I have Windows 98 and drive is formatted as FAT32. I have accidentally deleted an important file and emptied "Recycle Bin". Also I deleted another file by using [Shift]+[Del] (that is by bypassing "Recycle Bin"). How can I recover my files?
Solution
Boot in DOS mode. You can do it in the following ways:
Boot from bootable floppy (usually it goes together with operating system package)
Press F8 while Windows 98 boots, and then select "Command prompt only"
Click Start->Shutdown, then select ''Restart in MS-DOS mode'' and click Ok
Run Active@ UNERASER
Select the drive containing deleted files and scan it by pressing [ENTER]
(Optionally) You can switch to long filenames view by pressing [SHIFT]+[TAB] key
Find and position the cursor on your deleted file. Deleted files are marked grey
If file is not recoverable — error message will appear
Try to recover deleted file by pressing the [Ctrl]+[U] keys — unerase command
If file is recoverable, a dialog box appears where you can choose the output drive and path (screenshot). Pressing the OK button starts recovery process
File are not recoverable if overwritten with other data, or its header in the root folder is overwritten or damaged. Usually it happens when you write something onto the drive where deleted file is located.
DO NOT SAVE THE RECOVERED FILES ONTO THE SAME DRIVE FROM WHERE YOU RECOVERED THE FILE!
While saving recovered file(s) or folder(s) onto the same drive where they are located, you can intrude in process of recovering by overwriting table records for this and other deleted entries. It's better to save data onto another logical, removable, network or floppy drive. DO NOT SAVE/WRITE/INSTALL ANYTHING ONTO THE DRIVE CONTAINING YOUR IMPORTANT DELETED DATA THAT YOU WANT TO RECOVER!
Even installing data recovery software to the same drive could make your sensitive data irrecoverable. Download and save Active@ UNERASER for DOS onto the bootable floppy and boot your system using the disk!
