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Unfortunately, I believe that the recovery tool may not be able to recover this critical file for you. It sounds as though the new file overwrote the old file and so the data is most likely gone forever. However, the possibility exists that earlier versions of the file if they exist might be recoverable as long as they had a different file name. That is, if you began with an original file and then used the “save as” feature to rename the file, the earlier version should still exist unless it has been overwritten with new data.

However, if there was a temporary version of the file created by the system, you may be able to recover that file. Look under the Advanced menu of Data Recovery and make sure that “unnamed files” is checked. Run the scan and look through the Unnamed category to see if your file appears (you may need to look for date and time clues as the unnamed file won’t have the same name).

What is a Recovery Tool?

Recovery tools are software applications that have been designed to retrieve deleted data from a computer. These tools scan the computer or peripheral components on a search for deleted information.

What Kind of Information Can Recovery Tools Salvage?

Files that have been deleted, sent to the recycle bin, and emptied from the computer’s recycle bin can be retrieved with recovery tools. This includes a wide assortment of file types such as images, documents, emails, email attachments, videos, presentations, folders, and photos. It can also locate entire folders, binary files, and HTML files.

Partial files can be retrieved from their hiding spots. Attachments that were included with deleted emails can also be retrieved using powerful recovery tools. In fact, some of these recovery tools are so sophisticated that they can recover “missing” text, simply by searching for a few words or phrases.

Recovery tools can locate missing files on peripheral devices as well as from desktops and laptops. Plus, many recovery tools can salvage data from freshly formatted drives.

What Kind of Information Can’t Recovery Tools Salvage?

Recovery tools cannot recover any files that have been overwritten. Therefore, whenever you inadvertently delete a file that you wish to get back, you should not use your computer or the peripheral device that the deleted file is on. This will avoid overwriting the file and losing it forever. Once data is overwritten, the recovery tool cannot access it.

Why Aren’t Deleted Files Gone Forever?

It is important to understand that deleted files simply go into a state of hidden existence and that they aren’t “gone” until they are overwritten with a new data file. The old file actually disappears from view when it is deleted. However, it is still lurking about in the computer. When we save data to our machines, the information is randomly stored on different sectors. If the data is stored on a deleted file, this deleted file is replaced with the new one and cannot be retrieved.

ParetoLogic Data Recovery Pro

ParetoLogic Data Recovery Pro is a recovery tool that can do all of the above. It offers a free scan in order for computer users to determine whether or not their files are retrievable. It can be obtained by following this link: ParetoLogic Data Recovery Pro.

First Choice: ParetoLogic Data Recovery

ParetoLogic has a number of award-winning products in their line, including ParetoLogic’s Data Recovery Pro. It can recover deleted emails and attachments, recycled and compressed files and the data from many peripheral storage devices. If you can connect the Samsung camcorder to the PC and have it detected as a drive letter, then this product may be able to recover your data. Download the free scanning tool and run the Advanced Scan.

If the corrupted or damaged mini DVD isn’t detected, then you need to try a program that is made to deal with defective disks. This is a very specific type of recovery, and requires programs that are designed to do this type of repair. The good news is that you have several options to recover media that is important to you. I’ve listed some of the alternatives in no particular order.

CD Roller

This software recovers DVD movies and photos that are created by a variety of devices recording directly onto disks. Their product support list includes Samsung camcorders. Many mini DVD errors occur when the disk isn’t ‘finalized’, meaning that it puts a root menu/boot sector on it. This software should be able to help recover data even from disks that weren’t formatted properly. You can download this program for around $40 at http://www.cdroller.com/ .

IsoBuster

This software is found at http://www.isobuster.com/. For about $30, you can get this software that claims it’s as easy as inserting a disk in the drive to recover data from problem disks.

Power CD DVD Recovery

This software will recover data from damaged, defective, deleted or scratched DVD and CD disks. You can find this software at www.mt-solution.ca/cd-dv-recovery-software/ .

