Frequently Asked Questions
Events Leading to Data Loss
What do I do after data loss occurs?
Under what conditions can I recover files accidentally deleted on Windows®?
If new data has not overwritten deleted data, you can recover files in almost all cases, including:
- Files deleted from the Recycle Bin or network shared folders. (For a network shared folder, run File Scavenger® on the
computer where the folder physically resides.)
- Files deleted in a command prompt window or in Windows Explorer using the Delete/Shift key combination.
Recovery is much more likely for files on NTFS and exFAT volumes than FAT or FAT32 due to the latter’s inherent structures.
Can I recover files from reformatted, corrupted or deleted drives om Windows®?
Reformatted drives can be recovered using the Long Scan.
NTFS and exFAT volumes are highly recoverable. For reformatted FAT or FAT32 volumes, however, only
contiguous files can be recovered. Click here
for more information.
Deleted or corrupted volumes can be recovered using the Quick or Long Scan and
selecting the disk number where the volume resided. All types of volumes (i.e., NTFS, FAT/FAT32 or exFAT) are highly recoverable.
Can I recover files from failed attempts to merge or resize partitions?
You can use the Long Scan to recover files lost when partitions are merged
or resized unsuccessfully. You may need to use volume affiliation.
My computer will not boot.
My computer was restored to original settings with a Recovery CD.
This action reformats drive C: and reinstalls the original Windows operating
system and programs. Many data files may be overwritten and cannot be recovered. But many others
should be recoverable. The chances are better for smaller, less fragmented
files residing on larger disks.
Please read and follow the recovery procedures.
The Long Scan should be used.
I reinstalled Windows and lost the files in My Documents.
The folder "My Documents" is reset with a new installation of Windows. All files in
the folder are deleted but may still be recovered if they have not been overwritten. The chances are better for smaller, less fragmented
files residing 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 needs space for new files and somehow allocates
the same clusters once belonged to the file. A file is not recoverable if overwritten.
Data
Types and Disk Formats
Does File Scavenger® support NTFS? FAT? FAT32? exFAT?
File Scavenger® supports NTFS and exFAT. It also supports the FAT and FAT32 file systems,
but successful recovery is much less likely. Click here
for more information.
What other file systems are supported?
File Scavenger version 4.2 supports for the following file systems besides NTFS, exFAT and FAT/FAT32: Ext 3 and 4 (both 32- and 64-
bit), UFS1, UFS2, XFS, HFS+ and HFSX, VMware VMFS and VMDK and Microsoft VHD and VHDX.
How do I scan a bad laptop hard drive?
Can I recover lost Outlook PST files?
PST files are highly recoverable from a corrupted or deleted volume.
PST files no larger than a few megabytes are highly recoverable if accidentally deleted from an NTFS volume
PST files of any size are highly recoverable on an NTFS volume that is frequently defragmented using a tool such as
the Windows Disk Defragmenter.
Otherwise PST files are not likely to be recoverable due to their large size and high degree of fragmentation.
Can I recover lost emails?
In general File Scavenger® is a file recovery utility and cannot recover individual
emails. However, email programs typically store emails, attachments and email
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 from a flash drive?
File Scavenger® is especially proficient in recovering JPEG photos on any media.
Installation
Issues
I need an invoice.
What are the differences between the Personal Use and Professional Use license?
How do I upgrade from the Personal-Use to Professional-Use license?
You may upgrade by paying the difference between the price of the Personal-Use and Professional-Use license. Buy the Professional-
Use license at full
price from http://www.quetek.com/products3.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.
What accounts can run File Scavenger®?
Only accounts with Administrators privileges on a Windows computer can run File Scavenger®.
I cannot scan a network-mapped drive.
Run File Scavenger® on the computer where the drive physically resides.
When should I use the Quick versus Long Scan?
I cannot find files removed or emptied from the Recycle Bin.
Windows® changes the filename part of a file in the Recycle Bin for internal tracking
purposes. File Scavenger® tries to restore the original name if possible.
When the original filename is not found, search for the file extension, which remains 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 extension
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 Vista and 7:
$R + 6 random alphanumeric characters + original file extension
For example, "myfile.doc" may be renamed to "$RSELQ3S.doc".
How do I scan a drive that has no drive letter?
You can scan the disk number assigned to the drive. All drives are assigned a disk number that can be displayed in Windows Disk Management
unless the drive is physically defective and is not detected by Windows®.
A file is displayed as zero byte.
Such a file cannot be recovered because its contents cannot be located. However, a data
recovery technician may be able to locate the missing data. We provide this service for a fee and with a success rate of about 50%. The fee
is only charged if data is recovered.
Recovery
Issues
I cannot recover data to a CD or DVD drive.
Writing to a CD or DVD typically requires a staging folder on the boot drive
(usually drive C:). Recovering data to these media, therefore, is not allowed to avoid
accidentally writing to the drive holding the lost data.
If your computer has a USB port, external USB drives and flash drives are excellent alternatives.
Files are "successfully saved", but some will not open in their respective programs.
If a drive has been deleted, resized, reformatted or corrupted, scanning 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 scan methods have been used, it may have been corrupted. 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 or FAT32 volume. Click here for more
information.
- For a reconstructed RAID or spanned volume, it is possible that incorrect configuration settings have been used.
Files recovered from a broken RAID will not open.
Please read the help sections listed below:
Files recovered in demo mode will not open.
In demo mode, File Scavenger only saves the first 64 kilobytes of each file.
The recovered file, therefore, may not open. JPEG files will only display the
top part of a picture. You can save files smaller than this limit or use Preview to display picture files.
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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