How to restore deleted files

amstel2

Hi

Was browsing the net last nite & a message came up that their was a prob with windows & to do a data recovery. This has happened before & i just usually shut the laptop down & turn it back on. However, i mistakenly pressed the button to do a data recovery & couldn't stop it. It totally wiped the hard drive & took the laptop back to factory settings.

I have managed to re-install the wireless router & get back online & re-installed the anti virus software.

I have lost my favourites/bookmarks, my desktop files & photos, my videos on Wmp & totally lost Real Player & of course my videos etc on that. Also my browser settings are all differnet.

I am not that computer savvy & would be very grateful for any ideas on getting this stuff back. Going by the police dramas on the telly nothing is ever totally lost & are their somewhere (am i right). I realise i should have backed this stuff up but i never got round to it.

For further info my laptop is a Fujitsu Siemens Amilo, the OS is Windows Vista Home Premium, & the browser is IE7. Also as part of the data recovery i had to redo my Adminstrator name & password.

Thanks

closed

This message was inside windows?

http://www.myantispyware.com/2011/09/13/how-to-remove-data-recovery-virus/


http://www.piriform.com/recuva/features/deep-scan

http://www.macrium.com/reflectfree.aspx

amstel2

Thanks

Can i try all these in turn? & will i have to take down my anti-virus software first? I have noticed i can't access some sites i accessed before, sometimes lose connection, & computer sometimes running slow.

Thanks

closed

some viruses give this sort of message - 1st link - not clear exactly what you saw or did ?

2nd link is recuva, which can restore files provided the disk area hasn't been overwritten

3rd link, is something to backup with.

you don't have to turn off antivirus

yilia

I have ever deleted some important data for me.
and I use a data recovery software to recover all of them at once.

ChiefGrasscutter

Most strange, as the factory restore programs I've seen can only be entered by pressing a special Function key during the computer boot up stage prior to anything (windows etc) being loaded and even then ask you to confirm whether you are really sure you want to do this.

Tiexen

Shows how important it is to back everything up, memory sticks are very cheap, recordable DVD's can hold 4 gig. (pack of 10 less than a fiver)