What should I do when data loss occurs?
Most importantly, you need to protect the subject drive. Please click here for details.
Under what scenarios can I recover files accidentally deleted?
If new data has not overwritten deleted data, you can recover files in almost all scenarios, including:
- Files deleted from the Recycle Bin or a network shared folder. (For a network shared folder, run File Scavenger on the computer where the folder
physically resides.)
- Files deleted in the DOS command window or from Windows Explorer with the SHIFT key held down.
Can I recover files from reformatted, corrupted or deleted volumes?
Reformatted volumes can be recovered using the Long Scan. NTFS volumes are highly recoverable. On reformatted FAT volumes (including FAT32),
however, only contiguous files can be recovered.
Deleted or corrupted volumes can be recovered using the Quick or Long Scan and selecting the corresponding disk number.
Both NTFS and FAT file systems are highly recoverable.
Can I recover files from failed attempts to merge or resize partitions?
You can use the Long Scan to scan the corresponding disk number. After scanning, you may need to use the command "Options",
"Recovery", "Volume Affiliation".
My desktop or laptop computer will not boot.
Please read and follow the best recovery procedure for a system drive.
My computer was restored to original settings with a Recovery CD.
The restoration reformatted drive C and reinstalled the original Windows operating system and applications. Many data files must have been overwritten.
But many others should be recoverable. Recoverability is better for smaller, less fragmented files and on larger disks.
Please read and follow the recovery procedures. The Long Scan should be used.
I reinstalled Windows and lost files in "My Documents".
"My Documents" was reinitialized when Windows was reinstalled. All files in that folder were deleted. Deleted files that have not been overwritten are
recoverable. Recoverability is better for smaller, less fragmented files and on larger disks.
Please read and follow the recovery procedures. The Long Scan should be used.
Being overwritten means the disk clusters once occupied by the file have been reused to store new data. A file it not immediately overwritten when
deleted. It is only overwritten when Windows reuses the clusters to store new data. A file is not recoverable if overwritten.
Does File Scavenger support NTFS, FAT and FAT32?
File Scavenger supports NTFS. It also supports the FAT file systems including FAT32, but successful recovery is much less likely due to their inherently
fragile structure.
How do I scan a bad laptop hard drive?
Please read and follow the recovery procedures.
Can I recover lost Outlook pst files?
A pst file is likely to be recovered in the following cases:
- The volume became corrupt or was accidentally deleted.
- The file was no more than a few megabytes and was accidentally deleted.
- The volume was NTFS-formatted and had been frequently defragmented using a tool such as the Windows Disk Defragmenter.
Large or highly fragmented pst files are usually not recoverable if deleted.
Can I recover lost emails?
In general File Scavenger is a file recovery utility and cannot recover emails. However, some email programs store emails, attachments and addresses in
files. Such files can be recovered if lost. For example, Outlook Express® and Outlook store information in dbx and pst files, respectively.
Can I recover lost JPEG photos on a memory stick?
File Scavenger is especially proficient in recovering JPEG photos on any media.
I received the message 'Invalid License Key'.
I need a new license key for a new computer.
I lost my license key.
The Personal Use license is sold to run on a single computer. The Registration Code you use to buy a Personal Use license key is computer-specific.
The license key will not unlock File Scavenger on another computer.
In many cases you may want to test File Scavenger on computer A, but intend to use it on computer B. Once testing is done, you can remove the program
on computer A and transfer the license to computer B. Please visit http://www.quetek.com/cgi-bin/xferlicn to perform this transfer. This
do-it-yourself procedure will work only once.
The more expensive Professional Use license is a single-user roaming license. It can be used to unlock File Scavenger on any computer, provided that
the same individual is using the program.
I need an invoice.
Please visit http://www.quetek.com/cgi-bin/getreceipt
What are the differences between the Personal-Use and Professional-Use license?
Please click here.
Can I upgrade from the Personal- to Professional-Use license?
