its folder was deleted.

Using Windows Search

If you have Windows Vista, you can use the Search bar to quickly find files. What’s neat about this Search bar is that you can enter the beginning of the file name and it will list all files that are potential matches. For example, if your Excel file is named SalesReport2009.xls, enter “sales” in the Search bar. This is useful if you can’t remember the exact name.

Using Windows Explorer

Windows Explorer also has a Search box. Go to the Start button and right-click it. Choose Explore. Now, find your hard drive in the list and select it. Enter the name of the file in the Search bar and wait for the results to be listed. Is your file listed? You can also enter *.xls in the Search bar to list all files on your hard drive ending with the Excel file extension .xls (note that Excel 2007 uses the file extension .xlsx).

Broken Shortcuts

Since you’ve already looked in your folders for the file, your shortcut is probably fine. However, shortcuts can become corrupt, so it’s not always safe to assume that if a shortcut doesn’t work that the file is gone. If you do find your Excel file but the shortcut doesn’t work, delete the shortcut and create a new one.

Another option is to right-click the shortcut and choose Properties followed by Details. This will show us the exact location of the file along with other information. Write down the path and open Excel. Now, choose File > Open and browse to the exact path. Make sure that All Files (*.*) is selected in the drop down box next to File Name.

Restoring Excel Files from Backups

Since you mention that you have a backup drive, use Windows Explorer to search for a backup of the missing Excel file.  

Using Data Recovery Software

If you still cannot find your Excel file, download the ParetoLogic Data Recovery scan tool and scan your system for this lost Excel file. The free scanner tool will let you know if the missing file is recoverable or not so that you don’t have to pay only to find out the file is not there. This data recovery software is amazing and you may be pleasantly surprised to find your deleted Excel file. If so, you can decide whether purchasing the full product makes sense for you.

I am trying to recover emails, my email client being Mozilla Thunderbird.

Recover Email in Mozilla Thunderbird

Reset Thunderbird View Settings

Depending on the cause of your missing emails, there are a few different scenarios that might work to retrieve them. If you are missing emails from your Thunderbird inbox that you haven’t moved or deleted, you should try these troubleshooting tips:

• Open the View tab, then Messages and make sure it is set to All,
• Open the View tab, then Threads and make sure it is set to All
• Check that the Advanced Folder Views is set to All Folders

If you are trying to retrieve emails that you have deleted, or may have accidentally deleted, Mozilla Thunderbird offers comprehensive instructions to undelete them here.

Restore Deleted Thunderbird Email Accounts

If you have deleted your entire Thunderbird email account by clicking Remove Account, it is still possible to retrieve email. The data should still be stored on your computer in a Mail folder.

1. First, you will have to start Thunderbird and create a new email account, but use the same username and settings as the account that was deleted.
2. The software will automatically recognize that there is an earlier account with the same name and designate a -1 - to the account name to distinguish it.
3. Now, in Thunderbird, open Tools, Account Settings, Server Settings, then Local Directory - find the old account directory - the name without the - 1 - and select it
4. Restart Thunderbird
5. Open the inbox and it should display any received messages

Contact a Remote Technician

If these basic steps don’t work to recover your email, there are a number of more advanced techniques that assume a fairly large knowledge base and altering files and folders. If you require more personalized advice, I suggest that you contact a remote technician for one-on-one support. A technician can walk you through troubleshooting steps to resolve your issue.

Install a Data Recovery Program

If you are missing emails as a result of a computer virus or data loss, there are also a number of data recovery products on the market that will scan your computer and recover all kinds of lost data. Here is a link to a program called Data Recovery Pro by Paretologic. These programs are very helpful and user-friendly, and will do the work for you to recover your missing emails. Make sure to select the Pro version as the standard version does not recover emails.