DiskInternals CD/DVD Recovery

This software will recover damaged or deleted CDs and DVDs. This software can also deal with formatting errors. You can download a free trial version of their recovery tool, but it can’t recover files larger than 64kb in demo mode. There is a recovery wizard to walk you through it, or you can bypass this and do it manually. Go to http://www.diskinternals.com/ .

Minidvdrepair.com

If you’re not comfortable doing this yourself, this website at http://www.minidvdrepair.com/ has a service where you send them the damaged disk and they will recover the data for you, or there is no charge. It will work on disks that have been accidentally deleted, unformatted disks and c:13 errors. They specialize in mini DVDs. The cost for a recovered disk is $100 plus shipping, but if the memories on that disk aren’t recoverable in any other way, it could be worth it.

 If you couldn’t see any information from the old hard drive, I would have you check to see that the power cable is properly connected to it. Plus, it would be necessary to check that the hard drive had been formatted properly. However, since it sounds like you had the installation taken care of for you, let’s assume that everything has been set up properly, especially since you can see some of the data.

The best solution at this point is to obtain a data recovery program to retrieve the missing files. As long as you haven’t saved any files, surfed the Internet, or installed any software applications onto the hard drive that you have recovered and set as slave, all of the files should be retrievable.

A number of easy-to-use data recovery programs are available that should be able to do this for you. One application that I can recommend since I have used it personally is ParetoLogic Data Recovery Pro. This particular software application is designed to retrieve a number of different data types from any number of sources. It can recover recycled data, compressed files, as well as encrypted data. One of the reasons that I suggest this particular application is that it is designed to revive files from freshly formatted or partitioned hard drives.

If you decide to use ParetoLogic Data Recovery Pro or any other data recovery application, it is important that you install it on your master hard drive rather than on the slave. If you remember me mentioning it above, installing software applications on the slave drive could overwrite existing data. Therefore, you should install it on the primary hard drive to avoid overwriting the files that you are trying to recover.

If you are unsure about undertaking this strategy, you can test the program out with a test run. Visit the website for ParetoLogic and click on “Products.” On the left hand side of the page, click on the section for ParetoLogic Data Recovery Pro ( ParetoLogic Data Recovery Pro). A new page describing the features of this application is displayed along with a link “Download” that allows you to obtain access to a free scan using the application.

The download is browser specific, so make sure that you access the correct one for your computer. Plus, specific directions are included to help you with the process. Once you run the application, a list of all recoverable files including documents, images, music files, videos, and more will appear. The number of each type of file is included as well.

If you see that the application has discovered the files that you want, you can obtain the full version for a small fee to retrieve the data. A standard version of the application is also available for purchase and you can check that one out at the same website.

Sounds like your teenagers think they can outsmart you but you’re on to them. While they may know how to clear the history, they most likely haven’t invested in a full blown application that completely wipes this information away for good. If not, then you can indeed take a peek at the web history on your computer.

There are a couple of different ways that you can go about doing this. One is to use a product such as Paretologic’s Data Recovery to recover the deleted files. In fact, you may be able to see enough to make your case simply by using the free scan. The free scan will scan you computer’s hard drive and display a list of all recoverable files including temporary Internet files. Simply seeing the names of these files may all you need to confront your teens about their surfing habits. You may be surprised at exactly what this software reveals on your computer. The same company makes a product called Privacy Controls that also has a free scanning tool. This scan may also reveal the information that you seek.

Another option is to download a tool for viewing the “tell all” file - the index.dat file. This file contains a list of all Web sites visited - even if the browser history has been deleted. You will need a viewer in order to read the contents of this file. You can find dozens of such offerings on CNET’s download site. Enter “index.dat viewers” in the search box and look for free or low-cost index.dat viewers.