You can upgrade and only pay the difference. Buy a Professional Use license at full price from http://www.quetek.com/purchase.htm and send us email
requesting full credit for the Personal Use license.
Why do European Union customers have to pay VAT?
We are required by the EU to collect VAT on purchases made by consumers. Business customers do not have to pay this tax if a valid VAT number is
provided.
I paid for a license via PayPal but did not get a license key.
There is an unresolved issue affecting about 1% of PayPal customers. Please contact help@quetek.com
If after business hours, please visit http://www.quetek.com/cgi-bin/xferlicn
I do not have a logon ID for the QueTek™ web site.
The sole purpose of logon IDs is for buyers of multiple licenses to get additional licenses.
What accounts can run this utility?
Only accounts with Administrators privileges on a Windows computer can run this utility.
I cannot scan a network-mapped drive.
Run File Scavenger on the computer where the network drive physically resides.
When should I use the Quick or Long Scan mode?
In general the Quick Scan only takes minutes and should be used first. Then use the Long Scan if necessary.
I cannot find files removed or emptied from the Recycle Bin.
Windows changes the filename part of files in the Recycle Bin for its housekeeping purposes. File Scavenger will try to restore the original names
if possible. When the original filename is not found, search for the file type, which stays the same. Look for filenames in the format below and use
other attributes such as size, date, etc. to locate the missing file.
Recycle Bin filename format for Windows XP and older:
D + Drive letter + random number + original file type.
For example, 'myfile.doc', originally on drive E, may be renamed to 'DE34.doc'. Search for *.doc, sort by filenames and scroll down to 'DE'.
Recycle Bin filename format for Windows 7 and Vista:
$R + 6 random alphanumeric characters + original file extension
"myfile.doc" may be renamed to "$RSELQ3S.doc".
The volume has no drive letter.
You can scan the corresponding disk number.
File Scavenger shows a disk as being 128 GB but the disk is larger.
This is a classic symptom of the disk size limit problem of 128 binary GB, or 137 decimal GB. Disks larger than this limit requires both the
motherboard BIOS and Windows (XP SP1 or later) to support 48-bit addressing. Without proper support, larger disks are prone to corruption and are
displayed in File Scavenger as being 128 GB large.
A file is displayed as zero byte.
The file cannot be recovered because its contents cannot be located.
The search process progresses very slowly.
The recovery process progresses very slowly.
The drive may have too many bad sectors. Please make a disk image of the drive using Disk Recoup.
Then recover data from the image.
I cannot recover data to a CD or DVD drive.
Writing to a CD or DVD typically requires a staging disk area on the system drive (usually C). Recovering data to these media, therefore, is not
allowed to avoid accidentally writing to the subject drive.
If your computer has a USB port, recover data to external USB drives and memory sticks.
The recovered files will not open in their respective applications.
If a drive has been deleted, resized, reformatted or corrupted, searching the disk number instead of the drive letter can produce better result.
For example, if drive D is on Disk 1, search Disk 1 instead of D.
If a recovered file is not usable after different search methods have been used, it may have been overwritten. Common reasons are:
- New data has been written to the drive, overwriting original data.
- The file was affiliated with the wrong volume.
- The file was fragmented and was on a FAT (including FAT32) volume. On a FAT volume, accidentally deleted files can only be
recovered if they were contiguous.
- For a broken RAID or spanned volume being reconstructed, incorrect RAID or spanned volume settings may have been used.
Please click "File" menu, "Session", "Save". Save the session to a file. Compress the file to reduce size and email it
to help@quetek.com
for further analysis.
Files recovered from a broken RAID will not open.
In File Scavenger, please click Help, Help Contents and read the sections "Recovering software-based RAIDs" or "Recovering hardware-based RAIDs."
Files recovered in demo mode will not open.
In demo mode, File Scavenger only recovered the first 64 kilobytes of a file. The recovered file, therefore, may not open. JPEG files will only display
the top part of a picture. Please recover files smaller than this limit.
I want to thank you for saving my data.
You can write a testimonial and permit us to post it on our web site.
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