If you are using Windows XP or 2000 and you have accidentally deleted a file from the recycle bin, don’t start panicking just yet - you might still be able to get it back. But if that file is important to you, you need to take immediate action.
First and foremost, if you are using the PC where the file was located you must stop using it right away! Your computer will be constantly writing temporary files to your hard disk as you use it which may at any time overwrite the contents of your lost file forever.
Get yourself on to another computer by any means necessary. Don’t even shut your PC down, but if you have to, switch it off at directly at the mains (un-plug it) rather than using the shutdown button in the start menu. Even the shutdown process writes files to disk and should be avoided.
Once you are on another computer, download file recovery free ware ‘restoration’
Copy the software to some form of removable media (USB memory stick, floppy or CD). Run the restoration program on the computer where the file was deleted directly from the removable media. The software will list deleted files and allow you to restore them easily.
If you have already shut down or powered down your PC, first set up a BartPE bootable Windows Live CD (you will need your Windows installation CD). You can boot your PC from the CD to avoid over-writing your lost file. Run the restoration software from your removable media as before.
Make sure you restore the file to the removable media and copy it back to your PC later. This reduces the risk of overwriting your file data when you attempt to restore it.
A useful page with more in depth information can be found at http://www.aumha.org/a/recover.php
Tags:
Comments(0) 
I’ve been ranting for ages about how ugly most PCs are compared to Macs. What has been stopping PC manufacturers making anything close to being as asthetically pleasing as a Mac?
