RECOVER CDS AND DVDS
History’. Navigate to the folder with
the missing file—if necessary, use
the back button at the bottom of the
window to roll back to the last time
or date the file was recorded, then
double-click it for a preview. If it’s
close enough to the version you’ve
deleted, you can restore it using the
green button at the bottom or click
the settings button in the top right-
hand corner and choose ‘Restore
to...’ to create a copy of the file in
your chosen destination.
You may also be able to restore
the file from your latest drive image,
although in these circumstances
it’s worth remembering that most
image-based backup plans don’t
back up more than once a day
(and maybe even less frequently).
If you’re a Macrium Reflect user,
navigate to the folder where your
drive image is stored, right-click
and choose Explore Image. If more
than one drive has been imaged,
check the drive containing your
missing file and make a note of
the drive letter assigned to it.
Check ‘Enable access to restricted
folders’ before clicking OK.
The backup will be mounted like
any other regular drive, enabling
you to navigate to the folder
containing your lost file, and copy it
back to your main drive.
RECOVER ACCIDENTALLY
DELETED DATA
If you don’t have access to a
convenient backup, or your backup
isn’t recent enough, then it’s time to
try and recover the file from your
hard drive. Remember the golden
rule about not writing data to the
drive containing the file in question?
That means unless you’ve
already installed data recovery
software on your PC then you
should look for a portable tool you
can download directly to a flash
drive and run from there instead.
One such portable tool that’s
free for personal use is Puran
File Recovery. Download the
portable X64 version from
http://www.puransoftware.com/File-
Recovery-Download.html to any
RECOVER CDS AND DVDSRECOVER CDS AND DVDS
ISObuster can recover files other data-recovery tools can’t.
Hard drives aren’t the only
storage devices that corrupt.
Flash drives, multimedia
cards, and good old optical
discs are also susceptible to
data loss. The data recovery
tools we cover in the main
portion of this feature claim
to work with flash media as
well as regular hard drives.
Optical discs are a
different matter. Errors
can be caused by physical
damage as well as discs
that have been subject to
program or user error, for
example, disc sessions on
writable or re-writable
discs not having been
closed properly. This kind of
recovery requires specialist
tools, and two stand out from
the crowd.
The first is Recovery
Toolbox for CD Free (https://
recoverytoolbox.com/
cd.html), which works
across CD, DVD, and Blu-ray.
After installation, insert
your corrupted disc and
launch the program. You’ll
be prompted to select the
optical drive to attempt
recovery from. If you’ve only
got a single drive, click Next.
You’ll be prompted to
select a folder on your
hard drive, into which all
recovered files will be
placed—once selected, click
Next and Recovery Toolbox
will scan the drive and reveal
which directories and files
it’s identified.
You can attempt to
recover everything from the
disc or select individual files
and folders before clicking
Save, and see what Recovery
Toolbox is able to retrieve.
If it’s unable to identify
recoverable files or retrieve
your files, try ISObuster
(www.isobuster.com).
Download the free version
and it’ll show you what it can
recover. The free version
can recover files from ISO,
Joliet, and Rock Ridge file
systems, but other file
systems—including UDF,
which is commonly found on
re-writable media—require
you to purchase a Personal
license for $40.
Visit http://www.isobuster.com/
license-models.php for an
exhaustive comparison list
between free and paid-for
versions.
Mount Macrium
drive images
in Explorer to
restore files
from them.
data recovery
42 MAXIMU MPC MAR 2022
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