Finally, consider installing some sort of monitoring software or enabling Parental Controls (if you have Windows Vista). Paretologic’s PGSurfer is offered completely free as a service to parents. Restricting access to offensive Web sites and actively monitoring the online activities of your teens will help you to avoid this situation in the future. They have lost your trust by hiding their activities and this tool will help you to enforce your rules.

It is possible to install a second hard drive on your computer. The most important fact to remember is that one of the hard drives will be set as the “master” and the other hard drive will be set as the “slave”. For your purposes, I would suggest setting the old hard drive as the slave and set the primary drive that you will be keeping as the master.

Whenever installing parts on a computer, make sure that you turn it off first and unplug the power cord as well. Place the computer on a flat surface. Carefully remove the computer cover and touch a metal area on the computer to ground yourself. If you have one, you can also use a grounding strap to ground yourself. This is an important step, so make sure that you follow it.

Next, set the designation of the old hard drive to slave. The existing one should already be set to master.

Locate the cable for the first hard drive and connect the second (old) hard drive to the second connector that exists on the cable. Next, you need to connect an available power cable to the old hard drive. Place the old hard drive into an available drive bay on the computer. Secure it properly with screws. Now you can replace the computer cover.

It might be possible for you to click and drag the files from the old drive to the new drive or you can use a recovery program.

If none of the above solutions work for you, you can always pay to convert the old hard drive into an external hard drive that you will be able to access. This will be an expensive option, so I would rather see you try the following suggestion.

You can use a third party software program to retrieve your files. I can highly recommend one that is going to cost you quite a bit less than $600.00. In fact, currently, it is less than $50.00 making it more than reasonable. ParetoLogic Data Recovery Pro retrieves hidden data from the computer. You can even use the program to run a free scan of your computer to see what it can find. I used it on one of my secondhand computers and I was even able to retrieve files from the previous owners.

ParetoLogic Data Recovery is a similar software application that you can consider using as well. With the free scan, you don’t invest any money and you get to see if any of your files are retrievable so you know if it is worthwhile to purchase the program. You can check out the products at http://www.paretologic.com/buy/.

There are a few ways to do this, depending on your computer and what you need.

Some restores will wipe out your data - you do have your data backed up, right? Other restores will bring your computer back to the last good configuration using restore points - basically a snapshot of the computer as it was in the past. Here are some suggestions:

Many computers will allow you to reconfigure during a reboot

As you are rebooting your computer, press F8. Use the arrow keys to go to Last Known Good Configuration and press enter. You will lose anything you have done since this “snapshot” of your computer was taken, but everything before that time will be saved. If F8 isn’t working, try F4 or F7 - several models such as Samsung use these keys.

Another way to reconfigure is to go to Start, then Programs then Accessories

Click on System Tools, then the System Restore Option. Then you can choose a time when the computer was functioning properly without losing your data up to that point.

Many computers use a disc or a series of disks to restore the computer to the way it came from the factory

Most of the time, they are shipped with the computer, although they can also be purchased from the manufacturer or from a secondary dealer. If you Google ‘restore discs’ you will find many online retailers that should carry restore discs for your model. Once you have the discs, you can load them into your drive and it will restore your computer to the factory settings.

Newer computers often bypass the discs and keep the backup files on the hard drive itself in a partition

This type of recovery will delete any additional data that is stored on the hard drive and bring it back to the way it was when it was shipped from the factory. This is often called a destructive recovery and you must have everything you want to save backed up somewhere else. You will then need to reinstall any additional programs that you put on the computer after it was manufactured. This is often called a repair rather than a restore, because it does not restore any of your data. When you choose which restore you want to run, there should be a warning that pops up that you will lose any data that is stored on that drive. If you have run a restore and found that your data is missing, chances are you have chosen a destructive option. You can try data recovery software, but it may not work with your problem, and it will not restore operating systems or accessories.

If these suggestions aren’t working for your particular problem, try asking for very specific expert help from www.filetonic.com/support. They should be able to walk you through the process of restoring your model to the factory settings, or do it for you while you watch online!