[Liverpool] Data recovery

[Dave Brotherstone]

Anthony,
  If you've written a disk image onto another disk, unless you are
incredibly lucky, you will have overwritten your old files.  This is
because files are typically written at the beginning of the disk, so
unless the image you wrote was much smaller than the disk you wrote it
to, then you've lost the beginning of the disk.  If, however, your
image was much smaller than the actual disk you wrote to, then you
might be in luck for the files that were in the later part of the
original disk.  NTFS stores a copy of the master file table in (I
think, from memory), the logical middle of the disk, as well as at the
beginning.  Obviously the one at the beginning has been overwritten,
but the one in the middle may still be there.  I think it's also held
at the end of the disk for some versions of NTFS, but I can't just
remember off the top of my head.  A "normal" file scanner should be
able to extract the files from this sort of accident.

When my NTFS disk corrupted, and it wasn't a bad corruption, I didn't
have any success with any file retrieval software.  My only saving
grace was I knew what files were on there, and they were mostly the
same type, so I could scan the disk for the magic number at the start
of the file, follow the file format to get the length of the file, and
then copy that block out to a new file.   Obviously if the disk has
been used for a while, and hence you've got fragmented files, or
you've got a whole mix of files you need back, then this method won't
work.

All I can say is, good luck!

Cheers,
Dave.

On 16/10/06, Anthony Thomas <anthonyicthomas at yahoo.co.uk> wrote:
> NTFS
> --- Vladimir Jakubovskij
> <vladimir.jakubovskij at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > could u just give more details: filesystems types at
> > least.
> >
> > On 10/16/06, Anthony Thomas
> > <anthonyicthomas at yahoo.co.uk> wrote:
> > >
> > > This is my first email to the group.
> > > I used Norton ghost to duplicate a hard drive,
> > > unfortunately overwrote the wrong drive.
> > > I have accidently lost the contents of a hard
> > drive
> > > containing my files.
> > > I have tried to recover the data with no success
> > using
> > > windows based recovery software.
> > > Does anyone know of a good linux data recovery
> > > application to get my files back?
> > >
> > > Anthony Thomas B.Sc Design Technology with
> > Qualified Teaching Status.
> > > Visit my Website! www.gekocomputers.co.uk
> > anthonyicthomas at yahoo.co.ukMobile Telephone:
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> Anthony Thomas B.Sc Design Technology with Qualified Teaching Status.
> Visit my Website! www.gekocomputers.co.uk anthonyicthomas at yahoo.co.uk Mobile Telephone: 07811-877669 See the Website for Useful Software and Links.
> 24 hours-a-day, 8 days-a-week.
> * Assistance in Computer Tuition/Training.
> * Computer Building, Repairs and Upgrades.
> * Networking (hard wired), Wireless Networking.
> * Web Site Design, Maintenance and Promotion.
> NEW!! Buy a Domain Name and get Free Hosting for Life!!
> * MP3/Digital Sound Recording (MIDI).
> * Digital Photography/Scanners.
> * Broadband, ADSL, Video and DVD Recording.
> * Newsgroups and Downloading Music, Films and Software etc.
> * FREE Antivirus and Firewall.
> * Fighting Spam, Spyware, Spybot, Hijackers, Adware,   Malware, Keyloggers, Worms, Hacker Tools, PC Parasites,   Trojan Horses, Spy Programs, Trackware, Spoofing and   Phishing.
> * Voice Over Internet Protocol (V.O.I.P.) Skype
> * Numerous Testimonials/References available on request.
> Tell your friends!
>
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